Missing in Goa: Female candidates
By Ammu Joseph
One cannot but wonder if the “pink revolution” in Goa can help boost the representation of women in the legislature.
In a state where women constitute nearly half the population and which apparently has more female than male voters, only nine female candidates have been fielded by three political parties (BJP, INC, AAP) in the 2017 Assembly polls. And of the total of 251 candidates in the fray, just 7% (or 17) are women. Not even one woman is standing for elections in 29 of the 40 constituencies.
According to news reports, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar says it’s easy to give tickets to women “but getting them elected is a challenge…” Other political leaders offer similar excuses.
Fortunately, the media are not buying their argument.
http://www.thehindu.com/elections/goa-2017/Fewer-women-candidates-in-Goa/article17099183.ece
