INDIA
INTREPID
VOTERS
The 1950 Constitution
of India, the founding
national document of
the former British col-
ony, ensures suffrage
to every adult Indian
citizen regardless of
“religion, race, caste,
sex, or place of birth.”
From the launch of
the modern republic,
in other words, Indian
women have had the
vote—and they exer-
cise it. These women
in Bengaluru have
just cast their 2019
parliamentary ballots;
the fingernails they’re
showing off were
indelibly inked by
election officials, a
national practice that’s
supposed to prevent
repeat voting. Women
still make up only
14 percent of the
Indian Parliament.
But with the Election
Commission offering
all-women-staffed
polling stations in
every parliamentary
district, some
states report more
women than men
turning out on
election days.In recent years women from France to India and from Namibia to Japan
have felt more empowered to call out men’s wrongdoing, leading to a
global conversation about sexism, misogyny, and the power dynamics
that women are subjected to in the home and beyond.
In many ways it’s still a man’s world, but from politics to the arts, women
are working to change that in their communities. It’s a mission playing
out in several arenas: in government institutions, inside the workplace
and home, through activism on the streets, and in the ability to tell their
own stories and shape their societies.
In countries such as Rwanda and Iraq, legislative quotas have guaran-
teed a significant female presence in parliament. Since 2003, Rwanda has
consistently had the highest female representation, proportionally, of
parliamentarians anywhere in the world (see “Power in Numbers,” page
SHAPING THE FUTURE 57