The upper house of India’s parliament has approved a bill to reserve a third of all seats in the national parliament and state legislatures for women, BBC online reports Tuesday.
The bill was passed with 186 members of the 245-seat house voting in favour. Only one member voted against. Several smaller parties boycotted the vote. The bill’s introduction on Monday led to uproar from opponents, resulting in the suspension of seven MPs on Tuesday. First proposed in 1996, the bill now has support from India’s main parties.
The bill needed the support of two-thirds of voters present in the upper house (Rajya Sabha) for it to be passed. It will be tabled in the lower house at a later date. An overwhelming majority there support the move.
– The bill is a historic and giant step towards empowering women and a celebration of their rights, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in the Rajya Sabha, adding: – Women are facing discrimination at home, there is domestic violence, unequal access to health and education. This has to end.
The Congress party’s Jayanthi Natarajan said “women have been waiting for 62 years for this moment”.
Smaller socialist parties argue the legislation will re-duce representation of minorities and socially disadvan-taged groups. They want set quotas for women from Muslim and low-caste communities.
There are currently 59 women in the 545-member Lok Sabha. Under the proposals their numbers would rise to 181.
The composition of the 245-seat upper house, which at present has 21 women, will not be affected as its members are indirectly elected by state assemblies.
India already reserves a third of local governing council seats in towns and villages for women, a move that has significantly increased their role in decision-making.
