The Women’s Reservation Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 6th May 2008 by the Law Minister Bharadwaj. The whole procedure was like a drama where the the Law minster had to be physically protected from the SP and RJD goons who threatened to tear up the bill before it could be introduced in the Parliament. This scenario aptly demonstrated the level of opposition to the women’s reservation bill by the caste based parties esp. the SP, RJD and the JD(U) who have been very vocal about their opposition to and criticism of the bill. The Bill has been introduced in the Parliament after a struggle of twelve years (it was first proposed by the Deva Gowda government way back in 1996, the Vajpayee government introduced it in 1998 and was dissolved leading to the termination of the Bill in Parliament.)
Provisions of the Bill:
The Bill provides for 33% reservation for women in the State Legislatures as well as the Lok Sabha.. The seats will be reserved in rotation, each seat can be reserved only once in three consecutive elections.
Do women need reservation in Parliament?
Definitely. At present out of the 543 seats in Lok Sabha only 33 seats are occupied by women. That is a measly 8%. In the Rajya Sabha, the figure is slightly higher at around 10%. For a group which represents 50% of the population the above figures are depressing and shatters the myth about women’s liberation and empowerment. As in all other fields women face discrimination here too, but overcoming the discrimination here is not as easy as in other fields because of the very nature of political parties. Also the society frowns upon women entering politics due to its feudal outlook. Yes, we have Jayalalithaa ,Mayawati and Sonia, but they are an exception rather than the rule.
Panchyati Raj institutions
From 1993 onwards one third of the seats in the Panchayati Raj Institutions have been reserved for women. This has led to greater representation of women at the level of villages and districts. It has been observed from the PRIs that female representatives lay greater emphasis on literacy and development programmes and have contributed to a better literacy rate. But I’m not going to stress on these factors because I believe efficiency is gender neutral. I believe women need to be given reservation not because they might be better than men, but because I see the reservation itself as an act of empowerment, a way to a more inclusive democracy which carries with it the aspirations of 500 million women. I do not believe that female leaders are going to be more corruption free or more efficient than our male politicians. But I am sure they will not make the situation worse than what it is right now!
Opposition to the Bill
The main opponents of the Bill are the SP, RJD and JD (U). Their main reasons for opposing the bill are as follows:
i) They want Provision of a sub-quota within the present system of women’s reservation for OBCs and Muslims as they feel that in the present system the upper caste women will corner all the seats.
ii) They fear the loss of constituency of the present male members.
Provision of sub-quota within the bill is constitutionally illegal as the constitution prohibits reservation on religious and caste grounds in the Parliament except for the SCs and STs for which it has made an exception. Hence conceding to the above demand will require an amendment of the constitution. But I feel the concerns of the caste based parties are dubious because these parties have never really encouraged female participation in their activities. That is the reason they fear the seats will be usurped by upper caste women, these parties have never actively encouraged women in their parties, they do not have any strong female leaders as the BJP, Left or the Cong., hence the fear that if seats are reserved for women they will automatically lose because they have not nurtured female leaders like the other parties. A sub-quota is actually unwarranted because the Parliament is already dominated by the OBC castes, there is no reason to demand separate quota for them within the women’s reservation bill. If these parties want to win the reserved seats, then they should work towards encouraging and nurturing women leaders within their own parties instead of demanding a free ride in the name of OBC reservation. Reservations for SC and ST candidates is already there and there is no need to club it along with the Women’s Reservation Bill. SC and ST women can be elected within the quota provided for SC and ST candidates as well as the general category within women's reservation.
The second concern is real. If seats are reserved for women on a rotation basis it means a certain percentage of men will be deprived of their posts as the number of seats is constant at 543. This means that a certain percentage of politicians will lose their seats and that is unacceptable to all the parties (that is the reason why the women’s bill has remained stagnant for so many years inspite of the support offered to it by the Cong., B.J.P and the Left. All of them are reluctant to give up power, but they don’t want to be seen as anti-women either. Hence they allow the disruptions by the RJD and the S.P. hoping that the stalemate will continue forever, without their active support). Several women’s organizations and the Parliament’s Joint Committee have proposed amendements to the Bill to overcome this problem.
They are:
Increasing the number of seats by adding 181 extra seats so that the total no. of seats goes up to 724. ( This addition is done as per the census of 2000, keeping in mind the increase in population from 1971 when the original figure of 543 was arrived at. This increase in seats will also be representative of the increase in population in the last 30 years).
These 181 seats will not remain constant but will be rotated after every election and these seats will also be dual member constituencies (these are single constituencies with two representatives, a man and a woman so that men are not deprived of their share of seats while simultaneously providing opportunity for greater representation of women ). However there are many opponents to the Dual member system as they feel that it will dilute women’s power in their respective constituency. Whatever the merits and demerits, this proposal needs to be debated and a suitable solution arrived at.
Women’s reservation Bill needs to be taken up and debated and amended if necessary in the Parliament. The caste based parties are doing a great disservice to women all over India by not even allowing the discussion of the Bill and blindly opposing it giving idiotic excuses such as OBC and Muslim reservations. Come to think if it, women are the only discriminated group in India who are not considered a vote bank!
Women’s reservation Bill will give a great impetus to female empowerment and ensure a more representative and inclusive democracy. It may not directly contribute to the welfare of women but it will go a long way in altering the mindset of the people about a women’s role in society. Female representatives will be more sympathetic to matters involving women’s rights and we might see more women friendly legislations and laws. Even if all this doesn’t happen we can be proud that our political system has not closed its doors on half the population.
