The trope of ‘It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind’ could well be applied to the Union government in the context of the Women’s Reservation Act (2023). At the time it was passed, the Centre seemed to be in no hurry to implement the law. Now, it proposes to rejig the architecture of electoral representation to operationalise quotas for women.

Proposal to expand Lok Sabha questioned

Shock and awe greeted the three Bills circulated ahead of the special session of Parliament called to fast-track women’s reservation in legislatures. The size of the Lok Sabha is to be expanded, and a Delimitation Commission set up to redraw constituency boundaries. The underlying question is whether the quota for women is a valid reason for redrawing the electoral map of India.

Prima facie, the answer is no. Increasing the number of seats in the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850, in order to accommodate women, smacks of ‘conditional inclusion’. This is a well-known strategy whereby space is given to a marginalised section, but without disturbing entrenched power and privilege.

Simply creating fresh space for women entails no sacrifice and so will do little to subvert male entitlement. Unless men are compelled to yield ground to women and make a personal contribution to their advancement, the patriarchal mindset will not change. In effect, it positions reservation for women as a gift rather than a prerogative.

Delimitation timeline and census concerns

The implementation of quotas was to begin after Census 2027 and subsequent delimitation,........

© Free Press Journal