Media Influence on the Political Roles of Muslim Women in India

This report examines the influence of media on the political participation of Muslim women in India. It analyzes various scholarly articles, including those by Lal (2004), Shukla and Shukla (1996), Alam (2015), Subhalakshmi and Venzhavethan (2018), and Mohon (2009), to understand how media shapes perceptions, influences decision-making, and impacts women's empowerment in the political sphere. The report highlights the historical context, legal frameworks, and societal factors affecting Muslim women's involvement in politics. It also discusses the role of media in raising awareness, challenging gender inequality, and providing a platform for self-actualization. Furthermore, the report considers the limitations and challenges faced by Muslim women in politics, such as illiteracy and patriarchal values. By analyzing these factors, the report aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationship between media and the political roles of Muslim women in India, offering valuable insights into the current scenario and potential future developments.

MEDIA INFLUENCE
ON ROLE OF
MUSLIM WOMEN IN
POLITICS IN INDIA

Table of Contents
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................1
Scholarly articles....................................................................................................................1

REFERENCES
Scholarly articles
1. Lal, R., 2004. Islam in India. In RABASA A., BENARD C., CHALK P., FAIR C.,
KARASIK T., LAL R., et al. (Authors), The Muslim World After 9/11 (pp. 297-320).
RAND Corporation.
Rollie Lal, a visiting associate professor at Elliott School of International Affairs, analyses the
societal factors relating to the Indian Islamic Environment and states that in India, the
Muslim community forms the largest minority. Here, Kashmir has been the primary
focus for media due to its political controversies. Indian Muslim organisations,
specifically Jamaat, have been largely supported by Indian Muslim women especially on
its stance over the talaq (divorce) and maintenance payments relating to it. The article
also emphasizes on the case of 1986 related to Shah Bano who was awarded continued
maintenance payments by the Supreme Court. This was only possible due to the
continued pressure from media on the then Rajiv Gandhi Government which led to the
passing of Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act of 1986. This event
restored the shari'a ruling and ultimately rescinded the maintenance payments with the
support of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). The idea is better
supported here with better research than in any other article found, specifically which
dwells upon the current environment of Muslim Community in relation to women.
According to me, this research is important as it helps in providing a well-established
background or premise of the topic that attempts to analyse how media influences in the
role of Muslim women in Politics in India. Without ascertaining the current scenario
regarding the Islamic community it would be futile to analyse such a situation in an
effective manner as it would provide an incomplete picture regarding the same. Also,
this would help me in investigating the current issues relating to women and the Islamic
community as a whole which is important in order to analyse the overall impact of
media on women politicians and their decisions related to this particular field.
2. Shukla, S. and Shukla, S., 1996. Political Participation of Muslim Women. The Indian
Journal of Political Science. 57(1/4). pp.1-13.
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Shukla and Shukla emphasize on the importance of national development through the
determination of status of women in that particular society. This paper aims to provide a
detailed account on the Political Participation of Muslim Women in India. It also looks
at the current laws and legislations related to political participation of women along
with other laws by taking into account the historical as well as current perspective in
addition to global scenario. For instance, the author observes that Indian women
received their right to equal political participation as well as to vote much earlier in
comparison to other Western economies. Such an instance indicates that media did help
Indian women in achieving their rights by spreading awareness and pressurising the
political leaders to work towards this goal. Also, International media also highlighted
gender equality massively. This also helped in recognising the benefits of influential
media towards the betterment of society by bringing about societal changes through
politics. It also emphasizes on gender inequality in regards to political participation by
addressing various contributing factors such as lack of education, awareness, poverty,
marriage and overall mindset of the Indian society. For the purpose providing a
comprehensive account regarding the political participation irregularities among
Muslim women and men, the author has undertaken a doctrinal method wherein a wide
assortment of legislations, articles, journals and books. The idea is better supported here
with better research than in any other article found as it dwells upon the establishment
of Indian political scenario relating to Indian Muslim women by giving a backdrop on
how they have developed over the years. Apart from this, it also throws light on the
Indian Muslim women by stating that, previously, only those females belonging to the
elite and economically well-off families had the ability to become a part of political
parties. However, this custom has started to change in the present day scenario. All
these insights are significant for the research as it would help me in ascertaining how
influential is media in impacting the role of Indian Muslim women in Politics as they
provide a premise for conducting a further research in relation to this particular topic.
