Political Science Project
Towards Equality: Women’s Reservation Bill
DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, HARYANA
Submitted By: Submitted
To:
Suhana Negi Ms. Shubhanginee Singh
2201105 (Assistant Professor)
Towards Equality: Women’s Reservation Bill
Acknowledgments
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to Ms. Shubhanginee Singh for her able
guidance and support in completing this project. I thank her for providing me with an
opportunity to research on this topic and work on this project, increasing my knowledge
regarding the topic.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Honorable Vice-Chancellor Ma’am, Prof. (Dr.)
Archana Mishra, for providing me with all the requisite facilities to complete this project.
I finally extend my thanks towards my family and friends for helping and supporting me in the
completion of this project. Their help and support have made this project all the more significant.
The issue that I have taken up in this project assignment is of immense importance to the women
in specific and the nation in general. It touches upon a dimension of the political concept of
Equality i.e., Political Equality.
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Towards Equality: Women’s Reservation Bill
Contents
S. No. Title Pg. No.
1. Introduction 4.
2. Women’s Representation Bill 5.
3. Provisions of the Bill 6.
4. Opposition to the Bill 7.
5. Need for the Reservation 8.
6. Lessons from the World 9.
7. Conclusion 10.
8. Bibliography 11.
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Towards Equality: Women’s Reservation Bill
Introduction
Equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within a specific society have equal rights,
liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal
access to certain public goods and social services. 1 Political equality generally refers to the
equality of people’s voice in politics, their representation in decision-making bodies, equality to
vote, equality to run for office, and equality of political influence.
Today, the equal right to participate in politics is seen as self-evident, however, in practice many
inequalities still exist. One such issue is of women’s representation in the political sphere. In a
country where half of the voters are women and policies are designed to benefit both men and
women, they are entitled to equal representation in the governing and policy-making processes.
However, in practice, women are severely underrepresented in decision-making positions in all
three pillars of democracy- Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. Does a section that forms
roughly half of the country’s population deserve such little say in its decisions? The answer is
no. Yet the problem persists and the solution lies in changes in the legal as well as socio-political
set-up of the country.
The constitution provides for affirmative action to redress social inequalities. Even today we
have only 8% women in parliament. The reason for this is not the lack of able women, rather
they have been actively been kept out of the political arena by vested interests.
The Women's Reservation Bill has been framed keeping in mind this need of the women to
participate in politics.
1
“Social Equality,” Wikimedia Foundation, last modified 23 October 2022, at 19:26 (UTC),
[Link]
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Towards Equality: Women’s Reservation Bill
Women’s Reservation Bill
The Women's Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 9 th March, 2010, is
a pending bill in the Parliament of India which proposes to amend the Constitution of India to
reserve 1/3 of all seats in the lower house of Parliament of India, the Lok Sabha, and in all
state legislative assemblies for women.2
It seeks to promote women’s participation in the formal political sphere by reserving 33% seats
for women in legislative bodies at both state and central level. The bill, however, has not yet
been passed in the lower house to which it allocates seats to women via reservation and is
therefore, a matter of concern.
The women’s reservation bill has had a difficult history. It was first introduced in the Parliament
in 1996 and several times after that – in 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2008. The most recent version of
the bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010. Since then, this Bill has been lost somewhere
in the official pages, whose need was not felt in the male-dominated politics of India.
The original bill for Women Reservation was introduced on September 12, 1996 under the
leadership of Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. The bill lapsed soon after the house dissolved.
However, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by Congress brought the bill
again in 2008 which was passed by Rajya Sabha on March 9, 2010.
Since then, more than a decade has passed, but this Bill has not emerged from the manifestos
and election promises of political parties to become a law. The year 2021 marked 25 years of
the women reservation bill being proposed but not being passed.
2
“Women’s Reservation Bill,” Wikimedia Foundation, last modified on 1 August 2022, at 22:50 (UTC),
[Link]
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Towards Equality: Women’s Reservation Bill
Provisions of the Bill
The long-pending Women's Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill aims
at providing reservation for women in the legislature.
The Bill proposes the following:
Reservation of one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative
assemblies.
Reservation of one-third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC)
and Scheduled Tribes (ST) for women of those groups in the Lok Sabha and the state
legislative assemblies.
Allocation of reserved seats by rotation to different constituencies in the state or union
territory.
Cessation of the reservation bill after 15 years of its commencement
The bill proposes a rotational basis for allocation of reserved seats for women which means that
different constituencies in a state or union territory will have this reservation every general
election. The seats would be determined by a draw of lots in such a way that a seat would only
be reserved once in every three consecutive general elections.
The bill also calls for cessation of reservation after 15 years of its commencement. Whether or
not the bill will have served its purpose of ensuring women’s representation in politics of the
country is yet another issue.
Some provisions of the bill are debatable with errors as well as omissions. Nevertheless, its aim
is to provide women a chance at political representation which is also the need of the hour.
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Towards Equality: Women’s Reservation Bill
Opposition to the Bill
The opponents of the reservation bill believe that reservation may not provide a trickle-down
effect as it will not remove the dominant patriarchal system from its root. The Bill, as many
leaders believed, would only help the upliftment of the upper class of women, and leave the
marginalized section far behind. This argument is based on the apprehension that only
economically advanced women would be elected to parliament. Women of OBC/SC/ST
background would be totally ignored.
Critics of the bill also argue that it will continue to perpetuate inequality towards women as
they’d not be seen as competing on merit as quotas available for women in local self-government
institutions are not considered on merit and not much has been changed in policymaking on the
ground.
