Indian gov’t presents bill to reserve a third of parliament seats for women

Women account for almost half of India's 950 million registered voters but only 15 percent of parliament and about 10 percent of state legislatures [File: Prabhjot Gill/AP]

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has moved a bill to reserve one-third of seats in the lower house of parliament and state legislative assemblies for women.

The contentious legislative proposal has been hanging for decades due to opposition from some heartland political parties and needs the approval of both houses of parliament and a majority of state legislatures to become law.