Although women constitute about half the global population, nowhere in the world have they been accorded representation in legislatures in accordance with their number. Even in the most advanced and progressive nation like the U. S. A., only 13 per cent of the seats in legislatures are being occupied by them. The average of women’s representation in legislatures in Europe is 17 per cent, in Asia 15.2 per cent, in India 10.3 per cent, in Pakistan 17 per cent and in the Arab world only 6 per cent. It is not that there is a statutory bar to the election of women in larger numbers in legislatures. But somehow, either due to male prejudice or maybe lack of enterprising women in most of the countries, the presence of women in legislatures has been rather nominal.

When India was engaged in the freedom struggle against the British, Mahatma Gandhi encouraged women to join the Congress in large numbers to intensify the freedom movement and make it as broad-based as possible. But after independence, although women continued to shine in politics—Indira Gandhi was one of the best prime ministers India had—gradually women’s participation in national politics declined. It was against this background that Rajiv Gandhi first thought of making statutory provisions to ensure the presence of women in larger numbers in panchayats which are representative bodies at village-level in the country. Since then, almost all political parties have been raising the demand for according greater representation to women in legislatures. It was during H. D. Deve Gowda ’s tenure as prime minister that a move was initiated to reserve 33 per cent of seats for women in Parliament and legislatures all over the country. As Deve Gowda’s government and governments that followed never had such a majority in the Lok Sabha, it became clear that it could never be adopted without the support of the Opposition.

Women belonging to various organisations have sat on dharnas outside Parliament House, and submitted memoranda to the Prime Minister and the President demanding introduction of the bill. In order to make the bill acceptable to all sections of people, the Law Ministry modified its provisions. According to the latest version of the revised bill, a provision for rotation of constituencies from where women are elected has been introduced. Under this provision, a woman cannot seek election from the same constituency for more than two consecutive terms. But the principle of rotation would also hit men for they will have to make way for women to seek election from their constituencies and move to other constituencies for winning a fresh mandate for the third consecutive term.