India - September 2023

On 20 September, India's Parliament approved the Women's Reservation Bill, reserving one-third of seats in the lower house (Lok Sabha) and State Legislative Assemblies for women. UN Women and other gender advocates have hailed this as a "historic step for gender equality, particularly in women's political leadership." Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared the law will be enforced in the 2029 national elections after a census and constituency redrawing process post the upcoming polls. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has called for the system to be implemented as soon as possible, with some opposition lawmakers asking for its “immediate implementation” and questioning the necessity of linking the quota to the decadal population census.

Sources: The Indian Express, UN Women, Carnegie Endowment, The Associated Press, The Diplomat, OHCHR