NEW DELHI — Indian lawmakers Tuesday approved a historic bill that would set aside one-third of all legislative seats for women, a move aimed at overturning six decades of male-dominated decision-making in this country.
The bill, which drew fierce opposition before its passage in the upper house of parliament, would guarantee seats for women in the national legislature and all state assemblies in the world’s largest democracy, where women have been largely kept on the sidelines of the legislative process.
The bill must still get through the lower house of parliament. It is expected to pass, although analysts say opponents could use political maneuvers to delay the bill.
“This is a momentous development in the long journey of empowering our women. Women are facing discrimination at home, there is domestic violence, unequal access to health and education. This has to end,” India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, said after upper-house legislators approved the bill Tuesday. The new quotas, he said, will be “living proof that the heart of Indian democracy is sound and is in the right place.”
Only 59 women were elected to the current 545-member lower house of the Indian parliament. The new law would raise their total to 181 in the next national election.
Women’s representation in politics isn’t new to South Asia. Several nations, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, have elected women to their highest office. India elected a woman, Indira Gandhi, as prime minister four times between 1966 and 1984.
But the region’s women have lagged behind in life expectancy, literacy and legal rights. In its 2009 report on global gender disparities, the World Economic Forum ranked India 114th in a list of 134 countries.
