WOMEN'S RESERVATION BILL
ABSTRACT
“Achieving the goal of equal participation of women and men in decision making will provide a balance that more accurately reflects the composition of society and is needed in order to strengthen democracy and promote its proper functioning. Without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women’s perspective at all levels of decision making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved.”
The purpose of this research is to bring an understanding of empowerment and how far it is achievable through reservation, and to explore the relationship between women’s political participation and representation. We will also look after the experiences of Reservation for Women in Panchayati Raj. Then we will look into the criticism and arguments against the women's reservation bill.
Do you think women reservation in parliament will help in political empowerment of women and make Indian society gender equal?
KEYWORDS
Reservation bill, Empowerment, Women, Political Participation, Legislation, Parliament
INTRODUCTION
I firmly believe that women should be brought forward so that they can be empowered in a really good manner.
The women's reservation bill was introduced almost 25 years ago seeking amendment in the Indian constitution to secure 33% reservation for women in parliament and state legislatures, however no progress has occurred in this domain. The women reservation bill will bring in empowerment of women, more political opportunities, status of women will increase, women issues will be addressed effectively, level playing field for women
HISTORY OF WOMEN RESERVATION BILL-
WOMEN'S RESERVATION BILL!
TWO DECADES AND STILL PENDING
20 years after it was first introduced on Sept 12, 1996, the constitutional amendment bill to reserve 33% seats for women in Lok Sabha and State Legislatures is still a work in progress.
A look at the major milestones of Women's Reservation Bill
Introduced in the lok sabha by the Deve Gowda government on Sept 12, 1996.
Referred to a Joint Parliament Committee chaired by Geeta Mukherjee, which presented its report to the Lok Sabha on dec 9, 1996. The bill lapsed with the term of the 11th lok sabha.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee– led NDA government re-introduced the bill in the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999. It moved the bill a second time amid pandemonium in 2002, but failed and the bill lapsed with the tenure of the House.
In 2004, the new UPA(united progressive alliance) government included the passing of the Bill as part of its Common Minimum Programme, the touchstone of the UPA coalition working with the outside support of the Left parties.
On Mat 6, 2008, a resolute Manmohan Singh– led UPA government introduced the legislation in the Rajya Sabha.
Women’s Reservation Bill(108th CAB) Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha in 2010 but the bill lapsed in Lok Sabha in 2014. The Lok Sabha never voted on the Bill.
It proposed to amend the Constitution of India to reserve ⅓ of all seats in the lower house of Parliament of India and in all state legislative assemblies for women.
The seats were proposed to be reserved in rotation and would have been determined by draw of lots in such a way that a seat would be reserved only once in three consecutive general elections.
NEED FOR RESERVATION
The proponents of the policy of the reservation state that although equality of sexes is enshrined in the constitution, it is not the reality.
Studies about the effect of reservation for women in panchayats show that women elected invest more in public goods closely linked to women's concern.
Women's representation perceive an enhancement in their self esteem, confidence and decision making ability.
The observation Parliament numbers
In the first election which was held in 1952 there were only around 21 womens who were there in parliament and in 2019 only around 78 womens were there in parliament which is approximately 14% only. But the sad reality is that these numbers are only of the parliament, in state legislatures numbers are even less than this.
Even though in states where women votes are almost 50% there women representation in parliament is very low.
NOW THE QUESTION ARISES WHY THERE IS LOW REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN?
Reasons being-
Political parties across the board are generally reluctant to field women candidates.
Patriarchy and male dominance
Women candidates are considered as weak and risky bet
Even if the ticket is given, its for unwinnable constituencies
Freebies for women but no ticket.
EXPERIENCES OF RESERVATION FOR WOMEN IN PANCHAYATI RAJ
With the introduction of reservation or quota system in the Panchayati Raj institutions, a great beginning has been made in the direction of legislative empowerment of women.
It is hoped that along with women’s empowerment through collective voicing and participation in the development stream, it should go a long way in the real empowerment of women.
This success is the justification for further reservations for women in Parliament and state legislatures.
WOMEN RESERVATION- YES OR NO
YES NO
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| 2. Will the Panchayat Pati template spread further? |
| 3. Will Rotation Of Reserved seats reduce the Incentive to work for constituency? |
| 4. Will it restrict choice of matters? |
CRITICISM
The quotas that are available in the local self government are not meritocratic.
It is not useful and proved to be efficient.
Womens in politics are simply representatives of men who would have been in politics that means the wives, daughters of the male proxy.
Lower voter turnout.
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF WOMEN'S RESERVATIONS BILL
Separate constituencies for women would not only narrow their outlook but lead to perpetuation of unequal status because they would be seen as not competing on merits.
Reservation would not lead to political empowerment of women because larger issues of electoral reforms like criminalization of politics, influence of black money, internal democracy of political parties, etc have not been addressed and it could lead to election of proxies or relatives of female candidates.
The introduction of the bill will contribute to gender equality in Parliament and will have an impact on women’s empowerment as a whole.
Parliamentary leadership will be good because of women’s managerial skills.
Including a vote of women for at least one term in each district over the 15 years is a major step towards a growing gender gap.
CONCLUSION
The Women’s Reservation Bill trajectory in India was characterized by a high war drama with phrases repeated many points over and over without agreement. As a consequence, women’s empowerment has lost the whole problem. No doubt, the Bill of Reservation was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation ever presented in any house of the Indian Parliament.
Men should also make room for women in the decision making process without any prejudice, apart from all of these, the key issues related to the policy of reservation must also be discussed with dispassion.Women’s political empowerment is seen as an effective and necessary weapon to eradicate gender inequality and discrimination.
Improved women’s political participation will help them fight the violence, inequality, and disparities they face. Women’s organizations need to be constructive and put pressure on the government to implement the Bill.
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