Women Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha: A Century Long Struggle for Gender Equality

Abstract

Women in India have been granted various rights over the years to establish gender equality and to improve their number in decision making. Efforts were started when the demand for separate political reservation for women was made in 1920 during the national movement for Independence. It was the Government of India Act, 1935 by which reservation of seats for women was given. The issue was debated at length during the debates of Constituent Assembly. Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) 1971, recommended reservation for women in local bodies. National Perspective Plan for Women 1988-2000 recommended reservation for women in all elected bodies from Panchayats to Parliament that resulted in 73rd and 74th Amendment. To ensure their presence in national and state legislatures, a Bill seeking to reserve seats for women was introduced in 1996 in the Parliament. But due to narrow political interests of different political parties and lack of consensus among them, it could not succeed to get the approval of the Parliament. Finally, the passage of Women Reservation Bill in September 2023 with conditions is a golden moment in Indian Parliamentary history.