She Votes, But Does She Decide? The Unequal Story Of Women’s Power In Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: On the outskirts of Lucknow, 32 year old Sunita Devi walks to the polling booth every election, aware of candidates and issues. Yet when asked about her vote, she lowers her voice. “We discuss at home. In the end, I vote as my husband says.”

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Sunita’s response captures a contradiction that is shaping the political landscape in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Assembly elections. Women are emerging as the most decisive voting bloc, with rising turnout and targeted welfare outreach. But their journey from voters to decision makers remains incomplete.

In the background of on-going political slugfest over stalled Women’s Reservation Bill or Naari Shakti Vandana, the predicament Sunita finds herself is justified. Does she decide whom to vote?

Across districts, conversations with women reveal a layered reality. Participation has increased, but autonomy varies sharply across class, caste and geography. In Barabanki, Shabana, who has been voting for over a decade, says, “I understand what leaders say, but the final decision is taken by the men in the family.” In Sitapur, a college student, Pooja Singh, offers a different picture. “We discuss at home, but I vote based on what I think is right.”

These contrasting voices reflect a transition in progress. Political parties have responded to rising participation by building narratives around women centric welfare. The ruling BJP points to housing, sanitation, cooking gas and food security schemes, many registered in women’s names, as evidence of empowerment.

Lawmaker and BJP state-vice-president Vijay Bahadur Pathak says, “Women have seen direct benefits in their lives like toilets, houses and free ration. They know who delivered these schemes and that shapes their choices.”

The Samajwadi Party has countered by shifting the debate to representation. “Giving benefits is not the same as giving power,” Rajendra Chaudhry, SP spokesperson said and added: “The real issue is whether women have a voice in political decisions.”

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This tension between welfare and agency becomes sharper when candidate selection is examined. Despite being nearly half the electorate, women remain underrepresented in electoral politics. In the 2022 Assembly elections, all major parties fielded a limited number of women candidates. Within that, representation of women from backward classes and minority communities was even lower.

“Every party wants women voters, but very few are willing to give them tickets in winnable seats,” says Manoj Bhadra, a Lucknow based journalist and political analyst. “The system is still controlled by caste equations, money and local influence.”

Even where women enter politics, access is often mediated through family networks. Wives and daughters of established leaders are more likely to get tickets, raising questions about whether representation is expanding or power is simply being redistributed within existing structures.

At the grassroots level, the contradiction is even more visible. Constitutional mandates have ensured large scale entry of women into local governance. In Uttar Pradesh, women hold more than half of village head positions in recent election cycles. Yet, in many villages, the elected representative is not the one exercising authority.

In Unnao, Rekha Devi is the elected village head. But it is her husband who speaks to officials and handles administrative work. “I am still learning,” she says, as he explains development projects. “My husband acts like pradhan-patti and does the field work and while I sign the papers,” she said

Officials acknowledge the pattern. “We are supposed to deal with the elected representative, but often male relatives attend meetings,” says a block level officer in Sitapur. “It is an open secret.”

Activists describe this as proxy governance that undermines the intent of reservation. “Women have entered the system, but power often remains with men,” says a social worker in Lucknow.

There are, however, signs of change. In Hardoi, Shanti Devi, now in her second term as village head, says she has grown into the role. “Earlier, my family guided me. Now I take decisions myself,” she says. Such examples suggest that while entry into politics is facilitated by reservation, the transition to independent authority takes time and depends on education, exposure and economic independence.

The debate over representation has taken a sharper political turn with Akhilesh Yadav raising the issue of sub quotas within women’s reservation. He argues that without internal categorisation, the benefits of reservation could be cornered by relatively privileged groups.

“If you speak of half the population, then include all sections of that half,” he said in Parliament, calling for representation of backward and minority women.

The demand has revived an old ideological position of the Samajwadi Party, which has long argued for a quota within quota. Party leaders say women are not a homogeneous group and that social inequalities must be addressed within any reservation framework.

“Without that, representation will remain unequal,” an SP MP says.

The BJP has rejected this argument, describing it as divisive. Party leaders maintain that reservation cannot be based on religion and that empowerment should be universal. “Our focus is on development and equal opportunity for all women,” a BJP spokesperson says.

Beyond the political exchange, the ground reality reflects layered exclusions. In eastern Uttar Pradesh, Nazma, who has worked in election campaigns, says women from her community are rarely considered for tickets. “We mobilise voters, but candidates are always men,” she says.

In Azamgarh, Sunita, from an OBC community, echoes a similar concern. “We attend meetings, but no one asks if we want to contest,” she says.

Even parties raising the issue face questions about their own record. In the 2022 Assembly elections, the Samajwadi Party fielded several candidates from minority communities, but only a small number were women. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it fielded just one Muslim woman candidate.

“There is a gap between what parties say and what they do,” says the political analyst. “The difference is that now this gap is becoming part of the political debate.”

For many women, structural barriers remain the biggest challenge. Access to education, financial independence and social mobility determine whether they can move from participation to leadership.

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In Unnao, Rekha Devi reflects on her role as village head. “If I have been elected, I should do the work,” she says, expressing a desire to take full control in the future.

Her statement captures the broader moment in Uttar Pradesh. Women are visible in the electoral process as never before. They are central to political strategies and outcomes. Yet, their presence in positions of power remains limited and uneven.

As the state moves towards elections, the political battle is no longer just about attracting women voters. It is about addressing a deeper question that cuts across parties and ideologies.

Who speaks for women in politics, and who allows them to speak for themselves.

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