On September 20, the lower house of the Indian Parliament supported a constitutional amendment that would reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women. The vote was nearly unanimous in favor of the women’s reservation bill.
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, led the Bill’s approval; however, the President must sign the bill into law. After it is put into effect, it will last for 15 years, though the Parliament may decide to prolong it. India is ranked 148th out of 193 countries according to the proportion of elected female lawmakers in their national legislatures.
Bills that were similar to this one were later introduced in 1998, 1999, and 2008, but all four expired when those governments fell. The Women’s Reservation Bill has been in parliament for 25 years, but it hasn’t passed and is still in the status que.
A total of 214 lawmakers from the upper house voted in favor of the Women’s Reservation Bill, which was introduced by prime minister Narendra Modi’s government in a special parliamentary session on Tuesday. It was approved by the lower house on Wednesday. The G20 emphasized gender equality as a fundamental principle in the New Delhi Leader’s Declaration, which was also introduced roughly a week prior to the Women’s Reservation Bill’s passage.
Historical Context on Women’s Reservation Bill
An important turning point in India’s legislative history was the introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill in 2008. A novel approach to addressing the underrepresentation of women in bodies that make decisions was put forth, suggesting a one-third reservation for women in the national and state legislatures, namely the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha.
There has always been strong support for the Women’s Reservation Bill. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee once declared, “The government is unequivocally in favor of introducing women’s reservation… If empowering women is our goal, then more women need to be represented. The 108th Amendment, commonly referred to as the Constitution Bill, attracted a lot of interest and support.
It was praised as “momentous” by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley. Given the obstacles, such as lack of autonomy and illiteracy, that prevent women from entering parliament, reservations are seen as a way to guarantee women’s participation in politics. The lower houses of legislatures are vital in tackling issues at the community level. The 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution, which supports allocating seats for women, scheduled castes, and scheduled tribes in PRIs, offers a more nuanced strategy for political empowerment.
Opponents of the Bill called for the government to conduct a caste survey during the next census and demanded that certain seats be set aside for women from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), which include underprivileged castes not included in the officially recognized groups of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Muslims. Their requests were returned down.
Even though India has had two female presidents and a female prime minister since gaining independence in 1947, women have historically been underrepresented in politics; in the most recent national election, only 104 out of 788 MPs, or 15% of the total, were female. The only group opposing the women’s reservation bill was AIMIM, which claimed that since there is no reservation for Muslim women representatives, this will only benefit Savarna women. Even after it was approved by Parliament and received the President’s approval, the Congress continued to push for OBC reservation and questioned how long it would take to put into effect.
Conclusion
The United Nations states that India will become one of 64 countries worldwide with reserved seats for women in their national parliaments as a result of this quota, which will reserve 33% of the seats for women. Achieving a critical mass of thirty percent female representation in Parliament is generally recognized to have a positive impact on women’s empowerment. But ultimately, we hope that putting such reservations into practice will result in 50% of women being represented in parliaments worldwide.
In order to build a more inclusive and equitable society, reservations for women in politics should be a part of a larger plan that addresses cultural norms, education, economic empowerment, and social change. Reserves for women in politics can be a useful tool in challenging patriarchy and promoting gender equality.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of these policies varies and is dependent on a number of variables, including how they are formulated and put into practice.
