Womens Reservation Bill
The proposed legislation to reserve 33.3 percent seats in Parliament and state legislatures for women was drafted first by the H D Deve Gowda-led United Front government. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 12, 1996. Though it has been introduced in Parliament several times since then, the Bill could not be passed because of lack of political consensus.
What does the Bill provide?
Reservation for women at each level of legislative decision-making, starting with the Lok Sabha, down to state and local legislatures.If the Bill is passed, one-third of the total available seats would be reserved for women in national, state, or local governments.In continuation of the existing provisions already mandating reservations for scheduled caste and scheduled tribes, one-third of such SC and ST candidates must be women. (reservation within reservation).
Why is the Womens Reservation Bill necessary when women already have 50 per cent reservation in local bodies?
Advocates of the Bill say that it is essential for ensuring active political participation of women. They claim that increased political participation of women in parliament and legislatures will help them fight the alleged abuse, discrimination and inequality prevalent against women. They believe that unless reservation is provided, it would not be possible for more women to join politics in our supposedly ˜male dominated society.They tend to see women as a ˜weaker section of the society and claim that affirmative action should be introduced so that women can be empowered.
Thoughts On Reservation :-
Racism is the notion that ones race determines ones identity. It is the belief that ones convictions, values and character are determined not by the judgment of ones mind but by ones anatomy or œblood. This view causes people to be condemned (or praised) based on their racial membership. In turn, it leads them to condemn or praise others on the same basis. In fact, one can gain an authentic sense of pride only from ones own achievements, not from inherited characteristics." By Michael S. Berliner
A similar outlook is the basis for discrimination of women in Indian society. Sexual discrimination against women stems from the notion that ones sex determines ones identity. The outlook is that a man is superior to a woman, not because of considerations of merit of thought, but by anatomical considerations. And the enforcement of such belief-systems upon women is carried out by persuasion, blackmail, threat of physical violence and sometimes direct bodily or psychological injury. So fighting such stupid beliefs should form the core of those want to uplift conditions of women.
Some Serious concern's
A person (in this case a Man) who has worked for his constituency throughout life will suddenly find that he is not allowed to contest election from that constituency because it is reserved for women. This is really ridiculous in democracy and is definitely biased against men. Shortcuts are not always good. If women want to come to parliament then they should fight in a democratic way with men. This will give them more respect. NCW and other women organizations are misusing the enormous power being bestowed to them and even the media now are acting irresponsibly. This is a sad situation wherein talent and people's will are given a second seat. The advocacy of such a law shows immaturity and lack of responsibility on the part of its supporters.
Some of my female friends say that -
We have to get rid of idea of reservation for any segment, whether it is women, OBC, or anyone.
Reservations once introduced will never go away, thereby corrupting the constitution forever.We have Seen this with ST,SC Quota .
Have we forgotten that India stands for equality?
Women don't need any bill to excel in any field, politics or professional. Our society needs training to respect women.
The Women's Reservation Bill is more a political stunt than a necessity,to woo women voters and behind all those who are going to contest for these seats,God fathers,husbands and brothers are going to act.These reserved seats may well be used as tools by experienced politicians to achieve their ends.
It will strengthen the society and will help many women to come out of their shells.
Its a nice step by the parties to support such reservation , first time i saw BJP - Congress together for a cause.Its fun.
I am not Sure , will it help anyone.
Many More....
Some Unheard Voices
ALL INDIA Forgotten Womens Association (AIFWA) and All India Mens Welfare Association (AIMWA) were holding press conferences to voice their opposition against the 85th Constitutional Amendment Bill (Womens Reservation Bill).
They say that public representatives in a democracy should be those who have everyones welfare in mind and not promoting a specific gender, caste or creed.
Having said that, the proposed Womens Reservation Bill is not meant to actually empower women, but it represents the innocuous face of a hidden agenda to make the situation of Indian men miserable. The Womens Reservation Bill (which has been pending for the last 12 years) is a tool of blackmail used by anti-male women to make more and more biased laws, to fuel a gender war and disrupt harmony in the society.
The Womens Reservation Bill is not only unjustified in the present circumstances, but it is also in violation of the basic principles of democracy:
Passing the Women Reservation Bill is undemocratic because male citizens will be forced to withdraw or prevented from contesting in reserved constituencies solely because they are male. It takes away the democratic right of about 11 crore men to contest in the elections. This is against the fundamental rights of 11 crore men. It violates the right to equality guaranteed under the constitution.
Passing the Women Reservation Bill is undemocratic because women are not an oppressed class who need their own representatives in the parliament to address their specific issues. Many laws and provisions have been passed in the last 60 years by the so-called ˜male-dominated parliament.
