What is Women Reservation Bill 2023? The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 has been unanimously passed from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Bill seeks to reserve one-third of the total number of seats in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women. Highlights of the Bill The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. The allocation of reserved seats shall be determined by such authority as prescribed by Parliament. One third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be reserved for women of those groups in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies. Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the state or union territory. Reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of this Amendment Act. What is the Background and Need for this Bill? Background: The discussion upon the reservation of women reservation bill is prevalent since the tenure of Former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1996. As the then Government lacked a majority, the Bill could not have been approved. Earlier Attempts at Reserving Seats for Women: 1996: First Women Reservation Bill was introduced in the Parliament. 1998 – 2003: Government tabled the Bill on 4 occasions but failed. 2009: Government tables the bill amid protests. 2010: The Union Cabinet passes the Bill and RS passes it. 2014: The Bill was expected to be tabled in LS. Need: There are 82 women Member of Parliaments in LS (15.2%) and 31 women in RS(13%). While the number has increased significantly since the 1st Lok Sabha (5%) but is still far lower than in many countries. According to recent UN Women data, Rwanda (61%), Cuba (53%), Nicaragua (52%) are the top three countries in women representation. Bangladesh (21%) and Pakistan (20%) as well are ahead of India in case of female representation. . . . . #anchor : Sapna Pandey #camera Person : Suraj Rawat #video Edited By : Deepak Bharti
