The Women's Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 9 March 2010, is a bill passed in the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

which says to amend the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

to reserve 1/3 of all seats in the lower house of Parliament of India, the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

, and in all state legislative assemblies for women. The seats were proposed to be reserved in rotation and would have been determined by draw of lots in such a way that a seat would be reserved only once in three consecutive general elections. The

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

passed the bill on 9 March 2010. The

did not vote on the bill. The bill lapsed after having pending status in Lok Sabha and the Lok Sabha; it expired twice, in 2014 and 2019. An equivalent bill was passed by Lok Sabha on 20 September 2023 with 454 votes in favour and two against. It was then passed by the Rajya Sabha unanimously. the bill was pending presidential assent. President Droupadi Murmu signed the bill on 28 September 2023, and the gazette notification was also published the same day, which made it clear that the reservation will come into force soon after the first delimitation (frozen until 2026).

Standing Committee recommendation

Originally, the Bill proposed reserving women in all legislative bodies, but the Standing Committee suggested restricting the reservation in the 'House of People' Lok Sabha in the Centre and Assembly in States and Union Territories with the legislature. This recommendation was accepted by the Government and incorporated into the Bill.

History of Women's reservation bills

In 1987, Prime Minister

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

’s government constituted a 14-member committee led by Union Minister Margaret Alva to give recommendations for improving the status of women. Rajiv Gandhi introduced the Constitution Amendment Bill to provide one-third reservation for women in rural and urban local bodies. The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha but failed to get passed in Rajya Sabha in September 1989. In 1992, Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao's government passed the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts which mandated 33.3 percent reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions. The women's reservation bill was first introduced by HD Deve Gowda-led government, as Constitution (81st Amendment) Bill, 1996 in the 11th Lok Sabha on 12 September 1996. It was then referred to the Joint Committee of the two Houses of parliament, but the bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 11th Lok Sabha. The joint parliamentary committee report examining the women's reservation Bill in 1996 recommended that reservation be provided for women of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) once the Constitution was amended to allow for reservation for OBCs. In 1993, a

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

was passed in India that called for a random one third of village council leader, or

sarpanch A sarpanch, gram pradhan, mukhiya, or president is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the gram sabha (village government) in India. The sarpanch, together with other elected panchay ...

, positions in gram panchayat, to be reserved for women. A long-term plan was made to extend this reservation to the federal parliament and to state legislative assemblies. On 19 September 2023, the

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

government introduced a form of the bill as the

128th Constitutional Amendment Bill The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, popularly known as the Women's Reservation Bill, 2023 (ISO 15919: ''Nārī Śakti Vandan Adhiniyam''), was introduced in Lok Sabha on 19 September 2023 during the special session of Par ...

, 2023, during Parliament Special Session in Lok Sabha in new parliament building. The bill was passed by Lok Sabha on 20 September 2023 with 454 votes in favour and two against. , the bill was expected to be voted on by Rajya Sabha; the result was unanimous approval. Only two members voted against the bill were

Asaduddin Owaisi Asaduddin Owaisi (born 13 May 1969) is an Indian politician who is serving as the third and current president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) since 2008. He is a five time Member of Parliament (India), Member of Parliame ...

and Imtiyaz Jaleel from

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (; AIMIM) is a right-wing Indian political party based primarily in the old city of Hyderabad, It is also a significant political party in the Indian States of Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, ...

References

{{reflist Reservation in India Proposed laws of India 2010 in Indian law 2010 in law Manmohan Singh administration Women's rights in India Identity politics in India 2010 in women's history

Standing Committee recommendation

History of Women's reservation bills

See also

References