Every time a renewed discussion about the women’s reservation bill possibly being tabled at the parliament occurs, there is always talk that it would be a game-changer in women empowerment. Conveniently all spokesperson of most parties discusses the importance of such a bill with a vigour that rivals most other policies. We might be at the precipice of significant change in women’s political participation. Yet if every party openly expresses support for it, why has it not been passed in over a decade.
The bill was first introduced in 1996, and it has consistently been hitting roadblocks every time it was brought back. Both the Congress party and BJP promised to pass the bill in each of their manifestos, yet nothing has come to fruition.
Although it was passed in the Rajya Sabha, it has been kept on hold in the Lok Sabha. Despite the presiding government holding a majority in the Lok sabha for more than five years.
Presently Indian women’s participation in the political arena is merely 11.42% compared to a global average of 22%. The proposed bill seeks to reserve seats to the extent of 33%.
One of the many arguments brought up against this reservation bill is the possible rise of tokenism and the fall of meritocracy. India luckily can avoid such banes of reservation by analyzing and studying other nations’ policies that have successfully implemented it and then seek reform and fundamentally reinvent it according to Indian societal needs.
There are two types of reservations followed around the world.
One is to reserve a quota of the total seats in public office. However, in this case, tokenism and duplicity would rise in the absence of a sufficient pool of women candidates. Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc., follow this policy. Although the plan was to increase representation, data shows that such an increase is only limited to reserved seats. Men almost exclusively hold the general seats.
Another type of reservation is wherein a percentage of each party’s candidate list is reserved for women. This policy was successfully adopted in France and Korea.
Another successful example of such implementation is Germany, Sweden, and South Africa, where Political parties of these countries voluntarily reserved candidate lists without any legislative interference. South Africa is an excellent example as their parliament comprises of women to an extent 49%.
Countries that have adopted such policies have seen a ripple of positive effects as they can make informed choices regarding women’s issues. Women feel included in the political scene, and it also provides affirmation to women that power is shared equally.
Our founding fathers had the foresight and wisdom to build this nation based on equality. They declared all men equal regardless of their gender, status, caste, or religion. The above declaration also means equal opportunity for those who wish to seize it on every platform, including politics. Long and drawn discussions about the boons and banes of this bill are over. It is now time to act upon it so that India has a large legion of strong female political figures that will lay down the path for the rest of the young girls to follow.
