India will have 1/3rd reservation for women in Parliament, says Sumitra Mahajan

Women empowerment in India has been a slow process. However, one way to speed up the advancement of women is to ensure a good number of female representatives in the government. Hopefully, we will soon see that in our country.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajaner announced that India is pro-actively working for providing one-third reservation for women in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies, at Geneva yesterday.

At the 131st Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva on 'Achieving Gender Equality, Ending Violence Against Women', the Lok Sabha speaker said, “women are the unwavering pillars of society and the worth of any civilization can be judged from the position it gives to women,” according to a report by the Economic Times.

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Mahajaner also said that Indian laws and policies have successfully created an empowering environment for women economically and socially and stated that India has been a pioneer in extending adult franchise to its female citizens.

She stated that National parliaments being the supreme representative bodies should work towards helping and uplifting the status of women, while addressing the IPU member nations. She called all the members to join hands to eradicate all forms of gender-based inequalities and violence against women for a more peaceful and prosperous global society. She added that the first step to do this would be to change the traditional and stereotypical mind-set and treat women with equality.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Economic Times

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-working-for-1/3rd-reservation-for-women-in-parliament-sumitra-mahajan/articleshow/44805830.cms