INDIA: Pending Legislation Would Reserve Seats for Women in Legislature

Here's an interesting story out of India, as reported by The Economic Times of India -

Women's activism groups are demanding the passage of pending legislation that would ensure their representation in the legislature. The Women's Reservation Bill would reserve 33 percent of seats for women in all levels of the legislature to ensure that their right to participate in politics is upheld.

"Women compromise nearly 50 percent of India's population and yet continue to be under-represented in all aspects of politics," said Shabnam Hashmi, founder of Act Now for Harmony and Democracy. "The marginalization of women from politics is clear as today, only 10.9 percent of the parliamentary seats are held by women."

Over the next two weeks, advocates hope to meet with political leaders, engage with youth through an online campaign and have a "dharna"(peaceful demonstration) on February 12 at Jantar Mantar.

"33% Now", an alliance of 35+ organizations, has served as the leading voice in the campaign for the legislation, which has been in the works since 1996.