Approach:

Introduction: Start by stressing the status of women in the Indian parliament and providing relevant statistics.

Body: Discuss the rationale for this poor performance. Propose initiatives to increase the number of women in Parliament.

Conclusion: Suggest a balanced conclusion.

Answer:

According to figures collected by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, of which India is a member, 14.44 per cent of Lok Sabha members are female. In the 75 years since India's independence, women's participation in the Lok Sabha has climbed by less than 10 per cent.

Reasons for Poor Representation:

1. Gender stereotypes: Traditional viewpoints about the domestic responsibilities of women stereotype women in a particular way limiting society’s readiness to accept them as representatives apart from impacting the psyche of women also.
2. Lack of Political Education: Women's social mobility is influenced by their level of education. Formal education, such as that given by educational institutions, fosters leadership possibilities and provides necessary skills.
3. Due to the unequal allocation of family care obligations, women spend much more time caring for the house and children than males. A woman must devote her time and energy not only during pregnancy and delivery but also until the kid no longer needs parental care.
4. Lack of Political Networks: The lack of transparency in political decision-making and undemocratic internal procedures provide a barrier for all newcomers, but especially for women, who often lack insider knowledge and political networks.
5. Due to their poor representation in the inner party structures of India's political parties, women lack the resources and support necessary to cultivate their political constituency. Women do not get appropriate financial backing from political parties in order to run for office.
6. Social Conditioning: They must accept society's dictums and shoulder society's weight. Public opinions influence not just the number of female candidates who win a general election, but also the number of women considered and nominated for office.
7. Non-conducive political climate- To carve out a place for themselves inside the party, women must fight hard and contend with various obstacles. A substantial increase in criminality, corruption, and insecurity pulls women away from politics.

Measures to boost women's representation:

1. All political parties must achieve a compromise and assure the approval of the Women's Reservation Bill, which mandates the reservation of 33 per cent of seats in Parliament and all state legislative assemblies for women.
2. The pool of women who have served as sarpanches and members of local bodies with thirty years of experience in local administration should be motivated to increase their representation at the state level.
3. Women's Quota in Political Parties: The Gill Formula: It is necessary to implement the proposal of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to make it mandatory for recognized political parties to ensure putting of a minimum agreed percentage for women in elections, in order for them to retain their recognition as political parties with the Election Commission.
4. Promoting Inner party democracy: A really democratic political party, in which the different offices such as president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer are elected, would provide equal opportunity to all female party members.
5. Deconstructing stereotypes: society must dismantle the notion that women are confined to domestic duties.

Thus, it is essential for all institutions (state, family, and society) to react to the special requirements of women, such as bridging educational disparities, renegotiating gender roles and the gender division of labor, and addressing discriminatory views.