The Union Government tabled the historic Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha soon after leaders entered the new Parliament on Tuesday. The bill was introduced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on the second day of the ongoing Special Session of Parliament. The government has also renamed the bill as 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam'. The bill was the first to be introduced in the new Parliament building during the ongoing special Parliament session.
The bill calls for reserving 33 per cent of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The government took a step to revive a bill pending for 27 years and blending history, politics and societal imperatives on the first day in the new Parliament building. The Women's Reservation Bill will come into effect only after a delimitation exercise is completed and is therefore unlikely to be in force during the next Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
The history of women's representation in the Lok Sabha shows that the percentage remained around 5 until the 1970s, and it was only in 2009 that it could reach a double-digit figure. Since 1951, women have had a significantly lower representation in the Rajya Sabha than in the Lok Sabha, and they have not yet reached 13 per cent of the total number of members. The highest proportion of women representatives elected to Lok Sabha so far was in the 2019 elections, with nearly 15 per cent of total membership, while the highest proportion of women representatives to Rajya Sabha stood at 12.7 per cent in 2014.
Women's representation in Lok Sabha over the years:
- 1951: 5 per cent
- 1957: 5 per cent
- 1962: 6 per cent
- 1967: 6 per cent
- 1971: 5 per cent
- 1977: 4 per cent
- 1980: 5 per cent
- 1984: 8 per cent
- 1989: 6 per cent
- 1991: 7 per cent
- 1996: 7 per cent
- 1998: 8 per cent
- 1999: 9 per cent
- 2004: 8 per cent
- 2009: 11 per cent
- 2014: 12 per cent
- 2019: 15 per cent
Women's representation in Rajya Sabha over the years:
- 1952: 6.9 per cent
- 1954: 7.8 per cent
- 1956: 8.6 per cent
- 1958: 9.5 per cent
- 1960: 10.2 per cent
- 1962: 7.2 per cent
- 1964: 8.9 per cent
- 1966: 9.8 per cent
- 1968: 9.6 per cent
- 1970: 5.8 per cent
- 1972: 7.4 per cent
- 1974: 7.5 per cent
- 1976: 10.1 per cent
- 1978: 10.2 per cent
- 1980: 12 per cent
- 1982: 10.1 per cent
- 1984: 10.3 per cent
- 1986: 11.5 per cent
- 1988: 10.6 per cent
- 1990: 10.3 per cent
- 1992: 7.2 per cent
- 1994: 8.3 per cent
- 1996: 7.8 per cent
- 1998: 7.7 per cent
- 2000: 9 per cent
- 2002: 10.2 per cent
- 2004: 11.4 per cent
- 2006: 10.2 per cent
- 2008: 9.8 per cent
- 2010: 11 per cent
- 2012: 10.6 per cent
- 2014: 12.7 per cent
- 2016: 11 per cent
- 2018: 11.4 per cent
- 2020: 10.2 per cent
Benefits of the bill
On Tuesday, the government said the women's reservation bill is aimed at enabling greater participation of women in policy-making at state and national levels. The reservation will come into effect after a delimitation exercise is undertaken and will continue for 15 years. Seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation exercise, according to the bill.
Key changes in the bill
- 181 seats in Lok Sabha will be reserved for women now.
- 33 per cent of 84 seats for Scheduled Castes in Lok Sabha will be reserved for women now.
- 33 per cent of 47 seats for Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Lok Sabha will be reserved for women now.
- 33 per cent of constituencies in all state assemblies will be reserved for women now.
- Rotation of seats reserved for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies to take place after each delimitation exercise.
ALSO READ: Women's Reservation Bill tabled in Parliament, 181 seats to be reserved in Lok Sabha | DETAILS
