Women's Reservation Bill 2008
Also called: Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill · Topic: Gender, Religion and Caste in Politics · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Women's Reservation Bill 2008, formally the Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, aimed to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. The Rajya Sabha passed it on 9 March 2010. The Lok Sabha never passed it, and it lapsed (died) in 2014 when that Lok Sabha was dissolved. The main sticking points were the demand for a separate OBC quota inside the women's quota, and worries about how rotating reserved seats would affect sitting members. Its idea was finally enacted in 2023 as the 106th Amendment.
Example
The bill passed the Rajya Sabha in March 2010. Disputes over an OBC "quota within quota" then kept it from passing the Lok Sabha, and it lapsed in 2014.
Don't confuse with
- 106th Constitutional Amendment Act 2023: this is the law that was passed. It was introduced as the 128th Amendment Bill and passed both Houses. The 2008 bill never became law.
Related concepts
- Women's reservation in local bodies
- Geeta Mukherjee Committee (1996)
- 106th Constitutional Amendment Act 2023