Outlook
The real reason to have more women in Parliament is because they are generally imbued with a greater sense of public service than men and are more likely to focus on the challenge of health and education—so vital if parts of India are not to turn into a more populous version of sub-Saharan Africa. In this case, affirmative action would lead to more action where it counts. (As a formidable woman sarpanch in Rajasthan told US president Bill Clinton some years ago, one of the first things she did was build a school close to the village because otherwise girls would not go to school because even young girls were subject to sexual harassment. This was just months after the Lewinsky scandal.)
