Women's Reservation Bill FAQs: Why Is This Quota Necessary? Benefits And Other Questions Answered

Add as a preferred source on Google

Currently, Women's Reservation Bill is in the news amid a special season of Parliament and there is a special reason for it.

The bill seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies and Congress MPs and regional parties have pressed demand for the passage of the bill in Parliament during an all-party meeting held on Sunday.

According to a report by ANI, The Union cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the constitution amendment bill to provide reservations for women in Parliament and state assemblies, paving the way for the introduction of the historic bill in the ongoing special session of Parliament, officials said.

The women's reservation bill has been pending for nearly 27 years and according to data, women MPs account for less than 15 percent of Lok Sabha strength while their representation is below 10 percent in many state assemblies.

Women's Reservation Bill FAQs: Why Is This Quota Necessary? Benefits And Other Questions Answered

1. If Passed, When Will The Women's Reservation Bill Rollout?
The bill will roll out after the delimitation process is over, that is, most probably by 2029 after the 2026 census.

2. How Many Seats Does The Women's Reservation Bill Envisage?
The Union Cabinet approved a bill granting 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

3. How Will Selection Happen?
As per the bill, the seats will be reserved on a rotational basis. The seats would be determined by a draw of lots in such a way that a seat would only be reserved once in every three consecutive general elections.

4. What Is The Current Percentage Of Women In Lok Sabha And Rajya Sabha?
The current percentage of women in Lok Sabha is 14.94 and in Rajya Sabha is 14.05.

5. Who Can Stake Claim To Women's Reservation Bill?
On 12 September 1996, then Deve Gowda-led United Front government for the first time introduced the 81st Constitution Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha for reservation of women in the Parliament. The NDA government re-introduced the bill in the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999. Then, UPA-I government, led by Congress, again reintroduced the bill in May 2008 and the BJP manifesto mentioned it in 2014 and 2019.

6. Any Opponent Of The Women's Reservation Bill?
Lalu Prasad-led RJD has been one of the vocal opponents of the Women's Reservation Bill, along with Samajwadi Party (SP).

7. Does Any Constitutional Election Currently Have Women Reservations?
The constitutional amendment stated a random one-third of the village council leader or Sarpanch, positions in the gram panchayat should be reserved for women.

8. Do Any States Have Reservations For Women In Assembly?
No state assembly has this provision so far but 20 States namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal have made provisions of 50% reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions in their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.

9. Where Does India Stand Globally In Terms Of Elected Women Representatives In Their National Parliament?
According to Al Jazeera, globally, India ranks 148th in a list of 193 countries based on the percentage of elected women representatives in their national parliaments, as of June last year. The same data shows that while the global average for "lower chamber or unicameral" is 25.8 percent, India stands at 14.4 percent with 78 out of 543 Lok Sabha representatives elected in 2019 being women, the highest number to date.

10. When Was Women's Reservation Bill Introduced In Parliament?
The bill was initially introduced in the parliament on 12 September 1996.