This document discusses the politics around reservation bills for women in government jobs and democratic institutions in India. It provides background on the Women's Reservation Bill that aims to reserve 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women. Supporters argue this could help empower women and prioritize women's issues in politics, though there are also concerns like some reserved seats not genuinely benefiting underprivileged women. The document outlines merits like more women in politics and priorities, but also demerits such as reducing some voters' choice and not guaranteeing benefits reach those most in need. Overall it presents debates around using reservations as a tool to politically empower women in India.

1. POLITICS OF RESERVATION BILL
FOR WOMEN
SWATHY M A
MSC COUNSELLING
PSYCHOLOGY
RGNIYD

2. RESERVATION FOR WOMEN
• Reservation for women both in government jobs and
democratic institutions – would amount to a positive
discrimination.
• Also, reservation for women, as we have seen in the cases of
the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward
Classes, would become a populist tool at the hands of powers
• In the circumstances, the intention of every political party is
to talk in terms of reservation only, instead of hitting at the
basic cause of such an inequality between men and women.

3. WOMEN'S RESERVATION BILL
• The Women's Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th
Amendment) Bill, 2008,
• It is a lapsed bill in the Parliament of India. But the Rajya
Sabha passed the bill on 9 March 2010. However, the Lok
Sabha never voted on the bill.
• It is proposed to amend the Constitution of India to reserve
33% of all seats in the Lower house of Parliament of India,
the Lok Sabha, and in all state legislative assemblies for
women.
• The seats were proposed to be reserved in rotation

4. WHY WOMEN RESERVATION BILL?
• The struggle for political rights by women’s groups has
been the longest in the history of independent India
• As the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Women’s
Reservation Bill observes, meaningful empowerment of
women can be achieved only with adequate participation
of women in legislative bodies
• Taking all this into account, whether reservation
for women in the Parliament is the right tool for
empowerment

5. IMPACT OFWOMEN RESERVATION BILL
• Women elected to the parliament through reservation might not be
champions of women's issues.
• It is heartening to know that all the political parties acknowledge the
problems of social evils faced by women but it cannot be affirmed how by
having a woman president or a woman Lok Sabha speaker has improved
the status of women in India.
• Parliamentary reservations will not give the women power to fight social
evils like dowry and female infanticides
• But no doubt, the position and status of the women of today has
improved quite significantly, however, women continue to suffer in
general even now.

6. MERITS OFWOMEN RESERVATION BILL
1. It will increase the number of women members in Parliament and
state assemblies.
2. Issue related to the women’s will get much more priority in the
Parliament and can be resolve easily.
3. The abusive and bad atmosphere of the Parliament and state
assemblies can become better.

7. DEMERITS OFWOMEN RESERVATION BILL
• 1.This Bill takes away the democratic right of 33% of the electorate to elect
their representatives as after the implementation of bill it became
compulsory to fill the reserved seats for women.
2.This law is raising questions on the abilities of women and perpetuates
gender discrimination.
3. It is not guaranteed that benefits are received by the socially backward and
underprivileged women, who really need them.
4. Many MLAs and MPs who are already having seats in Parliament and state
assemblies will try to bring their own wife’s and other relatives to fulfil the
seats.

8. THANK YOU