Activists across the country demand equal representation for women in Parliament, legislative assemblies; push for 50% reservation

New Delhi: Women activists from across the country on Friday launched a charter in Delhi demanding that the Centre ensure that 50 percent seats in Parliament and legislative assemblies are reserved for women. [caption id=“attachment_4738611” align=“alignleft” width=“379”] File photo of director of Centre for Social Research Dr Ranjana Kumari. Gender Matters[/caption] Calling the Women’s Reservation Bill ‘the most-delayed bill in the history of India’, Dr Ranjana Kumari, director at the Centre for Social Research, said women want equal representation more than free chulha and toilets. The Bill seeks to ensure that 33 percent of the seats in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies are reserved for women. “The government should stop stereotyping us by giving us chulha, which has increased problems for the women who are not able to afford cylinder or the stove,” she said. Among the activists was Asha Devi of the Nirbhaya Jyoti Trust. Devi said that every political party promises equality to women during election campaigns but forgets it as soon as they come to power. Phool Kor, a social activist who came from Rohtak, said the reservation for women was not a request but a demand. The women activists released a charter for all political parties, leaders and opinion makers. The charter included a demand for the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill. Women from several villages of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana and other states also voiced their demand for women reservation.