17 November 2022, 04:30 pm
IIC DIAMOND JUBILEE LECTURES ON ENGENDERING THE DISCOURSE
Programme Type
Discussions
Venue
Conference Room II, IIC main building

Her Voice: India @75 - Affirmative Legislation for Equitable Women’s Representation

Speaker: Rami Chhabra, pioneer woman journalist and columnist of women’s issues in the national press; former administrator, Member, National Population Commission; Founder-President, STREEBAL

Introduction: Dr. S.Y. Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India and author of An Undocumented Wonder – The Making of the Great Indian Election

Concluding Remarks: Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Life Trustee, IIC and former administrator, diplomat and Governor

Chair: Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath, Life Trustee, IIC and Chairperson, Centre for Policy Research

India@ 75 with a mere 15-per cent women in Parliament - less in State Legislatures- is a travesty of the Constitutional promise of gender-equality. The controversial Women’s Reservation Bill (WRB) featuring rotational-constituencies lies moribund in Rajya Sabha. But the soon-to-be-inaugurated-new-Parliament- building with ample space -and the General Election scheduled in 2024 - make it imperative to examine women’s political representation issues anew: for alternatives to harmoniously, seamlessly, assure equity to women. Rami Chhabra had earlier fielded an alternative that merited serious consideration by the Parliament Standing Committee examining WRB. She updates the facts and arguments to urge policy-makers across the political spectrum to unite and fulfill the overdue Constitutional obligation – one that could hopefully also recalibrate the country’s politics to greater accountability.

( Collaboration: WISCOMP )