A delegation comprising of representatives from the national women’s organizations met the Prime Minister, Shri Manmohan Singh, on Dec 10th – Human Rights Day- to urge the Government to place and pass the Women’s Reservation Bill in the current winter session of Parliament. The representatives who met the Prime Minister were, Annie Raja (NFIW), Leila Passah (YWCA) Maimoona Mollah (AIDWA), and Gargi Chakravarti (NFIW). The PM once again expressed his commitment and support for the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the current winter session
Women’s organizations will continue the struggle to achieve women’s rights as part and parcel of human rights, and resolve to strengthen the campaign at all levels. Lok Sabha MPs and leaders of political parties will be petitioned as follows:
Place and Pass the 33% Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha immediately
The long pending Bill to provide 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies has been listed in the current winter session of the Lok Sabha. The national women’s organizations feel that this is a golden opportunity to remedy the injustice that is being meted out to women in our country, who are being denied their rightful place in the topmost decision making bodies for many decades now. The tremendous contribution to the economy and society being made by ordinary women should be acknowledged by introducing this important legislation.
The Women’s Reservation Bill was first introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 12, 1996. Though it has been introduced in Parliament several times since then, the Bill could not be passed due to a so- called lack of political consensus. But the resistance to the Bill goes deeper, as the experience of its passage in the Rajya Sabha demonstrated. The Bill was placed in the Rajya Sabha in March 2010, and was passed on March 9th amidst noisy and unseemly acrimony, as members opposed to it tried to disrupt the proceedings in the most shameful manner. Unfortunately, despite voices of protest from democratic sections, including women’s organizations over the past three years, the Bill has been abruptly placed in cold storage since then!
The fact is that there is stiff resistance to women’s entry into the seats of power from the conservative, and patriarchal forces in society. As a result, notwithstanding the assurances carried in the manifestoes of the mainstream political parties, and despite the availability of sufficient numbers to ensure passage of the Bill, it has been held up citing “lack of consensus”. Many Bills have been passed in this period overlooking objections from a sizeable number of members. But this argument has been applied for delaying the Women’s Bill alone, revealing its patent dishonesty.
Attempts have been made to divert and stall the Bill giving varied objections. However, the Women’s Bill was referred to, and discussed thoroughly by two Parliamentary committees, and subjected to an intense process of debate across the country, before the second Parliamentary Committee endorsed the Bill as it is, in December 2009. All the concerns regarding elite takeover; reservation within reservation; problems of rotation- were studied, and scrutinized in depth before this consensus was arrived at. The reservation for SC/STs would and should encompass women within its ambit. While there are certain valid issues with regard to poor political representation of women from weaker backward sections, minorities, etc. the majority opinion was that these problems would have to be tackled independently, without holding up the Women’s Reservation Bill under this guise.
At the present juncture, experiences from the ground have shown that more women from all sections are enabled to participate in the democratic process with the introduction of reservation for women in the panchayats and local bodies. In fact the functioning of the Panchayati Raj Institutions since 1995, when local body elections first took place and the performance of the women who were elected since then after five year intervals has vindicated the determined position of the women’s movement that women can govern, if given the opportunity, and the campaign for one third reservation in the parliament and state assemblies has consequently got strengthened.
In today’s context, the recently concluded Assembly elections in 5 states have revealed once again that without affirmative action, women’s entry into the decision making bodies is extremely difficult. In Delhi, only 3 out of 70 elected members are women. The situation in other states is also grim. In Rajasthan, 7 out of 200 MLA s elected are women. While the number in MP, at 25 out of 230 is marginally better, it is still only around 10 percent of the total seats. Such an injustice is no longer acceptable to women. At a time when the women of this country are facing so many problems, as violence in all forms is on the increase, as they battle to overcome these challenges, we feel that the time is ripe to introduce this important Bill so that in the upcoming general elections women get their rightful place, and are enabled to contest one third of the seats.
We call on the lawmakers to make good their promise included in their election manifestoes, before the forthcoming elections, and display political will to ensure passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill. Members of the House who disagree may surely be given a chance to put their views across, engage in a full fledged debate, press for amendments, or be allowed to even walk out, if they wish. This would be the proper, democratic course of action.
On this December 10th, Human Rights Day, we, the undersigned national women’s organizations demand that the Women’s Reservation Bill be placed in the Lok Sabha, and passed without any further delay.
