Vote guarantees Indian women slice of political power

Supporters celebrate outside Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's house. Photo / AP

Indian politicians took a step towards making history when they voted to reserve a third of all legislative seats across the country for women.

In what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described as an "historic step forward toward emancipation of Indian womanhood", the upper house of the country's federal Parliament voted 186-1 to set aside the seats in the national and state assemblies.

Having overcome more than a decade of opposition, the politicians thumped on their desks to celebrate the bill's passage.

Even though two of the most influential figures in the history of India since its independence from Britain in 1947 - Indira Gandhi and her daughter-in-law, the current Congress Party leader, Sonia Gandhi - have been women, the country does not do well when it comes to gender equality in politics.

With only 21 women in the 233-member upper house, representing around 9 per cent, and 59 in the 545-member Lower House, or under 11 per cent, India ranks 99th in the world in terms of female representation among MPs.

Pakistan and Bangladesh, both neighbours of India, perform markedly better, according to the study by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a Switzerland-based organisation that works to promote democracy.

Sonia Gandhi, the widow of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who was assassinated in 1991, and reportedly one of the driving forces behind the measure, told an Indian television channel: "I am relieved ... very happy.

"In politics, there are always some risks but the larger picture has to be kept in mind. The support of my party and especially of the women kept me going."

Outside the Parliament building in Delhi, activists and female politicians celebrated and shouted: "We have made it!"

The passage of the bill, which was first proposed in 1996, has been difficult and faced opposition from many political leaders who believed their male-dominated parties would lose seats.

Other parties have opposed the move because they did not think the legislation went far enough and argued that seats should also be reserved for people from lower castes and ethnic minorities.

On International Women's Day, a vote on the bill was blocked by unprecedented scenes in the Upper House when opponents snatched copies of the proposed legislation and tore them up.

Yesterday, proceedings were again halted when seven legislators refused to leave the chamber. They were eventually removed by marshals.

Other opponents boycotted the vote, including the Trinamool Congress Party, one of the Government's allies and whose leader, Mamata Banerjee, is the Railways Minister. Her party said that the Congress Party had not properly consulted its allies before proceeding.

Activists hope that, if the bill is now passed in the lower house as expected, the legislation will inspire Indian women, who still suffer high levels of discrimination.

- INDEPENDENT