Data shows just two Muslim women in the current House; experts draw attention to the long-standing underrepresentation in India’s parliamentary system
NEW DELHI — A sharp debate in Parliament has drawn fresh attention to the limited presence of Muslim women in the Lok Sabha, with new data showing that only 18 of them have been elected to the House since Independence in 1947.
The issue came into focus during a discussion on women’s reservation, where leaders raised concerns about whether Muslim women are being left out of political representation. The figures point to a long-standing gap, with five full terms of the Lok Sabha having no Muslim woman member at all.
At present, the House has only two Muslim women MPs — Iqra Hasan Chowdhury of the Samajwadi Party and Sajida Ahmed of the Trinamool Congress.
Researchers and political observers say the numbers reflect deeper structural issues. The book Missing from House: Muslim Women in the Lok Sabha by Rasheed Kidwai and Amber Ghosh notes that out of the 18 Muslim women MPs so far, 13 came from established political families. It also highlights that no Muslim woman has ever been elected to the Lok Sabha from southern states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, or Telangana.
Commenting on the figures, Rasheed Kidwai said, “Such a small number is very surprising,” pointing to the absence of Muslim women in multiple parliamentary terms.
The debate became heated in the Lok Sabha when Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and his party’s MP Dharmendra Yadav demanded that Muslim and OBC women be included within the proposed 33 per cent reservation for women. They argued that without such inclusion, a large section of women would remain unrepresented.
Akhilesh Yadav said, “Are Muslim women not part of half the population?” and questioned whether the government was avoiding a caste-based census.
The demand was strongly opposed by leaders from the ruling side. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that reservation based on religion would not be constitutional. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju added, “Quota cannot be given based on religion,” and urged members to think about “all the women of the country.”
The list of Muslim women who have served in the Lok Sabha includes figures such as Mufidda Ahmed, Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah, Mohsina Kidwai, Mehbooba Mufti, Nusrat Jahan, and others across different political parties and decades. Despite these contributions, their overall number remains very small when compared to the total strength of the House over the years.
Political analysts say that the issue is not only about numbers but also about access and opportunity. One Mumbai-based observer said, “The data clearly shows that Muslim women have had very limited entry into Parliament. Any discussion on women’s representation should consider this reality.”
Another academic noted, “Representation is linked to social and political support. Without targeted efforts, some groups may continue to remain underrepresented.”
The current debate has brought the matter back into public discussion, with calls from some quarters for more inclusive policies, while others insist that reservations must remain religion-neutral.
For now, the numbers speak clearly: despite decades of parliamentary democracy, Muslim women remain among the least represented groups in the Lok Sabha.
