Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Mains level: Women Reservation; Implication of reservation in politics;
Why in the News?
The Centre has hinted that the delayed Census might begin next year and finish by 2026, which would play a key role in redrawing constituencies and starting women’s reservations in elected bodies.
What are the implications of the Women’s Reservation Bill for women’s political representation in India?
- Increased Representation: The bill, once implemented, will reserve 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women, marking a significant increase in women’s representation and fostering a more inclusive legislative environment.
- Long-Term Social Change: With more women in legislative positions, issues relevant to women’s rights, safety, and empowerment could receive greater legislative focus, driving long-term societal shifts toward gender equality.
- Gradual Integration: By mandating women’s reservation for 15 years post-implementation, the bill allows time for systemic integration of women into Indian politics, potentially encouraging more women to enter politics.
Key features of the Women’s Reservation Bill:
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How does the delimitation process affect the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill?
- Dependency on Delimitation: The reservation will only be implemented following a census-based delimitation exercise, making the timeline for reservation contingent on the next Census, expected to conclude in 2026.
- Thus, the reservation may only be actionable around the 2029 general elections.
- Impact on Seat Allocation: The delimitation exercise will likely increase the total seats in the Lok Sabha, which could make implementing the 33% reservation less disruptive.
- For example, if Lok Sabha seats rise to around 770, this will allow for a more balanced accommodation of both male and female representatives without substantial loss of seats for male incumbents.
Challenges and Criticisms Surrounding the Women’s Reservation Bill and Its Implementation:
- Delay in Implementation: As the reservation is contingent on delimitation, the immediate impact of the bill remains deferred.
- Critics argue that the reservation could be enacted sooner if it did not depend on the Census and delimitation.
- Intra-Party Resistance: Male incumbents might resist the bill due to concerns over losing their seats, and political parties might face difficulties balancing this resistance with the need for compliance, despite an increase in overall seats.
- Exclusion of Other Marginalized Women: The bill lacks sub-quotas for women from marginalized communities, such as SC/ST/OBCs, sparking criticism that it may predominantly benefit women from privileged backgrounds rather than addressing the political representation gap for all women.
- Dependence on Census Accuracy: Any delays or inaccuracies in Census data could delay the bill’s impact or result in skewed representation due to reliance on outdated demographic data.
Way forward:
- Expedite Delimitation and Census: Streamline Census and delimitation processes to ensure timely data collection and boundary adjustments, enabling earlier implementation of the reservation without prolonged delays.
- Include Sub-Quotas for Marginalized Women: Introduce provisions for SC/ST/OBC sub-quotas within the reservation to ensure fair representation of women from diverse social backgrounds, addressing inclusivity concerns in political representation.
Mains PYQ:
Q “The reservation of seats for women in the institutions of local self-government has had a limited impact on the patriarchal character of the Indian Political Process.” Comment. (UPSC IAS/2019)
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