Women's org to gherao Parliament for reservation

New Delhi, May 9: In a bid to pressurise the government for enactment of women's reservation bill in the forthcoming parliament session, women groups from all over the country plan to gherao parliament in the first few days of the session beginning tomorrow.

Calling for an increased role of women in decision making process, women bodies have decided to hit the roads and fight till the bill is passed instead of relying on having dialogues in Parliament.

''Women are getting exteremly unhappy with the delay in passing of the bill, various women's organizations from all over the country will gherao parliament and demand for passing of the bill,'' said Dr Ranjana kumari, President, Women Power Connect (WPC).

Dr Kumari said that discrimination is being faced by women in political parties. The women's political representation at the legislative level has declined from 49 in 1999 to 44 in the present lower house. In the upper house it has increased to 28 in the present house from 20 in 1999.

Prof. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, president, All India Mahila Congress said " Women orgnaisations in the country along with gheraoing parliament will also protest in various state capitals simultaneously.'' Earlier, a two day National Convention on 'Legislative co-ordination and action for women's issues' was held in capital last week, which concluded demanding passing of the bill for 33 per cent reservation for women in the coming session of Parliament and stringent provisions in the law to check crime against women which it hopes would be accepted by the government.

About 300 women group leaders and activists from various parts of the country took part in the two day National Convention on Legislative Coordination and Action on Women's Issues organised by the Centre for Social Research (CSR), a national level organization and Women Power Connect (WPC), a federation of over 300 women's groups.

WPC is a national level organization of women's groups and individuals working together with the aim of formalizing the process of legislative coordination in order to generate awareness about women's issues and thereby influence legislators and policy makers to create and implement gender friendly policies. It endeavors to work for social, economic and political empowerment of women and the girl child to attain gender equality.

UNI