RESERVING EQUALITY: AN ANALYSIS OF THE WOMEN RESERVATION BILL 2023

1. ABSTRACT

Gender-deficient democracy stems from various obstacles and limitations that hinder women’s participation in the electoral process. The enactment of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (NSVA) 2023 (128th Constitutional Amendment Bill), also known as the Women Reservation Act, 2023, assures women’s reservation in Parliament.

In India, Indian women have embarked on a period of enhanced representation and agenda-setting influence on a national scale. Opposition to the enactment of the Women’s Reservation Bill for over 37 years has resulted in significant injustice to female representatives and to the nation’s democratic process. In spite of pledging commitments in their manifestos to ensure seat reservations for women, many political parties tend to avoid offering seats to female candidates. In this scenario of gender imbalance in democracy, it is crucial to improve women’s ability to run for elections for state and union territory legislative assemblies as well as the national assembly.

2. INTRODUCTION

The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, allocates one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, including seats reserved for SCs and STs.

The reservation will be valid following the release of the census carried out after the Act’s initiation and lasts for a 15-year duration, with possible extension based on parliamentary measures. The distribution of seats reserved for women will be regulated by parliamentary laws following each delimitation process. At present, approximately 15% of the overall members of the 17th Lok Sabha (2019-2024) are women, whereas in state legislative assemblies, women make up an average of 9% of the total members.

27 years after it was first introduced in parliament, the Women’s Reservation Bill was finally approved by the Lok Sabha on September 20, 2023. The Bill has received unanimous approval from both Houses of Parliament.This implies that women’s lives could be improved and their involvement in public affairs increased by the Bill.According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2023, India has made strides toward gender parity in school enrollment; nevertheless, with only 36.7%, female equality in economic participation and opportunity remains a long way off. This is made worse by the disparity in health and survival, as India is rated low at 142 out of 146 nations. In addition, India continues to receive low marks for political empowerment.

In light of this, the Women’s Reservation Bill’s passing is crucial, particularly in light of the fact that women have never before represented more than 15% of the electorate in India.

3. THE WOMEN’S RESERVATION POLICY’S HISTORICAL CONTEXT

When a constituent assembly was called in December 1946 to establish the nation’s constitution, the discussion of women’s reservations in Parliament began. The Constitution’s writing committee was presided over by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Only fifteen of the 299 members of this constituent assembly were female, including prominent individuals like Sarojini Naidu, Sucheta Kriplani, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, and Ammu Swaminathan. However, the female members of the Constituent Assembly opposed the debate on women’s reservation rights. It was not that these women believed that women were not fit to be politicians. In fact, their argument was that women did not need any special consideration in the Indian Political System. They felt that such actions would undercut the equal representation principle, compromise merit, and possibly deny women fair consideration for general seats. These ladies believed that equitable representation for both sexes would be ensured by the democratic process.

In September 1996, the Deve Gowda-led United Front government introduced the Women’s Reservation Bill as the 81st Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha. Despite being introduced multiple times in Parliament, the bill was never considered or put to a vote. On the grounds of what they refer to as “lack of political consensus,” successive governments had delayed it. After 27 years of arduous labor and dedication by the women’s rights movement, India’s election as G20 president and its use of the phrase “women-led development” have finally resulted in a historic victory in the Indian parliament. This paves the path for our ongoing fight for political equality (Jain, 2000).

Geeta Mukherjee (8 January 1924–4 March 2000) was a seasoned social worker and political activist who served as an MLA from the Panskura Purba constituency in West Bengal four times, from 1967 to 1977. She was elected seven times as a member of parliament from the From 1980 to 2000, the Panskura constituency spearheaded the call for a one-third reservation for women in Indian parliamentary elections. Additionally, she served as the chair of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), which reviewed the 1996 Bill and offered seven recommendations.

The bill could not have been passed because the government at the time lacked a majority.

Previous Efforts to Reserve Women’s Seats:

1996: First Women Reservation Bill was introduced in the Parliament.

1998 – 2003: The government tabled the Bill on 4 occasions but failed.

2009: The government tabled the bill amid protests.

2010: The Union Cabinet passed the Bill and Rajya Sabha passed it.

2014: The Bill was expected to be tabled in Lok Sabha which did not happen.

The UPA II, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, passed the bill in the Rajya Sabha in 2010 in response to these policy suggestions and pressure from women’s welfare organizations, however the measure was never approved by the Lok Sabha. In 2014, the bill ultimately expired. In the meantime, the 2015 Report on the Status of Women in India reaffirmed the need for legislative seats to be reserved for women.

The Nari Shakti Vanadan Adhiniyam bill was finally introduced in the Lok Sabha during a special session of Parliament on September 19, 2023, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government (second term).

An important turning point in the fight for gender equality in independent India was reached when the Act was overwhelmingly approved by both chambers of Parliament and signed into law.

4. NAARI SHAKTI VANDAN ADHINIYAM

The NAARI SHAKTI VANDAN ADHINIYAM was the inaugural bill presented in the new parliament building amid India’s Amrit Kaal. The legislation intends to allocate seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. It aims to assign, as closely as possible, one-third of all positions for women in the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. One-third of these positions will be allocated for women within the current SC and ST quotas in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. The Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023, was unanimously approved by both houses of parliament

The enactment of this significant legislation can be viewed as a pivotal advancement in supporting women’s entitlement to political involvement, ensuring that female representatives are answerable to the general female populace and promoting gender parity in India.

