INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that he will push a bill to fast-track a law guaranteeing that at least one-third of lawmakers are women, along with a proposal that could expand the number of seats.
He said parliament will hold a special session on April 16 “to discuss and pass an important bill that advances women's reservation”.
If passed, the measure could increase the number of women candidates and elected representatives, and change legislative debates and policy priorities.
The bill proposes early implementation of a 2023 law reserving 33 per cent of seats for women in both the national parliament and state assemblies.
At present, women make up 14 per cent of elected members in India’s Lok Sabha, or 75 out of 543 seats.
“Society progresses when women progress,” Modi said in a statement.
“Yet, their representation in the world of politics and legislative bodies has not always been commensurate with their role in society,” he added.
“This is particularly unfortunate because when women participate in administration and decision-making, they bring with them experiences and insights that enrich public discourse and improve the quality of governance.”
The rollout of the 2023 law had been held up pending census data, after the 2021 census was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The data is required for delimitation of constituency boundaries.
India launched its first census in 15 years this month.
Officials say the exercise will take more than three million personnel about a year to complete, with further time needed to process the data. This means implementation of the law could be delayed beyond the next general election in 2029.
The government has proposed that delimitation be carried out using data from the last completed census in 2011.
Indian newspapers have reported that the amendments could increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816.
(With inputs from agencies)
