The story so far: In a historic move, Parliament passed the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Eighth Amendment) Bill, commonly referred to as the women’s reservation Bill, which provides 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. On September 21, the Bill secured all the votes in the Rajya Sabha, a day after securing near-unanimous support in the Lok Sabha. It will now require the President’s assent to become law.
What does the Bill say?
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, as the Bill is called, seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha, the State Legislative Assemblies, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. This will also apply to seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies. The seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation exercise.
