The Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, or Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, was passed in Sept 2023 by both Houses of Parliament with overwhelming support, with only two members voting against it.
During 2023 debate in Lok Sabha, NCP leader Supriya Sule had said:
"Nishikant Dubey said that INDIA is on the side of people who ran women down and spoke derogatorily...There was a Head of the BJP in Maharashtra. He told me personally on record on television -
"Supriya Sule ghar jaao, khana banao, desh koi aur chala lega. Hum log chalayenge."
The Bill was first introduced in 1996 during the UF regime. As many as attempts have been made to pass it but have been unsuccessful.
It was passed on Sept 20, 2023 during the Modi 2.0 stint and was billed as a key achievement by the BJP for 2024 parliamentary elections.
Implementation:
The act provides 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies but is linked to the next delimitation exercise following the upcoming Census.
The BJP and the Modi government are now seeking to fast-track the implementation for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
An extended Parliament session has been convened for April 16-18, 2026, to address necessary amendments.
The act provides 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies and is linked to the next delimitation exercise following the upcoming Census.
In the 1990s, when the Women's Reservation Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha, it was snatched and torn apart on the floor of the house, with reports identifying RJD MP Surendra Prakash Yadav as having done so.
2010: During UPA tenure, Samajwadi Party (SP) and RJD members engaged in intense protests against the bill, with members rushing towards the speaker's podium, leading to disruptions and adjournments.
The bill lapsed several times over 27 years due to a lack of consensus and opposition from specific parties like RJD and SP.
An official booklet circulated some years ago by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said
"it is an accepted fact that without being proportionately present in the political
system", a group or women's ability to influence policy making is rather "limited".
This brings us to the debate on the need for the Women Reservation Bill. At the global stage, equal participation of women and men in public life was one of the cornerstones of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 1979.
India is a signatory to the convention.
About 20 years back and more; this issue used to be discussed and debated even at international levels. Initially, a smaller number of seats were reserved in some countries but this did not help.
Thus, it was thought to be increased.
Surveys had revealed that women constitute more than 50 percent of the population in most countries but worldwide they held only less than 16 percent of the parliamentary seats.
Here to cite instances, in Uganda, 56 seats - one elected in each district was introduced.
In Tanzania, 20 percent of the seats were reserved for women. In some countries, also a different methodology was adopted.
Reserved seats could be easily filled by appointment as in Kenya and even some Arab countries.
In general arguments pushed for encouraging some reservations across the globe included --
* women experience is needed in political life
** Only women (inadequate numbers) can represent the diversity of women
*** How could it be held right that women occupy less than 16 or 18 percent
of the parliamentary seats in the world; but men could occupy 80 percent and above
**** For voters the choice is 'expanded' because now they can vote for women; and at the same time political parties can come out of the tendency to nominate only men.
Most encouraging factors have been the outcome of introducing gender quotas.
Some years back it was argued that a dramatic change had taken place in the global
ranking of countries.
After quota system, countries such as Rwanda, Costa Rica, Argentina, Mozambique and South Africa got 'placed' very high in the world league of the Inter Parliamentary Union.
Following this, five Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden which were at the top 'got challenged', this was claimed in 'Women, Quotas and Politics' by Drude Dahlerep.
Quotes from 2023 debate in Lok Sabha
Congress Parliamentary Chairperson Sonia Gandhi:
"The Indian woman has patience like the ocean. She has worked for everyone's betterment like a river…
....Any delay in implementing the women's reservation bill will be a gross injustice to Indian women."
DMK MP Kanimozhi: "You call this bill 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam'. Stop saluting us. We don't want to be saluted, we don't want to be put on pedestals, we do not want to be worshipped, stop calling us your mothers, wives, sisters... we want to be respected as equals."
Vajpayee famously stated that "women hold up half the sky"
Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said -- “When women hold half the sky so why should they not have one-third of the political ground ?
This means their enormous love and respect towards women. During his tenure several initiatives were taken to empower women and improve their status in society.
The National Policy for the Empowerment of Women:
On March 20, 2001, the Government of India adopted the National Policy for Women’s Empowerment, with the goal of advancing, developing, and empowering women, as well as eradicating all types of discrimination against women.
Ends
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