arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

Intersecting Barriers: Gender, Religion and the Political Under-representation of Muslim Women in Local Governance in Bihar

Nilofer Hussaini

Studies in Indian Politics2026https://doi.org/10.1177/23210230261429652article
AJG 1
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Women’s reservation policies have substantially expanded female political participation in India, yet the representation of Muslim women continues to remain disproportionately low across levels of governance. Drawing on detailed administrative data from the 2016 and 2021 Panchayat elections in Bihar, this study examines the institutional, structural and behavioural mechanisms that shape Muslim women’s political inclusion. Using a supply-side framework, the analysis formalizes two key determinants of contest entry, past co-ethnic competitiveness and demographic potential, and shows how these factors jointly influence women’s decisions to contest elections. The results highlight the central role of institutional design and strategic expectations in shaping minority women’s political agency, even in communities where demographic conditions appear favourable for political representation.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/23210230261429652

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{nilofer2026,
  title        = {{Intersecting Barriers: Gender, Religion and the Political Under-representation of Muslim Women in Local Governance in Bihar}},
  author       = {Nilofer Hussaini},
  journal      = {Studies in Indian Politics},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/23210230261429652},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Intersecting Barriers: Gender, Religion and the Political Under-representation of Muslim Women in Local Governance in Bihar

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.