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3. Alam, S., 2015. Participation of women in Indian politics and the role of
media. International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences.
4(1). pp.77-83.
Shah Alam, in this paper, emphasizes the role of women in Indian politics by conjoining the
impact and role of media in relation to it. This helps in further extending the research
insights found in the previous two articles discussed above by entwining the role of
media and political participation of women in India. The author accentuates media
influence by stating that it is one of the important tools that help shape the mindset of a
particular society. Apart from this, media also tends to influence the manner in which
female politicians and their decision-making effectiveness is viewed and perceived by
the masses of India in general. It also pinpoints the fact that, to a certain extent, media
has enabled the women to have self-actualisation which has resulted in women
empowerment to a significant level. Conversely, one of the main hurdles identified by
Shah Alam in relation to political participation of women, irrespective of them being a
Hindu or Muslim, is that of illiteracy. Due to lack of understanding, this demographic is
largely unaware of its political stance, specifically from basic as well as political rights
perspective. However, there is still a lot of lacking found in relation to role of media in
regards to impacting the Indian Muslim women active in the national politics field. The
idea is better supported here with better research than in any other article found, mainly
due to the fact that it builds upon a previously related research of participation of
women in Indian politics. According to me, this paper would help me in establishing a
coherent relationship between media influence and the role of Muslim women in
politics in India as it provides useful information regarding media culture awareness
prevailing in the country.
4. Subhalakshmi, K. and D. D. V. E., 2018. A STUDY ON MUSLIM WOMEN
PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS IN INDIA. International Journal of Pure and Applied
Mathematics. pp.4738-4749.
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Subhalakshmi and Venzhavethan, a student as well as professor at Sarthee School of
Law, aim to talk about the degree of political participation of Muslim Women in India
in this paper. The authors debate and highlight the degree of women empowerment
found among Indian Politics regarding Muslim female community. They evidence the
fact that while there has been a certain degree of improvement in the socio-economic
condition of the Indian Minority class, there is still a long way to go. They also indicate
that while countries such as Bangladesh have had strong female political leaders in the
past such as Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, this community is still considered to have
a primary role towards their male counterparts as their companion. Thus, showcasing
that under political scenario, Indian media influence, in comparison to other countries, is
quite low. This paper also points out another reason behind a lacking participation of
Muslim women in Indian Politics which specifically relates to the patriarchal values of
this particular community. The idea is better supported here with better research than in
any other article found, mainly due to the fact that it builds upon a previously related
research of participation of women in Indian politics. Inclusion of this scholarly article
would give me specific insights in the form of quantitative data in regards to their
participation. For instance, since 1947, 612 women have been elected to 16 Lok Sabha
sessions, out of which, only 21 have been of Muslim ethnicity. Whereas in Rajya Sabha,
as of 2014, 30 women have been elected, out of which only 4 belonged to Muslim
community. Only 15 women have been able to be a part of the Upper House between
1952 and 2010. This shows that, since independence, there has been an increased media
influence. However, as far as Indian Muslim women are concerned, there is little to no
contribution. According to me, all these insights are significant for the research relating
to the investigation as they provide quantitative data regarding this community which is
crucial in terms of gauging media influence on Indian Muslim women politicians.
5. Mohon, V., 2009. Political participation of Muslim women in India. Mumbai: Institute of
Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution.
