Presented by: Shruti Gupta AEO, The ICSI Women Empowerment & Reservation

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Meaning… Women's empowerment is a new phrase in the vocabulary of gender literature. The phrase is used in two broad senses i.e. general and specific. In a general sense, it refers to empowering women to be self- dependent by providing them access to all the freedoms and opportunities, which they were denied in the past only because of their being women. In a specific sense, women empowerment refers to enhancing their position in the power structure of the society. The word women empowerment essentially means that the women have the power or capacity to regulate their day- to- day lives in the social, political and economic terms -a power which enables them to move from the periphery to the centre stage.

UN Declaration…. Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relation between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by man and the prevention of the full advancement of women, and violence against women is of the crucial social mechanism by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men- UN Declaration on the Elimination of violence against woman (1993).

Current Scenario However, in spite of the fact that we have had a woman prime minister, chief ministers and now a president, women have not really made any remarkable inroads into politics full time. In order to help women to be in limelight, they need to be empowered. Therefore, empowerment of women is the prerequisite to transform a developing country into a developed country.

Real Scenario The gap between the goals enunciated in the Constitution, legislation, policies, plans, programmes with the situational reality has been analyzed extensively in the Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India. Gender disparity manifests itself in various forms, the most obvious being the trend of continuously declining female ratio in the population in the last few decades. Mind set of son preference.

Principles and Suggestions for Women Empowerment To create an environment for full development of women to enable them to realize their full potential. To enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedom on equal basis with men in all spheres – political, economic, social, cultural and civil. To give equal access through participation and decision making of women in social, political and economic life of the nation To give access to women to health care, quality education at all levels.

To change societal attitudes and community practices by active participation and involvement of both men and women. To mainstream a gender perspective in the development process. To eliminate discrimination and all forms of violence against women and the girl child. Partnership with the voluntary sector organizations: To build and strengthen partnerships with civil society, particularly women’s organizations.

To strengthen our legal system: In addition to the review of the existing system, the following will be implemented:  Strict enforcement of legal provisions and speedy grievance redressal  Preventing sexual harassment  Women’s cells and other aiding centers to be strengthened Panchayati Raj Institutions : To be actively involved in implementing and executing the National Policy for Women at the grassroot level.

Women Reservation

Introduction The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles From the Fifth Five Year Plan ( ) onwards there had been a marked shift in the approach to women’s issues from welfare to development. The National Commission for Women was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1990 to safeguard the rights and legal entitlements of women. The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) to the Constitution of India have provided for reservation of seats in the local bodies of Panchayats and Municipalities for women, laying a strong foundation for their participation in decision making at the local levels.

Provisions of the Women Reservation Bill Political Reservation for Indian women at each level of legislative decision-making, starting with the Indian Parliament, down to state and local legislatures. If the women reservation Bill is passed, 1/3 of the total available seats would be reserved for women of India 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.

The arguments in favor of the Women Reservation Bill It would lead to gender equality in Indian Parliament, resulting in the women empowerment as a whole. Historically, the women Bill's supporters say, women are deprived in India. Increased political participation of Indian women will help them fight the abuse, discrimination, and inequality women suffer from in India.

Reservation for women in panchayat elections 33.3 per cent seats in panchayat elections have been reserved for Indian women already. The experience of Women reservation at the panchayat level has been very encouraging. A million women are being elected to the panchayats in the country every five years. This is the largest mobilization of women in public life in the world.

Opposition to the Women Reservation Bill Various Indian political parties have staunchly opposed the bill because political Parties fear many of their male leaders would not get a chance to fight elections if 1/3 seats are reserved for Indian women. The women reservation Bill has also been opposed by Indian politicians from the economically and socially backward classes. They argue that women reservation would only help women of the elitist groups to gain seats, therefore causing further discrimination and under-representation to the poor women and women of backward classes.

History of Women Reservation Bill The Deve Gowda government introduces the women's reservation bill as 81st Constitutional Amendment Bill The bill is re-introduced in the 12th Lok Sabha as the 84th Constitutional Amendment Bill by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government headed Atal Bihari Vajpayee The NDA government re-introduces the bill in the 13th Lok Sabha The Bill is introduced in parliament but fails to sail through Bill introduced twice in parliament The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government includes it in the Common Minimum Programme The Cabinet clears the Bill for taking it up in the Rajya Sabha and passed it in Rajya Sabha in March, 2010 The bill is pending from the year However, Indian politicians are not ready to accept this bill so every time we see the new drama, new demand from political parties.

Women Reservation Bill in Brief As nearly as about one-third of all seats in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies shall be reserved for women. Reservation shall apply in case of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) as well. The women reservation bill will 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. And this number will be 181. The Bill seeks to reserve for women 181 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha and 1,370 out of a total of 4,109 seats in the 28 State

Drawbacks of the Bill Rotational reservation of one-third seats is the most serious flaw in the Bill. The pre-election nursing of a Lok Sabha or State Assembly constituency involves a very heavy investment on the part of the political parties and individual aspirants. It would lead to a grave uncertainty for sitting male MPs eroding their meticulously developed political base and leaving them no scope to pursue politics as a life-long mission or career. The Bill also ignores an important recommendation of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the 81st Amendment Bill about extending reservation to Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councils that was incorporated in the Clause 21 of its Report. The Bill turns women’s quota into a zero sum game where women would get seats only if male MPs were removed from one third of the constituencies.

Country % of elected women Sweden 47 Argentina 40 Norway 36 Canada 24 Pakistan 21 United Kingdom 20 France 18 USA 17 Sri Lanka 6 INDIA 15

Key Features of Woman Reservation Bill The Bill seeks to reserve, as nearly as possible, one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies (including Delhi). The allocation of reserved seats shall be determined by such authority as prescribed by Parliament. As nearly as possible, one third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies shall be reserved for SC/ST women. Reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of the Act.

Disclaimer Clause: Views expressed in this presentation views of the author do not necessary reflect those of the Institute.