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14 comments:
So how will this work? If say, Bengaluru is declared a women reserved seat at the Lok Sabha, the political parties will have to field all women candidates, and no party can field a male candidate?
-chirkut
Yeah, I suppose that's how it will work (going by the bill in its present form). However I'm afraid the bill will never get passed in its present form unless it is suitably amended to be palatable for our politicans.
Next, I want to support an Eunuch Reservation Bill, because god knows, they are so misrepresented in the legislature. ;)
(j/k)
-chirkut
Good luck in your efforts. I suppose people like you do need representation!
I do agree that reservation to an extent can help empowerment, I cant help but think of a scenario not long ago when Lalu, got Rabdi devi into the picture. I wonder how long it will be before we are run by puppets. Not to mention, some time later when some men might demand to be called women, to be eligible for the reservation, just like the Rajasthan drama with the cast system. By the way if you dont mind self indulgence, I have mentioned you in my blog.
Yeah I agree. Puppet female ministers are a definite problem, and once the women get reservation there is a greater chance that men might try to control things behind the scene. But we shouldn't hijack the aspirations of so many women because of one rabri devi.
BTW, men demanding to be called women, I don't think that will happen! You can change your caste status from OBC to SC, but changing gender, not so easy!Indian men are too patriarchal and macho for that!
I was only joking, but still these days, I wonder. Gender these days seems to be a state of mind, while the body can be fixed to suit the mind. Still it depends on what lengths any one would go to gain power and notoriety.
On another note, I feel economic emancipation is more needed among women than political emancipation. For women, that has been a painful and long path. The very nature of power requires rising from strife to gain respect. Easily distributed power or inherited power without backing, can be dangerous, and ineffective. Women need to realize the advantage of independence to come to this path.
I agree thoughtroom. Economic emancipation is important and primary to any woman who wants to lead an independent life so that she can take her own decisions. However political power is something altogether different, and it is crucial that women be seen having this power. It is not enough that a few urban women have achieved economic independence, I want women from all walks of life especially the rural areas to have the kind of power that can transform the attitude of the people around them. Even if women do attain economic independence there is no greater chance that they will have greater representation in politics.
We can't expect things to correct by itself thoughtroom. Sixty years after independence women's representation in politics has actually declined, I don't think the situation will change on its own even if we wait for another sixty years. I firmly believe that sometimes you need to force a change to see results.The nature of power and hierarchy is such that people are not going to give it up that easily unless you force them to. I assume you don't support caste based reservations, that is why you believe that it is possible for people to overcome discrimination to reach positions of power.
I do see the advantages in cast based reservations, which is why I agreed that this bill would help emancipation of women in my first reply. But the thing is I would rather, the government gave more importance to economic based reservations. Some how I feel that cast discriminations seem a bit unfair when watched from the economically disadvantaged point of view. Perhaps because I have once faced it. Also I remain optimistic when it comes to women and power, even if it has taken a long time in coming. When I see 46% of women in work force, I cant wait for the next generation to take the next big leap. My grandma had all the educational freedom, but remained a subordinate to patriarchy. But my mum broke from the mould despite restrictions to gain economic freedom and a voice and respect. And she has in turn made me believe that sky is the limit. Not every one can have such stories, but I remain optimistic.
I understand thoughtroom.Caste based reservations have several flaws, the most serious of which is not taking economic status into consideration.
The future of women in India in generral is optimistic as they have been able to make inroads in all fields. However this is not so in politics and I don't think the situation will change unless we make a deliberate effort to do so.
Came here blog hopping...I like this post! Always wanted to know more about this bill. I think even if the women reps are puppets at first, eventually we will have Renuka chaudhry, Indira Gandhi, Jayalalita kind of powerful women...I have seen the difference women's representation makes even in committees that run Cooperative Housing Societies, women definitely need equal representation. Something like equal property rights, custody of children and divorce laws concern every woman, so after the initial fiascoes (if at all) I am sure we will see a difference.
...but the way things are going do you think this Bill will pass in near future?
Hi Indian homemaker! Its nice to know that there are people who support this bill. I just hope more women extend their support to the bill and it becomes an election issue so that parties would have no choice but to accept it.... However passing the Bill in the Lok Sabha will not be that easy. There is severe opposition to the Bill in its present form and I'm sure if the Bill ever gets passed it will be a diluted watered down version of the original (if at all it manages to get passed). I really don't see the politicians committing harakiri just for the sake of women's empowerment. :)
There has been hue and cry about women reservation bill and some modifications in it for a long time now but i think that such a law itself should not exist. A person (in this case a Man) who has worked for his constituency throughout life will suddenly find that he is not allowed to contest election from that constituency because it is reserved for women. This is really ridiculous in democracy and is definitely biased against men. Shortcuts are not always good. If women want to come to parliament then they should fight in a democratic way with men. This will give them more respect. NCW and other women organizations are misusing the enormous power being bestowed to them and even the media now are acting irresponsibly. When the OBC quota was introduced the media was responsible enough to show both sides of it. But now even they are biased and are blaming politicians in delaying the passage of the bill. This is a sad situation wherein talent and people's will are given a second seat. The advocacy of such a law shows immaturity and lack of responsibility on the part of its supporters. I hope such a law should not be passed so that any capable PERSON can contest election from the constituency of his/her choice.
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