{"id":71416,"date":"2026-04-11T19:13:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T13:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=71416"},"modified":"2026-04-11T19:14:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T13:44:39","slug":"women-reservation-legislatures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-04-2026\/women-reservation-legislatures","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s Reservation in Legislatures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>PM Modi has emphasized that reservation for women in legislative bodies is essential to make Indian democracy more vibrant, inclusive, and participative.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Political Representation of Women in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The percentage of women MPs in the Lok Sabha had been very low between <strong>5% <\/strong>and <strong>10% till 2004.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It rose marginally to <strong>12% in 2014<\/strong> and currently stands at <strong>14% <\/strong>in the 18th Lok Sabha, which is <strong>lower than the global average of 24 percent.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The representation in State Legislative Assemblies is even poorer with the national average being around 9%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As of 2024,<strong> India ranked 143<\/strong> in the list of countries in the <strong>\u2018Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments\u2019<\/strong> published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a global organisation for national parliaments.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reservation for Women in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Constitution 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, mandated the reservation of <strong>one-third of seats for women<\/strong> in Panchayati Raj institutions and offices of the chairperson at all levels of Panchayati Raj institutions, and in urban local bodies respectively.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Out of the total 1\/3rd seats reserved for women,<strong> 33% had to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Women\u2019s Reservation in Legislatures: <\/strong>The Nari Shakti Vandana Act (106th Constitutional Amendment) is a landmark law reserving <strong>33%<\/strong> of seats for women in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi,\u00a0 including those reserved for<strong> SCs and STs.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reasons of Lower Representation of Women<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Gender Bias: <\/strong>Despite progress, many women encounter stereotypes that question their competence and leadership abilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Work-Life Balance: <\/strong>Balancing professional responsibilities with traditional family roles can be particularly demanding, often leading to burnout.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Harassment and Discrimination:<\/strong> Workplace harassment remains a significant issue, creating hostile environments that discourage women from asserting themselves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural Expectations: <\/strong>Societal norms impose additional pressures on women, such as expectations to conform to traditional roles, which conflict with career ambitions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Networking Challenges: <\/strong>Male-dominated networks make it difficult for women to establish connections that are crucial for career growth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of Women Representation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Diverse Perspectives: <\/strong>Women bring unique experiences and viewpoints that contribute to more comprehensive decision-making, leading to better solutions and innovation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Role Models:<\/strong> Increased visibility of women in leadership roles inspires younger generations and helps challenge stereotypes about gender roles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Equity and Justice: <\/strong>Fair representation promotes gender equality, ensuring that women&#8217;s voices and needs are considered in policymaking and organizational decisions.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some recent studies on panchayats have shown the <strong>positive effect of reservation on empowerment of women <\/strong>and on allocation of resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Balanced Policies: <\/strong>Women\u2019s involvement in governance can lead to policies that address issues specifically affecting women and families.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Growth:<\/strong> Empowering women and ensuring their representation can significantly contribute to economic development, as it expands the talent pool and encourages inclusive growth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural Change:<\/strong> Increasing women&#8217;s representation can challenge societal norms and promote a culture of equality, benefiting society as a whole.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Women\u2019s reservation in legislatures is not merely a political reform but a structural transformation aimed at deepening democracy.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensuring women\u2019s participation in governance is essential for achieving a more equitable, representative, and vibrant democratic system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsonair.gov.in\/pm-modi-says-womens-reservation-in-legislatures-is-need-of-the-hour-to-make-democracy-more-participative\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>AIR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> PM Modi has emphasized that reservation for women in legislative bodies is essential to make Indian democracy more vibrant, inclusive, and participative. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Political Representation of Women in India <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The percentage of women MPs in the Lok Sabha had been very low between 5% and 10% till 2004.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> It rose marginally to 12% in 2014 and currently stands at 14% in the 18th Lok Sabha, which is lower than the global average of 24 percent. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The representation in State Legislative Assemblies is even poorer with the national average being around 9%. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-04-2026\/women-reservation-legislatures \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71416"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71419,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71416\/revisions\/71419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}