Annamalai says women remain underrepresented in Indian political decision-making
K. Annamalai, founder of the We The Leaders movement, says women remain underrepresented in politics and decision-making in India. In remarks for a policy paper, he cited figures for parliamentary and Cabinet representation and highlighted reported cases involving sexual offences and domestic violence in Tamil Nadu.
Women remain underrepresented in politics and decision-making, former BJP leader and We The Leaders founder K. Annamalai said on Thursday, citing figures for India and international comparisons. In remarks prepared for a policy paper on women’s safety and empowerment by the We The Leaders Foundation, Annamalai said women held 27.5% of parliamentary seats and 22.4% of Cabinet positions globally.
In India, he said, women held 13.8% of Lok Sabha seats and 5.6% of Union Cabinet positions. He also said women accounted for 11.01% of Assembly contestants in Tamil Nadu in 2026. The supplied material does not provide the number of women elected or the total number of candidates on which the percentage was based.
Annamalai’s comments combined political representation with data on violence and safety. He said Tamil Nadu recorded 26,145 cases involving rape, sexual harassment, stalking, kidnapping and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act between 2020 and 2024. According to the figures he cited, cases involving child sexual abuse accounted for 21,397 of those reported cases.
He also said registered sexual-harassment cases had increased sharply during the period. At the same time, Annamalai said reported domestic violence among married women had fallen from about 41–42% in 2015–16 to 28–29% in 2023–24. He added, however, that the level remained above the national average.
The remarks were made in connection with a policy document focused on women’s safety and empowerment. The source material does not detail the paper’s recommendations, identify the datasets behind the figures or provide responses from the Tamil Nadu government or other political parties. The figures presented by Annamalai link the representation of women in institutions with broader questions of safety and participation.
His statement called attention to the gap between women’s share of the population and their reported presence in legislatures and Cabinets, while also highlighting the continuing burden of reported offences against women and children in Tamil Nadu.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.