Many regional parties like Lalu Prasad Yadav led Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and Mulayam
Singh Yadav led Samajwadi Party (SP) put the hypothesis of quota within quota in their
opposition to the bill in the original form. They contended that they were not against the
reservation, per se, but stand with the view of providing an opportunity to reservation for Muslim
women, OBC and Dalit women
Many regional parties in the states by fielding more women representatives as candidates, field
workers etc. have performed well. This includes parties like Trinamool Congress (TMC), Biju
Janta Dal (BJD), YSR-Congress. However, the same model is not replicated by major national
parties.
One of the oppositions to this bill was also that it would limit voter’s choices because only
women candidates would be fielded on reserved seats.
The opposition to this bill has been so stiff that some parliamentarians who have attempted to
introduce the Bill have been heckled and attempts have been made to snatch the bill from their
hands and tear it into pieces.
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Towards Equality: Women’s Reservation Bill
Need For the Bill
The need for the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill and its further enactment as a law is
immense. Representation of women in the formal political sphere is important to reduce the
prevailing gender inequality in leadership and law-making forces. It will bring forth the much
needed ‘voice’ of women of the country to the political arena.
Women’s Representation in legislature will also lead to the elimination of the structural biases
from the system which is dominated by male leaders since the independence of the country. The
structural biases are many, ranging from caste and creed to religion, sex and beyond.
Financial independence and greater employment for women can be generated if more women
representative get elected to power. Political power itself translates to social upliftment for
women in the society. More representation of women will also lead to the accommodation of
female-specific needs in the country
Perhaps the best example to illustrate the need and importance of Women’s Reservation in the
Parliament and state legislative assemblies is that of the 73rd and 74th amendments which
provided for the reservation of seats for women in the local bodies of Panchayats and
municipalities. The 33% reservation of women in Panchayats has put real issues on the agenda at
the grass-roots. This made development far more organic than a top-down approach ever could.
Data shows that women legislators are less likely to have a criminal record than their male
counterparts and can improve the economic performance of their constituencies by 1.8% every
year.
Thus, in addition to the fact that there is no way that women, in general, can be termed as
unqualified to contest elections, they are also more competent when it comes to results of
governance, policy-making as well as implementation.
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Towards Equality: Women’s Reservation Bill
Lessons from the World
The issue of women’s reservation has been accounted for in several countries around the world.
Women’s seats are reserved in countries such as France, Sweden, Argentina, Korea, New
Zealand, Germany, and South Africa.
Female leaders like New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, US Vice President Kamala
Harris, Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin, and many others have changed the world for the
better, proving that reservation in politics benefited their respective countries.
Women are moving in the direction of near equal political participation in only a handful of
countries- Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. In India also the need exists for
special consideration of women's representation in order to move closer to closing the gender
gap.
India has been ranked at 135 out of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index, 2022.
Although in the said report’s key dimension of Political Empowerment, India has a decent rank
of 48 out of 146 countries, its score is quite low at 0.267.
This shows that progress is being made but there is a long way to go.
As for the entire globe, the report said,
In 2022, the global gender gap has been closed by 68.1%. At the current rate of progress, it will
take 132 years to reach full parity.3
The situation is alarming, but it is not too late to make amends and move towards a more equal
world.
3
World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2022,
[Link]
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Towards Equality: Women’s Reservation Bill
Conclusion
There cannot be true democracy unless women’s voices are heard. There cannot be true
democracy unless women are given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own
lives. There cannot be true democracy unless all citizens are able to participate fully in the
lives of their country. – Hillary
Clinton
Women have made major breakthroughs in various male-dominated professions. They have
broken the proverbial glass-ceiling and are continuously striving towards meeting all standards
set by society, but without an equal say in the decision-making forums, especially in the formal
political set-up, little can be achieved.
Representation in the legislature and ability to influence policy decision of the government can
bring about some change in the dismal condition of women even after 75 odd years of
independence. Political Representation will strengthen women socially as well as economically.
It will toll the bell of social change where the Indian society will move towards greater equality
of opportunity as well as outcomes.
That the bill has not yet seen the light of the day is a matter of great concern for the country. It
not only brings to light the vested interests and agendas of political parties, but also gives us a
chance to retrospect the need for reform in the societal mindset and political environment of the
country.
The proposed reservation for women in the parliament is the need of the hour. Our democracy
will remain seriously flawed if it fails to yield adequate space to women.
Thus, the Women’s Reservation Bill should be taken seriously and enacted as a law for the better
of the country.
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Bibliography
Civil Service India. “Women’s Reservation Bill, a Forgotten Issue.” Accessed October 18, 2022.
[Link]
[Link].
News Click. “75 Years of Independence: 50% Reservation for Women in Politics Still a Far
Cry.” Accessed October 18, 2022. [Link]
reservation-women-politics-still-far-cry.
The Print. “India needs more women leaders. Policy-making cannot be dominated by one
gender.” Accessed October 20, 2022. [Link]
leaders-policy-making-cannot-be-dominated-by-one-gender/1086239/.
PRS India. “Women’s Reservation Bill [The Constitution (108 th Amendment) Bill, 2008].”
Accessed October 22, 2022. [Link]
constitution-108th-amendment-bill-2008-45.
DrishtiIAS. “Women’s Reservation Bill.” Accessed October 22, 2022.
[Link]
KnowLaw. “Women Reservation Bill- A Buried Thought?” Accessed October 23, 2022.
[Link]
Wikipedia. “Women’s Reservation Bill.” Accessed October 23, 2022.
[Link]
SheThePeople. “Women Reservation Bill: 25 Years on And Still Pending, why?” Accessed
October 25, 2022. [Link]
reservation-bill/.
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