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What will hold up women’s reservation Bill?

Key Points for UPSC Aspirants on the Women's Reservation Bill:

What does the Bill say?

* The Women's Reservation Bill, 2023 (also known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha, the State Legislative Assemblies, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
* This will also apply to seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies.
* The seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation exercise.

What are the main issues regarding the Bill?

* The Opposition has questioned the linking of the implementation of women's reservation with the periodical delimitation exercise as this would mean a prolonged delay in the quota coming into force.
* The last delimitation order of the Delimitation Commission was issued in 2008, and there is currently a freeze on the readjustment of the number of seats in the State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha.
* The Home Minister has informed Parliament that the Census and delimitation exercise would be done immediately after the general election (due in 2024). This means that women's reservation will not be possible for a few years at least.
* Another issue raised by the Opposition concerns the question of having a sub-quota for women from Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
* There is no separate reservation for OBCs in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, who constitute more than 40% of the population.
* Two members in the Lok Sabha — Asaduddin Owaisi and Syed Imtiyaz Jaleel of the AIMIM — opposed the Bill on the ground that it should have separate quotas for OBC and Muslim women as both communities are under-represented in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies.

What laid the ground for the Bill?

* The enactment of the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution in 1993 laid the ground for the women's reservation Bill.
* The two amendments, which introduced panchayats and urban local bodies in the Constitution, mandate one-third reservation for women in these bodies.
* In 2006, Bihar became the first State to provide 50% reservation for women in panchayat bodies.
* At present, more than 20 States have 50% reservation for women at the panchayat level.
* There have been several studies on how reservation has led to greater representation of women in political bodies and also influenced policymaking.

Was this the first attempt to pass the Bill?

* There were several attempts made to bring about reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
* The 81st Constitution Amendment Bill was first introduced in the Lok Sabha in 1996, but it failed to get the approval of the House and lapsed.
* The Bill was reintroduced several times over the years, but it never got passed.
* In 2010, the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance government tabled the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, but it was never taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha and lapsed.

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