Need of the reservation for women in Indian legislature: An analysis based on elections in Bihar
- Bihar Journal of Public Administration
- 17(2), Jul-Dec, 2020: p.643-655
The Women’s Reservation Bill has been pending for its approval from the time it was introduced in 1996 and reintroduced with modifications in 2008. The bill aimed at reserving seats for women at the level of state and central legislatures and was hailed as a game-changer in ensuring gender parity in legislative bodies and its benefits were expected to topple down to other aspects of policy making. However, since its introduction the bill has also faced severe opposition from various quarters. The present article analyses the need of the law from the perspective of political participation and opportunities for women within it. Based on a time line study of different elections in Bihar, the article argues that though the participation of women in elections has shown a sharp increase as voters and as candidates, they are not able to succeed in electoral contests and hence their entry into either State Assembly or Lok Sabha as law makers is hindered. This is primarily due to a disturbing neglect of their candidature by major political parties of the state. The results indicate that in absence of consciousness, acceptability and support for their candidature among political parties, a law reserving seats for women is essential to ensure that more women reach to decision making bodies. – Reproduced