Women Reservation bill also known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam bill, 2023 is passed by parliament subject to two conditions- delimitation and quota within quota.
Twenty seven years ago, this bill was raised in the lower house of the Parliament
(LOK SABHA) and passed it on 20th September, 2023. Thereafter on 21st September, 2023, the upper house of Parliament (RAJYA SABHA) has passed the said bill unanimously. This bill proposes to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha, the state legislatures and the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
This is the one hundred and twenty-eight amendment bill of the Constitution of India and was introduced by Union Law Minister Mr. Arjun Ram Meghwal in the upper house. This bill seeks to introduce 33% of the reservation for women in the lower house of the Parliament, state legislatures and Delhi Legislative assembly. However this is proposed to be enforced only after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken as till now there is a data based on first consensus only, so only after a fresh consensus is undertaken the reservation will be enforced.
Delimitation literally means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body.
Also, it is pertinent to note herein that another issue was flagged which is a second subjection that inclusion of women belonging to Other Backward classes (OBCs) should also be there in the provision for horizontal reservation in the proposed amendment. Several members demanded that a certain proportion of seats within the women’s quota be reserved for women from minority communities as well. This is quota within quota.
PERSONAL ANALYSIS AND OPINION
India is embarking a journey on women empowerment which is truly appreciated in its correct sense, however, I still have few points to raise:
1. Is 33% reservation enough for women in this country wherein atleast 50% population is of females in this country.
“In India, the world’s largest democracy of 1.4 billion people, women make up nearly half of the country’s 950 million registered voters but only 15% of lawmakers in parliament and 10% in state assemblies.”
(CNN WORLD- https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/21/india/india-women-parliament-bill-intl-hnk/index.html).
Be it mission Chandryaan- 1,2 and 3 or Mission Mangal, women have time and again proved their efficiency and loyalty towards this Nation.
2. Delaying of women reservation bill on the grounds of delimitation and quota within quota is not justified as it will take nearly next 10 years to enforce this bill.
“The implementation of the quota could take years as it depends on the redrawing of electoral constituencies, which will only happen after the completion of India’s once-in-a-decade census.”
(CNN WORLD- https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/21/india/india-women-parliament-bill-intl-hnk/index.html).
In my opinion the Bill should be passed with immediate effect and enforcement, as it has been delayed a lot. When demonetization can happen over night, this bill which is benefitting the citizens of this country as well as the efficiency in Parliament, shall be enforced with immediate effect. Meanwhile, Consensus can be done over the years and quota within quota issue be resolved simultaneously. Delaying the enforcement of the bill over these two subjections will not make any difference. Already, India is a patriarchal society, and with the immediate effect of this bill, our nation can get new perspectives to grow.