Here are several key provisions of the Naari Shakti Vanadan Adhiniyam:

4.1 Reservation for Women in the Lok Sabha

The 106th Constitutional Amendment Act facilitates the allocation of seats for women in the
the Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament. It adds Article 330A to the constitution, which draws from the provisions of Article 330, ensuring the allocation of seats for SCs/STs in the Lok Sabha. Consequently, one-third of the seats will be allocated for women from the SC/ST community as a part of SC/ST reservation
quotas.

Of the overall seats to be filled through direct elections to the Lok Sabha, one-third will be set aside for female representatives (including the count of seats allocated for women from the SC/ST community).

4.2 Reservation for women in State Legislative Assemblies

The legislation allows for the allocation of seats for women in the state legislative assemblies. It places Article 332A  into the constitution, drawing from the stipulations of Article 332, which establish the reservation of seats for SCs/STs in legislative bodies. Hence, a third of the seats will be set aside for women from the SC/ST community allocated within the SC/ST reservation quotas. From the overall available seats to be filled through direct elections to the Lok Sabha, one-third will be allocated for female representatives (including
the count of seats allocated for women from the SC/ST community).

4.3 Reservation for women in Delhi’s NCT

In order to reserve seats for women in the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, the legislation modifies Article 239 AA of the constitution, clause (2) (b), and adds clause (ba). A third of the seats in the SC/ST reservation quotas are reserved for women from the SC/ST community thanks to the addition of (bb). It also adds (bc), which states that a third of the seats in the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, which will be filled by direct elections, will be set aside for women, including the number of seats designated for women from Scheduled Castes.

4.4 Reservation Start Date (New Article: 334A)

Article 334A (1) of the 106th Constitution Amendment Act declares that the clauses pertaining to the reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha, state legislatures, and the legislative assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi will begin operations after a delimitation proces. This procedure will be carried out following the publication of the pertinent data from the first census performed subsequent to the 106th amendment Act of 2023. For 15 years, the reserve will remain in effect.

Article 334A (2): Nonetheless, the reserve will remain in effect until a date specified by legislation passed by Parliament, subject to sections 239A, 330A, and 332A.

According to a law passed by Parliament, Article 334 A(3) allows for the rotation of seats designated for women following each delimitation process to ensure that every group in states or Union Territories has an equal opportunity at ascriptive (gender-based) representation.

5. SUPPORTIVE ARGUMENTS FOR WOMEN’S RESERVATION IN PARLIAMENT

Political parties areintrinsically patriarchal, so it is necessary to take positive measures in the form of reservations to ensure a fair representation of women in parliament. It is believed that increased representation of women in parliament will ensure that women’s issues are discussed more effectively. Even today, women in India are behind men in various respects. According to the Global Gender Gap 2023, India ranks 127th out of 146 countries. At the rate provided in the report, It will take another 162 years to close the gendergap in political empowerment.Political empowerment achieved only slight gains compared to previousyears,with women representing approximately15% of parliamentarians. In today’s times,women in panchayat leadership positions are regarded as rubber stamps, although they make a great difference in many respects.They were more accessible,largely controlled alcohol problems, invested in public goods, and limited corruption. It was also argued that we needed more women in the decision-making role to address the pressing problems of increased crimes against women,a gender imbalance in many regions of the country,and low nutrition.

6. ARGUMENTS OPPOSING WOMEN’S RESERVATION IN PARLIAMENT

Some individuals strongly oppose the women’s reservation bill, presenting the following points:

Granting reservations to women contradicts the constitutional principle of equality. Unlike caste groups, women do not constitute a uniform group, so women’s reservation cannot be equated with caste-based reservations. It is argued that reserving seats for women in Parliament could limit voters’ options to only female candidates.

This concern has prompted alternative proposals for women’s reservation, such as reserving seats within political parties or creating dual-member constituencies where each constituency elects two MPs, one of whom must be a woman. However, these alternatives might have negative consequences, as political parties could nominate women candidates in seats where they have little chance of winning, or women may fail to secure victories in the seats they contest. Some groups also contend that this measure could undermine what is regarded as the ‘ideal family’ structure.

7. CONCLUSION

The Women’s Reservation Act of 2023 marks a significant advancement in enhancing women’s political representation in India by reserving one-third of the seats in both the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. This forward-thinking legislation goes beyond mere legal reform; it serves as a strong declaration in the ongoing struggle against gender inequality. By guaranteeing women a dedicated presence in legislative bodies, we are addressing past injustices and strengthening our democracy with a wider range of perspectives and experiences. The immediate priority now is to implement this Act promptly and effectively, avoiding any unnecessary delays that could diminish its effectiveness.

It is essential to cultivate a political environment where women can thrive as leaders and decision-makers on equal terms with men. At the same time, it is important to recognize that reservations should be seen as temporary measures designed to create a fairer setting, enabling women to contribute meaningfully to policymaking. As more women enter the political arena, attention will naturally turn to issues that affect women, encouraging solutions tailored to their specific needs. This change has the potential to bring fresh and innovative approaches to the many challenges our country faces, resulting in transformative and gender-sensitive outcomes. Furthermore, increasing women’s representation is not only beneficial for the present but also sets the stage for future generations of capable and dynamic leaders, helping to close the gender gap and enrich society as a whole.