When we talk about reservation in India, the debate remains incomplete without mentioning the reservation status for women. Women, as an essential part of the nation, have always been fighting for their equal rights even though the same is mentioned in the Constitution. Since the time of World War I, the Feminist movement has been taking waves and turns globally and in India, the position of women outside their homes gets secured through reservation. In India, apart from only women reservation quota, the women of reserved castes are even in a more miserable condition socially. The application of reservation to the entire population of women may look real and practical when the women representatives are adequately represented.

Political leaders and experts say that while the initial delay in enacting the Women Reservation Bill was due to concerns over the issue of intersectionality, at the heart of the delays is the unwillingness to share power and fear of losing bastions of electoral support.[1] If we look at the real picture, women candidates barely manage to make up to a total of 15% of the elected representatives in the Legislature whereas women constitute about 49% of Indian population. When we know that there are major issues relating to safety of women in India, we need to be prepared to have adequate women representatives to address the issue in a proper way.

The Women’s Reservation Bill was passed as the 108^th Amendment Bill in the year 2010 by the Rajya Sabha. This bill intended to make a reservation of 1/3^rd seats in the Legislature for women candidates. Initially, this Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in the year 1993. Subsequently, there were numerous attempts in re-introducing the Bill and ultimately the Bill has been recently passed in the year 2010. This Bill has been pending at the Lok Sabha for approval. The Bill can only be passed if it has the approval of the majority in Lok Sabha.

However, a positive side towards securing women’s position is seen in the Indian Judiciary where Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana called for 50% reservation for women in all levels of the judiciary and also demanded reservation across all law colleges in the country.[2] This has been one big positive step towards securing the position of women in India through the Indian Judiciary amidst all the chaos of reservation in the Legislature.