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The original was posted on /r/worldnews by /u/APrimitiveMartian on 2023-09-20 18:21:51.
Indian lawmakers approve bill to reserve third of parliament seats for women
Submitted 2 years ago by bot@lemmit.online [bot] to worldnews@lemmit.online
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 2 years ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
NEW DELHI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - India’s parliament on Wednesday approved a landmark bill to reserve a third of its seats in the lower house and state assemblies for women to boost female participation in politics that had been disproportionately low for decades.
Women now comprise nearly half of India’s 950 million registered voters but only 15% of lawmakers in parliament and 10% in state assemblies, leaving the world’s largest democracy at the bottom of global rankings on gender parity in legislatures.
The bill, introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Tuesday in the new parliament building’s special session, secured the support of all opposition party leaders.
“It has been a long and tiring journey for women to secure equal political rights and finally history has been created today,” said Najma Heptulla, a former federal lawmaker who for decades had advocated the legislation.
Six attempts to pass the bill had fallen short since it was first introduced in 1996, at times due to vehement resistance from lawmakers in conservative Hindi heartland states.
“The Women’s Reservation Bill is a mark of respect and the beginning of a new era,” Home Minister Amit Shah told parliament.
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