Vasundara Mohan, Deputy Director at Institute of Peace Studies & Conflict
Resolutionm, Mumbai, writes regarding the political participation of Muslim women in
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India. Apart from this, it also looks upon the various national and international excerpts
regarding media attitude towards Muslim women and their political decisions. The
author asserts that there is a widespread negative portrayal of the female community
towards politics which has resulted in non-election of any female politician hailing from
such background in the political context. This can be attributed to the male dominated
societies found in India and other such countries which encourage the idea of women as
a home-maker across all media podiums. There are also evidences regarding the hurdles
faced by Indian women in election on the Parliamentary seats in 1996 even when there
is a grant for women to have 33% of the total seats at the authoritative level. Thus
showing that even though there are certain amenities for encouraging their contribution
in Politics, Indian Muslim women's conditions have not been touched upon much by the
media over the years. The idea is better supported here with better research than in any
other article found, mainly because this research paper helps me in determining how
encouraging media is towards empowering Indian Muslim women in Politics. Hence, its
inclusion would enable me to understand the existing policies related to the betterment
of this ethnic group and extent of media coverage on it which .
6. Bhattacharjee, S. and Chattopadhyay, R., 2011. The Information Deficit: Use of Media in
Deliberative Democracy. Economic and Political Weekly. pp.45-52.
Bhattacharjee and Chattopadhyay, in this paper, provide an insight regarding how gram
proceedings in Indian State, West Bengal, take place. For this purpose, it takes 40 gram
proceedings into account in order to analyse the impact of media as a critical source of
information. This paper also indicates that out of 27 meetings where villagers tend to
speak up only nine cited media as a significant source of information. Deliberative
democracy can be defined as the economy wherein deliberation is central to decision-
making practices which largely includes majority rule and voting rights. This has
resulted in refuting of legitimate claims on property and other villager entitlements.
Thus, indicating that there is still a large amount of gap prevalent in the Indian Society.
The idea is better supported here with better research than in any other article found,
mainly due to the fact that it builds upon the premise of grams which form a substantial
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part of the Indian economy. Analysing the role of media as well as to what extent it
forms the part of the citizens' daily life is crucial before analysing its influence on the
role of Indian Muslim women in Politics. This research paper provides a troubling
image of the Indian Media which is largely corroborated through villager's personal
accounts or experiences recorded by way of interviews. It is clearly evident that the GP
members cannot be held accountable as the information provided through media
channels as the information provided by them is largely incomplete as well as
inadequate. All this would help me in investigating the relevant topic in an efficient
manner because it is important to first ascertain and evaluate the degree of Media usage
as a medium of communication within the Indian society.
7. Patel, V. A., 2018. Getting Foothold in Politics. Available at SSRN 3182358.
Vibhuti Patel, the author of this research paper, attempts to throw light on the degree of women
participation in Decision-making process in the context of Indian political scenario.
Media influences the protection of rights and betterment of society by providing
information and communicating the adversities of society. Mobilisation of Women by
Political parties have been critically analysed since the time of eighties when political
leaders such as Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi started emphasizing on the progression
of Indian Women Society. In terms of Muslim Women Community, the inclusion of
their protection of rights in the course of Divorce led to the uprising of a new focus on
this group. This idea provides a supportive narrative for the overall research topic
related to the role of Indian Muslim Women in politics under the influence of Media.
Additionally, it helps in providing a detailed account on the decision-making process of
women politicians in India on a generic level which is largely inclusive of quantitative
data. These insights gained are valuable due to the fact that the Indian Muslim women
share similar traits to their Hindu counterparts as both of them are largely subsidised to
be isolated within their homes as a companion to their respective male counterparts.
Inclusion of this research paper would enable me to show that due to media influence,
the role of women in politics gained a lot of prominence which resulted in execution of
important decisions in relation to the betterment of Indian Muslim Female community.
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Therefore, this particular paper is crucial for analysing the scenario or research topic
undertaken by the investigator in a comprehensive manner by way of quantifying the
results through data collected, analysed and interpreted for the purpose of undertaking
further investigation.
8. Ojha, P., 2011. WOMEN'S ISSUES IN INDIA: ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF
MEDIA. The Indian Journal of Political Science. pp.87-102.
