Geopolitics
The Commodification of Consent: Welfare Sops and the Political Economy of Women's Votes in India
In recent Indian state elections, political parties are intensely competing for the support of women, who constitute over half the electorate, through promises of direct cash transfers, free gas cylinders, and other welfare benefits. This cynical commodification of the female electorate by a political class, often devoid of a genuine commitment to structural gender empowerment, reduces the immense potential of India's women to mere electoral tokens in a transactional power game.
