Women Empowerment Through Political Participation: A Study on Women's Political Representation in Kerala State Politics
Abstract: Women's political participation is an important dimension of democratic inclusion, but the presence of women in elected institutions differs across levels of government. This article examines women's representation in Kerala's local self-government institutions and Legislative Assembly using published secondary election statistics. The study adopts a descriptive and comparative approach, drawing on the Kerala Local Self Government Department's 2020 local-body election figures and official statistical reports for the 2021 and 2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections. In the 2020 local-body figures, women accounted for 11,965 of 21,847 members in the gender-wise total, or approximately 54.77%. In contrast, women won 11 of the 140 Assembly seats in both 2021 and 2026, representing 7.86% of the legislature. In 2026, 94 of 883 contestants were women, approximately 10.64%. These figures reveal a substantial difference between women's numerical representation at the local level and their presence in state-level legislative politics. The article discusses reservation, party nomination practices, access to resources and leadership pathways as factors relevant to this gap, while recognising that election counts alone cannot measure women's decision-making autonomy or policy influence. The study recommends transparent candidate selection, leadership development, mentoring and further research based on verified interviews and constituency-level evidence.
Keywords: women's political representation, political empowerment, Kerala, local self-government, Legislative Assembly
How to Cite?: Asha Adlin Sindhu M, "Women Empowerment Through Political Participation: A Study on Women's Political Representation in Kerala State Politics", Volume 15 Issue 10, October 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1076-1078, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR261016125457, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR261016125457