Purnima Ojha, in this paper, emphasizes about the role of women and their portrayal in the
Media. The author attempts to analyse the fact that women's role in India has improved
in a significant manner. They have contributed exceptionally in different fields and
made country product on various national as well as international occasions. On the
other hand, Media has immense power to influence the masses and their decisions
related to socio-economic norms, beliefs apart from politics. The author notes that in the
present day scenario, the Indian media has wavered from their actual purpose and is
largely inclusive of communicating highly biased information. As a result, the overall
societal development has become difficult. In addition to this, portrayal of women as
equals in the society has been largely neglected. The author asserts that there is a wide
gap existent in the constitution, legislations, policies, plans, programs and other related
mechanisms. The author also emphasizes on the need to sensitize the media to prevalent
gender issues, specifically related to women, as their role in terms of women
empowerment has been substantially detrimental in the Indian Society. The idea is better
supported here with better research than in any other article found, mainly due to the
fact that it builds upon the establishment of a relationship between media influence and
women society in the Indian Politics to a certain extent. All these insights are significant
for my research as they provide a clear distinction between media impact on role of
Indian Muslim women in politics from past years.
9. Suneetha, A., 2012. Between Haquq and Taaleem: Muslim Women's Activism in
Contemporary Hyderabad. Economic and Political Weekly. pp.57-63.
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Based on a series of interviews, this paper written by Suneetha aims to provide a valuable insight
in regards to the Muslim women Activism in Hyderabad. This journal article is mainly
dependent on the numerous discussions and interviews undertaken by the author in regards to
family dispute resolution, education and work for the betterment of Hyderabad Society. It is
important to note that, Hyderabad is an important city which includes a significant population of
Muslim community residing there. As a result, inclusion of this paper for the purpose of
investigating the role of Muslim Women in Politics, largely influenced by Media, becomes
paramount. In addition to this, the paper touches upon the premise of inadequacy. Thus, asserting
that there is a need for knowledgeability, tenacity and demonstration on the part of Indian
Muslim Women so as to gain a better future opportunity as well as community. It is important to
note that media does not isolate itself to the print or electronic media. From this perspective, this
research paper provides valuable insights to me by showcasing that through demonstrations and
activism, the Indian Muslim women have been able to communicate as well as enlighten their
other female counterparts to work towards their visions. Thus, creating women empowerment
from the ground level. Thus, it is worthy of being included in respect of the relevant research
topic.
10. True, J., Niner, S., Parashar, S. and George, N., 2012. Women’s political participation in
Asia and the Pacific. In Social Science Research Council: Conflict Prevention and Peace
Forum. Retrieved from http://artsonline. monash. edu. au.
The authors write about the movement of global gender equity and touch upon the
degree of women political participation in South Asia including India. The idea is better
supported here with better research than in any other article found, mainly due to the
fact that it builds upon the establishment of a relationship between media influence and
women society in the Indian Politics to a certain extent. The authors also note that South
Asian women are both economically disempowered and discouraged due to the
prevalence of excessive gender prejudices. The paper provides various examples
regarding this situation. For instance, in Kashmir, the Muslim Khawateen Markaz is the
only women's party within the Hurriyat Conference, a separatist group active in the
region. However, it is excluded from any decision-making position in Kashmir. Apart
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from this, female stakeholders and participants are not given due importance while
discussing about important political affairs such as India-Pakistan Peace talks that
covered by both national and international media. As a result, their views are neglected
thoroughly across all public speaking platforms and there is hardly any media influence
prevalent which is helpful in communicating the opinions of Indian Muslim Women
politicians to the masses. Thus, providing a valuable insight regarding the existent lack
of economic and political resources in the nation so much so that even media complies
with it. Inclusion of this particular piece of scholarly article would enable me to analyse
the disparities and biasness existent among the media which results in the ignorance of
the empowerment or encouragement of Muslim women in Indian politics at a deeper
level.
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