• Dr. Minbi Kaye

Women in Politics: A brief history of Arunachal Pradesh Abstract In the contemporary democratic discourses of development, empowerment has emerged as a dominant theme. It has gained greater significance with the growing concern for decentralized and participatory development. There is an inextricable link between the politics and empowerment and both are complementary to each other. Issues on social and gender equity are cross-national and interdisciplinary in nature. India is regarded as the largest democratic country in the world, where the participation of both men and women are regarded as an intrinsic part for the success of its democracy. The participation of women in politics and governance devoid of any influence is equated as the key to redress gender inequalities in societies and to bring about women empowerment. The previous study shows that role of Arunachal women in building their communities has been commendable but were mostly concentrated in uplifting the socio-economic condition of the women in particular and of the society in general. The women wing of the apex body of different tribal communities, also has never taken up any issue regarding the participation of women in politics in the state. They have always remained silent on this matter since their main activity and concern are confined only to social issues. The objective of this paper is to study the issues pertaining to women empowerment among the tribal women of Arunachal Pradesh and their challenges in participation in politics. The research paper uses the historical and descriptive method of study. The statistical data on the women’s representation in Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh from 1978 to 2019 shows a gradual increase in number but still there is a need to create awareness among women for their larger participation. The findings of the paper show different factors like socio-economic and cultural factors as the reason behind the poor participation of women in politics. The study also reveals that the women representatives as well as all the contestants of the state level politics belong to well to do families or so-called elite sections. It is also found that political parties do not give party tickets to women to contest election if they had no financial back up. Therefore, it is valid to assume and to be feared that only women from elite sections would get in to politics.

Women, Political Participation, Empowerment.

"Women in Politics: A brief history of Arunachal Pradesh", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 3, page no.h313-h317, March-2024, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2403742.pdf

"Women in Politics: A brief history of Arunachal Pradesh", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.11, Issue 3, page no. pph313-h317, March-2024, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2403742.pdf