New Delhi: The UN Women has expressed hope that political parties across the board will come together to ensure timely implementation of the women's reservation bill given that gender quotas in policies and politics is crucial to advancing gender equality and women's rights.
It also said reserving 33 per cent seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will "leapfrog India into one of 64 countries" that have reservation for women in their national parliaments. In a statement, the UN Women said achieving a critical mass of 30 per cent representation for women in Parliament is known to yield positive outcomes for women's empowerment.
"This quota reserving 33 per cent seats for women will leapfrog India into one of 64 countries around the world who have reserved seats for women in their national parliaments," UN Women India Country Representative Susan Ferguson said.
"However, we hope that implementing such reservations will ultimately lead to achieving 50 per cent representation of women in parliaments across the globe," she added.
The government on Tuesday introduced the Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam, reserving 33 per cent seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, reviving a bill pending for 27 years and blending history, politics and societal imperatives on the first day in the new Parliament building.
UN Women said the decision to table the bill reflects the country's commitment to gender equality and women-led development. Calling it a "bold" and "transformative" step, Ferguson underlined the importance of political representation for women's sustained empowerment and expressed hope that the proposed bill will be endorsed by all stakeholders, including MPs and the civil society.
"We hope political parties across the board will come together to ensure timely implementation of the bill given that gender quotas in policies and politics is crucial to advancing gender equality and women's rights. The women's reservation bill strengthens India's commitment to women-led development and sets a global example," Ferguson said.
"This is a moment of great elation for gender advocates and organisations that work for gender equality, women's economic empowerment and their increased role in leadership position," she added.
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India already reserves for women a third of seats in Panchayati Raj Institutions at the village level. It also reserves one-third of the offices of chairperson at all levels of Panchayati Raj Institutions and in urban local bodies.
The UN Women said studies about the impact of women in leadership positions have shown the positive effect of reservation on delivering policies, programmes and financing that improves the lives of women and their families, communities and ultimately their nations.
"Globally, women currently occupy only 26.7 per cent of parliamentary seats and 35.5 per cent of local government positions," said Ferguson. The UN body also welcomed the proposed bill's reservation of seats for women leaders from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as an "important step" that aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals and its core objective of leaving no-one behind.
"India's bold step sends a clear message to the world that the path to gender equality is not only essential but attainable," she said. (PTI)
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