Quotas and Quests: Evaluating the Promise of the Women’s Reservation Bill

This Blog is Written by Arihant Chatterjee, 3rd Year, BBA LLB, Sister Nivedita University, Kolkata.

Introduction 

The Women’s Reservation Bill or Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (128^th Amendment Bill) 2023, is a crucial piece of legislation that can make a difference in improving the political position of women in India. As per the Women’s Reservation Bill, women shall be provided with reservations in one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly seats. The Government of India has enacted the Women’s Reservation Bill (WRB) through the 106th amendment of the Indian Constitution on 19 September 2023. As per the bill, thirty-three percent of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies have been reserved for women.

Aims/ Objectives of the Bill

The key objectives of the bill can be listed as follows:

• To provide for 33% of reservation of seats for women in both Union Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies 
• To highlight the issue of gender discrimination in the process of political representation 
• To ensure gender equality in the public administration
• To reflect and promote women’s rights both in the state and national level in India

Key Provisions of the Bill

The Key Provisions of the bill includes:

• Reservation for Women: The Bill suggests provision of 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha, SLAs, and Legislative Assembly of National Capital Territory of Delhi. It shall also be for seats reserved for SCs and STs in Lok Sabha and states' assemblies.
• New Articles: Article 330A and Article 332A shall be added in the Constitution in connection with changes proposed in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies respectively. 
• Commencement: The Bill says that the reservation shall come into force after the Census carried out after the introduction of this Bill. On the basis of this delimitation of constituencies, seats shall be reserved for women for a period of 15 years. But it would remain until the date decided by an Act made by Parliament. 
• Rotation of Seats: Rotation of the seats reserved for women shall be done after every delimitation according to the law made by Parliament.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Bill

The key advantages are listed as follows:

• Political empowerment of women: This is rightly considered as a very important tool for eradicating gender discrimination. 
• Gender equality: Can be achieved through higher representation of women in the Parliament or State assemblies. 
• Developing society: Experience of women as a leader in their family environment will benefit society. 
• Women leadership: In 2001, a research study was conducted regarding the effect of women leaders on policy making process in the state of West Bengal; it was concluded that women prefer investments in areas which are useful for rural women, such as water and fuel etc.
• Electoral benefit: Nominating women belonging to the minority community will give a definite electoral edge. 
• Dual member constituencies: Does not reduce the voter's democratic right Does not marginalize any male candidate Could make it easier for members to build up constituencies having 2.5 million voters on an average basis.

The key disadvantages are listed as follows:

• Proxy:  Women will be acting as dummies and work as proxies for their husbands and other relatives who are politically influential, and they will continue to operate behind the scenes. 
• Delays: Since the linking of the Bill with delimitation exercise means that there will be considerable time lag and the quota may take effect even before the Lok Sabha Elections in the year 2029. The process of conducting the 2021 census has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Issue of internal reservation:  It has been suggested that the reservation for women needs to be extended for OBCs since they form about 40% of the population of India, as proposed by the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the bill of 1996. 
• Issue with seats reservation: The Bill does not give any clarity about how these reserved seats will be recognized and identified. Issue with rotation of constituencies– A report by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj suggests discontinuing the rotation of constituencies as about 85% of women were fresh faces while only 15% of women have won the elections twice as the reserved seats were rotated. 
• Merit: The segregated constituencies for women not only confine their outlook, but also help in ensuring that their subordinate status continues as they do not come out as competing for any positions based on merit. 
• Competency in Case of General Seats: When there are reservations for women, one does not face the necessity of taking into consideration the same in case of general seats irrespective of how competent they may be. 

Present Scenario and Achievements Made by the Bill

The Women's Reservation Bill represents progress toward improving women's position in India. This bill would reserve a minimum proportion (minimum) of one-third (33%) of the available seats in the Lok Sabha and other state legislatures for women and would increase women's participation in politics, where they are currently represented at an abysmally low level of less than 15%. If women are not adequately represented in legislative bodies, there could be a disconnect between issues important to women and the corresponding legislative action. Success Achieved:

• Political Participation: Today, women have achieved great success in taking up leadership roles globally. In India, women are granted 33% reservations through the Women's Reservation Bill,2023, in the Parliament and State Assemblies. 
• Education: The rate of literacy of women has risen along with a greater number of enrolments, for higher studies in different fields like IITs and STEM. 
• Legal Protections: There have been various policies in place at different times in order to protect the rights of women in the workplace. 
• Role in ensuring Gender-equality: The Women's Reservation Bill represents a move toward equal representation and inclusion of women and is the first step toward achieving equality between men and women, which will provide a framework for women to have their voices heard as equal stakeholders in the political process and to promote a more equitable and just society in which women's contributions are recognized and valued equally with men's. This bill is an important milestone on the journey to achieving full equality for women throughout India, wherever they need and are able to participate equally in all aspects of life.

 Conclusion

The passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill will be an important milestone in the process of attaining equality between men and women in Indian politics. It would enable women to participate in decision making in a major way by securing one-third seats in Parliament and state assemblies for women. Though the bill has been met with some opposition, its importance lies in the recognition of the need for increasing the number of women in positions of power.