Analysing Woman Reservation in India
-Samarth Gaur
Himachal Pradesh National Law University
INTRODUCTION
Representation of women is one of the most talked about topics in the 21st century. September 20, 2023, the 128th Constitution Amendment Bill 2023 was enacted, which raised the women's reservation up to 33%. Moreover, the mentioned reservation solely pertains to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly. Additionally, the aforementioned reservation does not apply to the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Council. The legislation was named "NARI SHAKTI VANDAN ADHINIYAM". Additionally, the Bill of Constitutional Amendment introduced various changes to the Constitution as well. Due to the reservations in Article 239AA, in clause (2), the following subclause (B), [ba]6 [bb]7, [bc]8, 330A9, 332A10 , and 334A11 were added. This article discusses the difficult circumstances experienced by women in our society, as well as women's political empowerment, delimitation, reservation for women, and other important issues. The longstanding women's reservation bill has been passed by the parliament, the reservation will last for 15 years, with a possible extension decided by parliamentary action, and take effect following the release of the census carried out after the Act's start.
HISTORY OF WOMEN RESERVATION BILL
A century ago in India, women were limited in their ability to leave the house, and their decisions were disregarded. Fifty years ago Women began attending college, and twenty-five years ago, they entered the workforce, yet women were not enabled in governance. Women endured numerous abuses such as harassment, dowry demands, and various other forms of cruelty offenses. They were regarded as slaves and controlled by the male-dominated society. Even after several years of Independence, the bill for women's reservation was not approved, and legal acknowledgment was absent to the women's community. The women's reservation bill remained pending for 27 years. What caused a significant delay from our Indian Government in delivering acknowledgment of women's rights? Self-sufficiency. Women's reservation was implemented for the first time in Indian history in 1993 when one-third of the seats in Gram Panchayats were given to women. This sparked several suggestions for giving women reservations in different fields. Women's reservations have been proposed by several political ideologies and research scientists. This women's reservation law was initially introduced by the Deve Gowda government in 1996, but it was unsuccessful. It was thereafter forwarded to the Parliamentary standing committee. The standing committee presented its report in this respect to the Lok Sabha on December 9, 1996. This regime was later overthrown. In 1998, the VAJPAYEE government brought the measure back to the Lok Sabha, but it was unsuccessful because there was not enough support from the majority. Then, repeatedly, the following governments submitted this bill in 1999, 2002, and 2003. In each of those years, the government had a majority, but even in those cases, the bill was not passed. The Rajya Sabha then presented the measure and recommended the parliament standing committee in 2008. Additionally, the Rajya Sabha enacted this bill to strengthen it. But the Lok Sabha did not approve it. The introduction of a women's reservation law during the winter session of parliament was particularly anticipated. The anticipation was successful and the bill was passed with a special majority of 454 members supporting it.
NEED FOR WOMEN RESERVATION
For over 27 years, the Women's Reservation Bill has been stalled in parliament without justification. The necessity of women’s reservation is crucial in this context due to their inclination to political Representation and empowerment in India being quite minimal. Gender- based discrimination was more prevalent than caste-based discrimination for 2000 years. Despite having a similar population the influence of half the country on the political situation is minimal. India as a proponent of a feminist nation that provides equal rights to women in comparison to men, they receive an equal chance of establishing the government. Women's reservation highlights the status of women in society to an elevated level and dismantles the gender bias that continues to exist in certain sections of India. Involving women in democracy emphasizes their requirements and it is the voice of all women in India. The Geeta Mukherjee Committee Report believes that women ought to be supported in communities, and quotas are greatly required, where women are historically overlooked segments of society It seems that the reservation is necessary. For women from the ST/SC/OBC community to allow them to engage in equitable competition with women from the progressive classes. As stated in Art.51(A)(E)17 of the Constitution. We bear the essential responsibility to safeguard and enhance the dignity of women. Moreover, the Parliament's standing committee in 2008 stated that there is a significant need for women's reservations. and the most significant factor in contemporary society. The term delimitation refers to the process of defining the boundaries of a constituency. The primary issue with women's reservations is the idea of delimitation. The primary cause for this is that the women's Reservation is established following the census of the population that is announced to take placefollowing the years of 2026. The effect of the delimitation lies in the fact that the idea is grounded in the narrative. of the entire nation. This impacts numerous states that implement population control techniques and the following states may see a decrease in their representatives. Another challenge is that the choices Decisions made by the delimitation commission cannot be altered or contested in any court. The sole remedy is that they can solely engage in discussions to address the problems which is akin to The Rajya Sabha which is unable to make decisions regarding financial issues but can solely hold discussions. Another approach to mitigate the issue is to implement modifications in the Delimitation Commission Act of 2002 and the People's Representation Act of 1951. The federal administration ought to provide guarantees and implement measures to maintain consistent representation in each state. Even if the discussion occurs, it is not required that the Delimitation Commission must listen to the perspectives that are addressed in the discussion, including the representation of political parties as a participant during the discussion. Another issue with women’s reservations is that there are no seats designated for women belonging to the OBC category. The Mandal Commission report was presented in 1980, and within the report, it is explicitly mentioned that over 52% of women belong to OBC in India. Thus, it is goodit can be assumed that, given the present circumstances, the rate of OBC Women population may have risen to 60% in India. Another consequence is that this OBC category does not receive a significant position in Reservation in making of government demonstrating that there are merely 3 OBC Caste officers comprised out of the total 90 officers. Additionally, individuals from the OBC community who were under the OBC population below the poverty line was 13.86 crore, accounting for 33% of the overall OBC population. An additional challenge is that women lack political influence because they are engaged in conventional morals centered around the absence of familial assistance and male- dominated values and standards. The contemporary era of India’s criminalization is likewise areason that inhibits women from engaging in governmental actions. Women relying on their husbands for financial and economic support also plays a significant role in preventing women from engaging in political activities.
ROTATING CONSTITUENCIES
The Bill specifies that reserved seats will be assigned by rotation following each delimitation process. This suggests a rotation roughly every decade since delimitation will be required post- census starting in 2026. The rotation of reserved seats could lower MPs' motivation to serve their constituencies, as they may be unable to run for re-election from that area. A report by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj advised halting the rotation of constituencies at the panchayat tier because nearly 85% of women were newcomers and just 15% managed to secure re-election due to their seats being de-reserved.
CONCLUSION
Women ought to be regarded not just as citizens, they should be supported in all political engagements and public life without being excluded from societal activities. The most important view of the bill is to bring proper reservation without any interference from the caste system. The Indian constitution primarily addresses women's anti-discrimination in various articles and grants the government authority to create laws for women’s welfare. According to the principles of socialism and to provide support for feminist individuals. Quota is not a solution for women's issues and outcomes; it produces resolutions solely based on gender, infringing on the democratic rights of individuals to participate in elections. This bill benefits ordinary women but does not consistently reach those who already have opportunities. Consequently, the government needs to take necessary measures to safeguard women's rights, and the reservation quota for
women should be enforced without delay.
-SAMARTH GAUR
HIMACHAL PRADESH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY
Very good work
The research done by the writer is commendable