Women’s Reservation in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies

Why in News?

The government is exploring ways to implement the Women’s Reservation Act (Constitution 106^th Amendment Act, 2023) by increasing Lok Sabha seats based on Census 2011.

• The Women’s Reservation Act (Constitution 106th Amendment Act, 2023) – Provides 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
• Reservation includes seats for women within SC and ST reserved constituencies.
• To be implemented after delimitation and Census.
• Passed in September 2023 as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
• Delimitation – Current Lok Sabha strength is 543 seats.
• Reservation requires redrawing constituencies to allocate one‑third seats for women.
• Delimitation ensures fair distribution of reserved seats across states and categories.
• Without delimitation, proportional representation cannot be guaranteed.
• Last delimitation - 2002, based on 1971 Census; seats frozen till 2026.
• Increase based on Census 2011 – Government proposes using Census 2011 data instead of waiting for the ongoing Census (expected to conclude by 2029).
• Lok Sabha seats may be increased by 50% (to 816), maintaining existing state proportions.
• Addresses concerns of southern states about losing seats due to population‑based delimitation.
• Ensures quicker implementation of women’s quota, possibly from 2029 general elections.
• Current State of Women’s Representation in Politics – Women constitute 14% of Lok Sabha (78 MPs in 2019).
• Representation in State Assemblies is even lower (9%).
• India lags global average (26% women in national parliaments).
• Countries with higher representation: Rwanda (>60%), Sweden (47%).
• Women’s Representation in Local Government – 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992) mandated 33% reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies.
• Many states (e.g., Bihar, Rajasthan) increased this to 50% reservation.
• Resulted in over 1.4 million elected women representatives at grassroots level.
• Considered one of the largest experiments in inclusive democracy worldwide.
• The 73rd Amendment,1992 – Inserted Part IX in the Constitution (Panchayats).
• Mandated one‑third reservation for women in seats and offices of chairpersons.
• Empowered women in local governance and decision‑making.
• The 73rd Amendment – Success in Inclusive Participation –
• Brought millions of women into politics at the grassroots.
• Enhanced women’s role in development, social justice, and governance.
• Created a pipeline for women leaders to enter higher levels of politics.
• Lottery / Rotation System – Proposal to decide seats for women by lottery system.
• Rotational reservation ensures fairness but raises concerns about continuity of women leaders.
• Significance of women’s participation in politics – Ensures inclusive democracy and balanced representation.
• Women legislators bring focus on health, education, welfare, and social justice.
• Strengthens legitimacy of democratic institutions.
• Helps achieve SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 16 (Strong Institutions).

Reference

The Indian Express | Women's reservation