Athletes, artists, citizens hail Womens’ Bill as ‘revolutionary move’

The Constitution 128th Amendment Women’s Reservation Bill 2023 which seeks to provide women representatives with 33% in the Parliament and across state legislative Assemblies was passed in the Parliament Special Session yesterday evening after 7 hours of debate. The Bill received 454 votes in support, with just two votes opposing it.
Several women sportspersons and artists cutting across industry lines paid a visit to the new Parliament building on Wednesday. The visitors reacted to the Union government’s initiative t to introduce the long-pending bill and expressed hope that it would be passed without obstructions—even before the voting began on Wednesday. Boxer and former Rajya Sabha MP Mary Kom told reporters outside the new Parliament building: “This bill is going to be passed… We felt happy that prominent athletes were called (on this day)… The women’s reservation is important for women’s empowerment.”
National hockey team player Rani Rampal was also optimistic about the bill. “The greater the participation of the women, the better for the country,” she said. “Today is a very auspicious day as we got the chance to visit the new Parliament building…We would like to thank the government of India for this…We are very happy that the Women’s Reservation Bill is being passed.” Former athlete Anju Bobby George even went on to suggest that the bill could lead to a revolution. “I think a new revolution is going to happen in India.”
Actors Bhumi Pednekar and Shehnaaz Gill also visited the Parliament on Wednesday, accompanied by Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur. “As a modern Indian woman, representation is very important for us. When women are in positions of power, there will be a female gaze in debates, policies, and law-making—this is very important. This is an era of women. It is a matter of pride for us that we came [to Parliament],” Pednekar said. Gill added that the Bill was the first towards boys and girls being treated equally and “a lot of things in the country will change.”
In a ground survey on Wednesday, an India News survey found that a majority of respondents supported the Bill. Notably, over 50% of respondents felt that the reservation should be enforced indefinitely. A whopping 69.82% felt Prime Minister Modi made the most significant contributions towards empowering Indian women, while 19.27% felt Indira Gandhi took the most initiative. Around 42.18% of respondents supported a 33% reservation while 37.09% favoured a 50% reservation. At the same time, a large number (41.45%) felt that female relatives of current politicians—their wives, sisters, daughters, etc—would primarily benefit from this reservation. However, while the Bill has been passed in the Lower House, it remains to be seen how smooth its passage through Rajya Sabha will be and what eventual implementation might look like.