Women's activists seek passage of Reservation Bill

Women's rights activists today sought passage of the Women's Reservation Bill during the winter session of Parliament.

"The Time for 33 Percent", a coalition of women's rights organisations urged the President, the Prime Minister and MPs to ensure its passage.

The Bill which was passed by Rajya Sabha is still awaiting approval in Lok Sabha.

"Indian women's struggle for fair representation in Parliament is perhaps the longest struggle in the history of democratic India. After 65 years of freedom and democracy, Indian women still fail to enjoy equal citizenship and make up for only 11 per cent of elected representatives across the country. This remains a major challenge to our realisation of true democratic governance," Ranjana Kumari, director at Centre for Social Research, told reporters here.

Over the next two months, state elections will held in New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Tickets are not being allocated to women in all five states and political parties argue that women candidates have a lower winability, she claimed.

"The Women's Reservation Bill was developed in order to facilitate women's political participation by reserving 33 per cent of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. The Bill is vital for realising women's rights under the Constitution of India and for addressing the widespread gender inequality throughout the country," she said.

With the 2014 general election in sight and the possibility of a new government with new priorities, it is critical that the bill is passed in the Winter Session of Parliament, she added.