Historic Move: Women’s Reservation Act Comes Into Effect After Late-Night Debate

New Delhi: The 'Nari Shakti Vandan Act', which provides reservation to women in Parliament and state assemblies, has now officially come into force. The Law Ministry of the Central Government has issued its notification. This long-pending decision is being considered a big step towards increasing women's participation in politics, although the effect of its implementation will not be visible immediately.

What is this law?

Under this law, 33 percent of seats will be reserved for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. In this, a provision of reservation has also been made for women belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories so that participation of all sections can be ensured.

Will reservations be available from now?

The law has definitely been implemented, but its benefits will not be available immediately. For this, first census will have to be conducted and after that the process of delimitation will be completed. This will decide on which seats reservation will be applicable.

Why is delimitation necessary?

The boundaries of parliamentary and assembly constituencies are decided through delimitation. After this process, it will be decided which seats will be reserved for women. Unless this process is completed, reservation will not be implemented.

What will be the impact on politics?

Till now the participation of women in Parliament and legislative assemblies has been limited. In such a situation, this law can change the picture of politics in the coming times. With the arrival of more women, diversity and balance in decisions is expected to increase.

Are questions also being raised on this?

Some political parties and experts have raised questions on the timing and process of implementation of this law. They say that due to the conditions related to census and delimitation, it may take time to be implemented.

What will happen next?

Now the eye is on how long the census and delimitation will take to be completed. Only after this will it be clear from which election women will start getting the benefits of reservation.

This decision fulfills a long-standing demand, but we will have to wait for some time to see its impact on the ground.