A Study On Women’s Reservation In The Legislature And Its Impact: International & Municipal Sphere
By Mahimaa Jain, University of Madras.*
Abstract
Women's reservation is a critical facet in attaining gender equality, where both men and women have equal power and opportunity for education, healthcare, personal development, and economic participation. Globally, women remain vastly underrepresented in politics. However, there are countries in the world that have 30 percent or more women Members of Parliament. This paper attempts to do a comparative analysis of the representation of women in legislation in various countries. The question of women's reservation in India is distinct from any other state because the constitution of India has already provided reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs. The 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments provide for 33% reservation for women's representation in local self-government. The Women Reservation Bill has been a political raw nerve for more than a silver jubilee now which proposes reserving one-third of all seats in Lok Sabha and state legislatures. The reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the state or union territory. It is very much required to address the social shackle that is crushing the equal representation of women in Indian Society. India is a patriarchal society; women reservations will definitely act as a spur for change. The political opinion behind providing such reservations to women is to create a level playing field for all its citizens. This paper concludes by putting forth the impact of the Women Reservation Bill followed by safety measures. There is gender inequality in political decision making and women leaders need to come out to a greater extent in number to impact decision-making.
Keywords: Reservation, countries, Women reservations bill, Impact, Security Measures.
* The author is pursuing LL.M. from University of Madras.
