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India lawmakers weigh bill to reserve parliamentary seats for women

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Indian lawmakers on Monday introduced a bill to ensure that one-third of seats in parliament are reserved for women, marking International Women's Day. The Women's Reservations Bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, would increase the number of women serving in the 543-seat legislature, which currently has no gender quota, from 59 to at least 181. The bill is supported by the ruling Congress Party and also has support in the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist parties. The bill would require a constitutional amendment, meaning it must be passed by at least a two-thirds majority. Voting was postponed until Tuesday after opposition MP's tore up the bill in protest. The controversial legislation was originally proposed in 1996, but has been repeatedly blocked. Last year, India elected its first woman president and first woman speaker of parliament. India currently reserves one-third of seats on local governing bodies for women, and, last year, increased the quota to 50 percent.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 08, 2010 (boomark / email).