September 21, 2023 marked a historic milestone for India as the Lok Sabha approved the Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023, in the newly inaugurated Parliament building.
The bill passed in both houses of Parliament almost unanimously — with just two dissenting votes — will ensure that women occupy at least 33% of seats in State legislative assemblies and the Lok Sabha. This also resonated globally when then UN Women’s India Country Representative Susan Ferguson said, “India’s bold step sends a clear message to the world that the path to gender equality is not only essential, but attainable.”
But there are others like activist K. Ajitha of the Kozhikode-based Anweshi Women’s Counselling Centre, who feel that the adoption of the Bill in Parliament “was understandably an election gimmick, intended to sway the women towards the ruling party.“
