"Everything is because of my husband"

Abstract: The political participation of women is an important indicator of the degree of gender equality in certain country. In India, which is often referred to as the world’s largest democracy, the national parliament consists of only 11 % women. In a vast majority of India’s 28 states the female representation in their respective legislative assemblies is even less. However, when five states were holding state elections in 2012, something historical occurred when more women than men went to the ballot boxes across all the states to cast their vote. Goa, India’s smallest state, had the highest female voting participation. Despite this, the state election resulted in a parliament consisting of only 2 % women. The situation in Goa raises questions about what factors that actually decide voting behaviour and political representation, and a two month field study was carried out in Goa in 2013 in order to map out the underlying causes. The study was made with a feminist approach by the use of theories about citizenship and ”politics of presence”, the latter arguing that the substance of politics changes when more women participate. The results of the study show that the notion of citizenship still is a highly gendered concept in the Indian context. The public-private divide results in a political sphere that belongs to men, while women lack resources to participate. The voting behaviour did not seem to be a clear sign of changing structures, but was rather due to political parties populistic schemes, which mostly ostensibly favour women, as well as the politicians’ tendency to mobilise poor women by organising self-help groups.