Provisions of the Women Reservation Act
The provisions of the Women Reservation Act as listed below:
- According to the Act, the constitution states that one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the legislative assembly of the National The capital territory of Delhi has to be reserved for female candidates. This reservation also applies to SC and ST members of the party.
- The reservation will be effective for fifteen years and extended only after parliamentary consensus.
- The arrangement for women’s seats will follow parliamentary rules after each review of constituencies. Right now, about 15% of all members in the current 17th Lok Sabha (2019-2024) are women. In state legislative assemblies, women typically make up around 9% of the total members.
- The reservation will be put into action once a new census is conducted and the delimitation exercise is finished.
- Union Home Minister Shah assured the House that a census will be conducted right after the elections to implement the women reservation bill.
- He also mentioned that the delimitation process will be carried out by the next government soon after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, addressing concerns about delays in the bill’s implementation.
- Delimitation involves adjusting the boundaries of constituencies for both the Lok Sabha and the state to accurately represent changes in population distribution.
- For the bill to be fully approved, at least 50% of states must ratify it.
- The requirement for state ratification is based on the constitutional reasoning that the bill may affect the rights of states.
Women Reservation Act, 2023
The Women Reservation Act of 2023 also known as the 106th Act of the Indian Constitution states that 33 percent of the seats on the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative assemblies have to be reserved for women. The goal is to increase women’s representation in these elected bodies.
With President Droupadi Murmu’s consent, the bill was signed into law. On September 20, 2023, the Women Reservation Act of 2023 won the consensus of the political parties with 454 votes in the Lok Sabha and 214 votes in the Rajya Sabha.
In this article, we will read about the basic framework of the Women Reservation Act 2023, along with its historical background, key features, provisions, and arguments in support of women’s reservation as well as against women’s reservation.
Read More: Women’s Political Participation in India
Table of Content
- What is the Women Reservation Act of 2023?
- Women Reservation in India
- Background of the Women Reservation Bill
- Key Features of the Women Reservation Act, 2023
- Provisions of the Women Reservation Act
- Pros and Cons of the Women Reservation Act of 2023
- Arguments for Reservation for Women in Parliament
- Arguments Against the Women Reservation Act, 2023
- Recent News about Women Reservation Bill