Passage of Women’s Reservation Bill Figures in Govt’s 100 Days Agenda

The government is set to further empowerment of women if the 25-point agenda for the first 100 days in office that promises early passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill and some other similar measures is anything to go by.

The agenda comprises of a number of programmes, including constitutional amendment to provide 50 per cent quota for women in panchayats and urban local bodies, a national mission on empowerment of women and concerted efforts to increase representation of women in Central government job etc.

Addressing the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament, the President Pratibha Patil said that the Womens Reservation Bill would provide for one-third reservation to women in State legislatures and in Parliament, thus indicating that there was no dilution of quota provision.
She said that women are worst sufferers of multiple deprivations like that of class, caste and gender, and enhancing reservation in panchayats and urban local bodies would pay the way for more women to enter the public sphere.

The National Mission on Empowerment of Women would be for implementation of women-centric programmes in a mission mode to achieve better coordination, the President, the first woman to adorn the high office, said.

She was flanked by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who only yesterday became the first woman to occupy the Lok Sabha Presiding Officer’s post and Vice President Hamid Ansari, who is the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.