The following are a few examples of pro-women policies made in the last 60 years due to Article 15(3) of the Constitution (special provisions for women):
Financial privileges: Women are accorded many financial privileges eg, through a variety of Self-Help Group Schemes; whereas men have to borrow at a high interest and end up committing suicide when they are unable to repay the loan.
Health privileges: National level surveys are conducted and funds are allocated for womens health and wellness; whereas not a single survey is done or health scheme implemented, nor single rupee of tax payer money spent on mens health and wellness.
Tax rebate/relief: Earnings by women are subject to liberal tax rebates; whereas men, who perform some of the most difficult and hazardous jobs to support the family and the society receive no tax rebates on their earnings.
Anti-male laws: Women have been armed with many laws like Indian Penal Code Section 498A, Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act, adultery laws, laws against rape and sexual harassment and family (divorce, maintenance and child custody) laws, all of which specifically favour women and penalise innocent men and their families.
It has to be noted that the Ministry of Women and Child Development, in collaboration with the National Commission for Women, has miserably failed to make policies which truly empower women and enhance their self-esteem. Instead, they have drafted laws which promote misuse of protections and privileges granted to women and encourage parasitism, perjury, adultery, and extortion by women.
Passing the Women Reservation Bill will cause bias in the democratic process because of the following reasons:
* Powerful male members of parties will be tempted to field female relatives to ˜reserve the seat for themselves during the following cycle.
* Parties will be forced to field women whether or not the women identify with the overall party agenda and the rest of the issues concerning all citizens, as opposed to just womens issues. There are no provisions to prevent discrimination against men because of fielding women who are inclined towards womens issues alone, or, in other words, biased against men.
* Parties will be forced to field unsuitable female candidates or those of lower calibre just to fill the seats and treat like them puppets, which will defeat the purpose of increasing representation of women in the parliament.
* Women capable of earning a position and respect by their own hard work will not be able to become MPs or chief ministers.
* Passing the Women Reservation Bill will create a bias in the minds of voters and cause them to start voting or stop voting on the basis of gender and not based on publicised agendas of parties or issues related to all citizens.
* Passing of the Womens Reservation Bill will take away the democratic right of 33 per cent of the electorate (22 crore people) to elect their representatives. It restricts the choice of both men and women in the reserved constituencies. The state has no right to limit the pool of representatives available to the public to choose from. This is against all democratic principles of free choice.
In a democracy, there should not be any discrimination between women and men in any area, including standing for elections. Citizens should be able to choose between candidates based on their relative calibre and commitment to public issues. Citizens rights are violated when their choice is restricted to a specific gender as calibre or commitment is not gender-specific.
Expected Changes..
INDIAN WOMEN have proven themselves in every sphere of life. They are no longer a weaker sex. They have reached top positions in every possible field which were once dominated by their male counterparts. Many of the women MPs feel the increase in the number of fairer sex in Parliament would change the picture for better and it would contribute for the betterment of Indian society in a larger way, as women form the backbone of our society.
Still its a great victory to the Indian women who have always stood up for their rights in solidarity and have been doing yeomen service which often go unnoticed and dont get a word of praise from any quarter.
Hope this will not turn up into reservation bills like SC,ST quota which no political party dare to even touch it.
What needs to be done ... More Seriously and Sincerely
Implement womens reservation in judiciary, bureaucracy, defence etc,Implement womens reservation in panchayats and municipality in all the states and Union Territories.Such bills are required.
It is not enough to talk about removing discrimination against women and establishing gender equality. We need to create new mechanisms for the social, political and economic advancement of women as also to generate social awareness on gender issues. One such mechanism is empowerment, including empowerment through enactment of laws.
If women have been suppressed for ages and their rights forcibly denied and privileges taken away from them, the solution doesn't lie in sending some women to Parliament by precondition.
Education and removal of old 'anti-women' concepts and strict law enforcement can make a woman walk confidently on the streets. And achieve what she wants without help or interference from any external sources. If such conditions ensue, why will women ask for reservations?
Commonsense dictates that if the representation of women in politics is not sufficient, it is the fault of political party heads. Advocates of the Womens Reservation Bill are insisting on needlessly penalizing citizens of a democratic country, instead of taking action against political parties which are preventing women from or failing to provide opportunities for women to contest in the elections.
Is this another way of going decades back or a real hard step to ensure Women's safety in this country, Time will tell this, All educated people want women to come forward and progress but at the expense of reservation no-one would have thought about it in last 20 years.
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