Women's groups hold protest march

New Delhi, Nov 24: Women's groups and their supporters held a march here today to protest against the delay in tabling the long-pending Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament.

Activists from the All India Women's Conference, Baha'l Office for the Advancement of Women, Centre for Social Research, Hindi Mazdoor Sabha, Mahila Bakshata Samiti, Women Power Connect, Swasthya and students from several colleges of the Delhi University, JNU and Jamia Millia Islamia participated in the march- from Barakhamba to Jantar Mantar here.

Representatives of the groups will meet Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Union Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhary to discuss the status of the Bill, which seeks 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures.

Coming down heavily on the UPA coalition, Centre for Social Research Director Ranjana Kumari said the alliance partners lacked ''political will'' to table and pass the Bill.

''No less than the Prime Minister had assured us that the bill will be tabled soon .... delay has shown that all political parties are denying women their basic rights,'' she added.

''This has exposed the irresponsible attitude of the Government.... Why should women vote when they are not given the chance to participate in policy making decisions,'' she added.

''Anti-women's bill parties and politicians like RJD's Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi party's Mulayam Singh Yadav should not be allowed to win elections,'' she explained.

Dr Kumari said women have been emphasising over years that gender balance in politics is about women's full equal and active participation.

''It is about getting critical mass or at least 33 per cent of women in position of power and decision making so that they can change the nature of politics to genuinely respond to society's problems,'' she added.

The Women's Reservation Bill was earlier introduced in 1996 in the Lok Sabha but lapsed as it failed to find time for discussion.

Facing stiff opposition from various quarters, it was referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee where no consensual outcome was achieved.

''Women of the country, who form 50 per cent of the population, have time and again been let down. We are shocked and disappointed that despite repeated assurances the bill is still been delayed,'' said All India Women's Conference president Dr Manorama Bawa. Ms Bawa said the struggle for the cause will continue and it will be a ''fight to the finish''.

''We are not going to be silent spectators... Either the Government tells us that the Bill will not be tabled or they proceed with the parliamentary formalities. It should not betray the people who have elected it,'' she added.

The UPA Government's contention that a consensus is not arrived at is just a ''gimmick'', she said .

''How is it that a consensus is arrived at on all other issues and bills and not the reservation Bill. It is just an excuse.

Governments after Governments and five Prime Ministers have promised us the tabling and passage of the bill but nothing happens,'' she added.

Pointing out that African countries like Rwanda and Mozambique had provided reservation, Ms Bawa said India had been left far behind in the area.

''When nations like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal can ensure the participation of women in policy making then why is India, the world's democracy, not ensuring this basic right for women,'' she said.

She said if women were given the opportunity of representation in Parliament and legislatures, it will eliminate criminal elements from Indian politics.

Representatives of the women's organisations said they had met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi several times but even that had not yielded any results.

On Wednesday, AICC General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi, after a meeting of the UPA-Left alliance, said the bill, will be introduced in Lok Sabha during the ongoing Winter session.

UNI