WOMEN RESERVATION BILL

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WRITTEN BY: GARGEE

2ND YEAR B.A.LL.B

ICFAI UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

 

EDITED BY : MUSKAN PRASAD

4TH YEAR B.A.LL.B(HONS)

AMITY LAW SCHOOL, NOIDA

 

 

INTRODUCTION

“for me, a better democracy is a democracy where women do not only have the right to vote and to elect but to be elected”

 – Michelle Bachelet, former UN high commissioner of Human rights.

 This quote underscores the crucial role of women's representation in the political world for the advancement of democracy. Women should not confine themselves solely to their households, they should step forward and take on roles in legislative bodies like the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Moreover, gender equality is a fundamental principle in any democracy, and this extends to political representation too. With this objective in mind, the Women Reservation Bill, also known as the Nari Shakti Vandana Adhiniyam, 2023, was recently introduced in the Parliament on September 19, 2023. The aim of this bill is to empower women by reserving some seats for them in the legislative bodies.

In this blog, we will delve into the historical background, arguments in Favor, opposing viewpoints, challenges, and more surrounding this bill.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND –

In December 1946, a constituent assembly was formed for the creation of the Indian Constitution, with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as the chairman responsible for drafting it. The assembly comprised a total of 299 members, including only 15 women, such as Sarojini Naidu, Sucheta Kriplani, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur.

During the assembly's discussions, there was a debate on women's reservation, and interestingly, these women members opposed it. They argued that women did not require any special considerations.

In India, the Union Ministry of Education and Social Welfare established a committee to examine this issue, and the committee's report was published in 1974, addressing the declining political representation of women in India. While a majority of the committee members continued to oppose reservations for women in legislative bodies, they all supported reservations for women in local bodies. Gradually, many State governments began announcing reservations for women in local bodies.



The National Perspective Plan for Women, recommended in 1988, proposed that reservations be provided to women from the level of Panchayats to Parliament. These recommendations paved the way for the historic enactment of the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution, mandating that all State governments reserve one-third of the seats for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions and one-third of the chairperson positions at all levels of the Panchayati Raj Institutions and in urban local bodies, respectively.

Within these reserved seats, one-third are allocated to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe women. Many States, including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Kerala, have legally mandated 50% reservation for women in local bodies.

In 1998, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government reintroduced the Bill in the 12th Lok Sabha. However, the Bill did not receive the necessary support and lapsed again. The Bill was reintroduced in 1999, 2002, and 2003, but it consistently failed to secure majority votes.

In 2004, the UPA government included the reservation bill in its Common Minimum Programme and tabled it in the Rajya Sabha to prevent it from collapsing.

In 2010, the Women’s Reservation Bill was introduced as the 108th Constitutional Amendment Bill. Although it was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2008, it lapsed in the Lok Sabha. The RJD, the JD(U), and the SP were the most vocal opponents of the bill, as they demanded 33% reservation for backward groups within the 33% quota for women.”

KEY FEATURES OF THE BILL - 

1.     Reservation for Women in Lower House - The bill mentions the insertion of Article 330A into the Constitution of India for the reservation of SC/ST. The seats may be allotted through rotation within different constituencies.

2.     Reservation in State Legislative Assemblies - The Bill introduces Article 332A, mandating the reservation of one-third of the seats for women in every State Legislative Assembly, and these seats must be filled through direct election.

3.     Reservation in NCT Delhi - Article 239AA(2)(b) was amended by the bill to include that the laws framed by Parliament shall apply to the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

4.     The Bill Also Adds a New Article that states it will come into effect after the census is conducted, and delimitation will be undertaken to reserve seats for women.

5.     Period of Reservation - The reservation will be provided for a period of 15 years; however, it shall continue until a date determined by a law made by Parliament.



ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE BILL –

1.     By introducing this bill, we can break the stereotype that women can also represent themselves as lawmakers.

2.     By increasing women's representation, the problems of women will come forward, which can lead to women's empowerment in this patriarchal society.

3.     According to the UN University, women legislators improve the economic performance of their constituencies by 1.8 per cent more than male legislators. The evaluation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana shows that the share of incomplete road projects is 22 percentage points lower in female-led constituencies.

4.     Women in India vote at par with men, but their representation is very low compared to men. Reserved seats will bridge some gap between the vote share of women and their representation in the parliament/assemblies.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE BILL

1.     The bill mentions that it will come into effect after the delimitation process, and the reservation in Parliament will depend upon it. However, the census has been delayed, and delimitation could be politically sensitive.

2.     The bill provides separate reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes women within the existing one-third reservation of seats. However, OBC women, constituting 60% of the female population, have not been provided a separate reservation within the quota.

3.     Women are a heterogeneous community, unlike a caste group. As a result, the same arguments used to justify caste-based reservations cannot be applied to justify reservations for women.

4.     The bill does not provide for women's reservation in the Rajya Sabha and State Legislative Councils. The Rajya Sabha currently has a lower representation of women than the Lok Sabha. Representation is an ideal that must be reflected in both the Lower and Upper Houses.

 


CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we can say that the Women's Reservation Bill holds great significance in the history of our country and has been a topic of debate and discussion since India's independence. Over time, numerous changes have occurred, leading to improved gender equality. The arguments in favour of reservations have evolved, but they remain valid according to this bill. Women's empowerment is now a primary concern in both society and the political world, and reservations can be a crucial instrument to pave the way for this purpose. It appears that we will witness women playing leading roles in the political world in the future.

References

NewsAbouT Women Reservation Bill. (2023, 10 21). Retrieved from INDIAN EXPRESS: https://indianexpress.com/about/women-reservation-bill/

SANTHANAM, R. (2023, 09 24). What will hold up women’s reservation Bill? | Explained. Retrieved from THE HINDU : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/what-will-hold-up-womens-reservation-bill-explained/article67339000.ece

SHEKHAR, P. (2023, 10 05). WOMEN RERVATION BILL. Retrieved from FORUM IAS : https://forumias.com/blog/women-reservation-bill-explained-pointwise/#Key_Provisions_of_Women_Reservation_Bill_2023Nari_Shakti_Vandan_Ad

WOMEN RESERVATION BILL 2023 . (2023, 09 20). Retrieved from DRISHTI IAS : https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/women-s-reservation-bill-2023


#Women Reservation Bill # Women empowerment # Be the Change 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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