More women leaders in Indian Parliament must pave way for passage of Women’s Reservation Bill
- By Oxfam India
- 31 May, 2019
Oxfam India welcomes the rise in number of women parliamentarians in the 2019 elections from 11.9 per cent to 14 per cent. A total of 716 women candidates contested the elections against a total of around 7,334 male candidates. For the first time in India, 78 women Member of Parliamentarians-- highest till date have been elected.
“While we welcome the increase in number of women legislators in this election, the rise is still marginal and fails to represent women across the country, especially the most marginalised. We are hopeful that more women with political voice will ensure renewed support for passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill.
“The newly elected government must fulfil its election promise of at least 33 per cent reservation of all seats in the both the houses of the Parliament of India and in all state legislative assemblies for women. The BJP Government should work towards their commitment (made in manifesto) to design a ‘Women in Workforce’ roadmap with a focus to increase female workforce participation rate over the next five years,” said Ranu Bhogal, Director for Policy, Research & Campaigns at Oxfam India.
The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, also known as the Women’s Reservation Bill – which called for reserving 33 per cent of the seats in the Lower House of Parliament, Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies for women – was cleared by the Union Cabinet and Upper House of Parliament, Rajya Sabha in 2010. But it is still awaiting a nod from the Lower House of Parliament.
Representation of women in the Upper House of Parliament of India remains at an abysmal 11.4 per cent.
India’s performance continues to be unsatisfactory compared to global average of 23.4 per cent and Asian average of 19.6 per cent, according to the ‘Women in Politics Map-2017’, published by Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women. According to this report, India stands at 88th position globally with respect to women’s political representation.
India is a signatory to Global Conventions and treaties on promoting gender equality. It is India’s constitutional commitment to ensure political empowerment of women and in this regard the Central Government must undertake legislative and constitutional reforms to ensure women’s fair access to political spaces in the country.
Oxfam India released this press statement on 29th May, 2019.
For media queries please contact Himanshi Matta, 91-8860182310.
Recent News
Related Stories
18 Mar, 2021
Mumbai
Sewing A Better Future
In Mumbai, livelihood trainings are being carried out among 12 SHGs in Govandi and Mankhurd. Despite the economy opening up, many have still not been able to either get their jobs back or restore the wages that they were getting pre-pandemic. The situation is worse for those who lost their sole breadwinners to the virus. Here's a story of 3 women who have been able to make ends meet, thanks to the livelihood training they received. These trainings are being done in collaboration with Siemens.
Read More
10 Mar, 2021
Mayurbhanj, Odisha
Youth Volunteer As Teachers During Pandemic
Last year, the sudden lockdown led to the closure of more than a million schools throughout the country leading to disruption in education of school students. While children everywhere faced the impact of this discontinuity of their education, the situation proved to be more severe for children from remote rural areas who had no access to internet, smartphone or electricity to be able to access virtual classes. This problem was further exacerbated for tribal students who further faced the challenge with regard to the language of instruction used for classes that were being broadcast. This situation prompted the Dharamveer Youth Group from Prasan Chandrapur Village of Noto Panchayat to come forward and take the responsibility of supporting children from the community so that they could continue their education.
Read More
14 Feb, 2021
Chhattisgarh & Jharkhand
Solar Boost For Rural Livelihood
Based on the success of the solar-powered Sal leaf plate making unit in Chhattisgarh, two more machines were installed in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. This value addition will improve the quality of the product and fetch better price than the traditional hand-made plates. These have been set up in Bade Gobra village in Mainpur block in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district and in Mohanpur Village in Sundarpahari Block in Jharkhand's Godda district.
Read More
11 Feb, 2021
Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh
Making Toilets Sustainable
On February 2, 2021, Oxfam India handed over a Tiger Worm Toilet (TWT) complex to the Naurangiya panchayat in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district. Present at the handing over were community members and representatives from the Arohan Foundation and our on-ground partner PGVS. The toilet complex has five toilets and is built in the complex of the panchayat bhawan.
Read More
