kept alive and public opinion is created and moulded around it. The Rajya Sabha acts as the mood manager of the nation for many legislative proposals framed by governments in the larger interests of the nation to take our country forward by extending justice to those who have suffered for centuries. That happened to the Hindu Code Bill. The Code itself could not be made a law. But the laborious process of its drafting and the final shape in which it was presented to the nation reflected the intention of the then government to establish a liberal legal regime for women for addressing their concerns in relation to marriage, divorce, right to property, et cetera.
In successfully taking up the Hindu Code legislation for guaranteeing social and economic rights of women, the Rajya Sabha thus made a start in creating conditions for making women equal partners in the political sphere.
It has been well said that
“women’s empowerment is not only a political issue but also a socio-economic issue”. In successfully clearing legislation for the social and economic rights of women, the Rajya Sabha was thus fulfilling the key aspects of women’s empowerment in the middle of the twentieth century. The then Minister of Legal
Affairs, Shri H.V. Pataskar, while moving the motion in the Rajya Sabha on 1 October 1955 for the Hindu Succession Bill, stated that for many years Indian women had not been treated on an equal footing. Then he noted with satisfaction that the speeches of Members of the Rajya Sabha almost expressed unanimity to grant equality to women so that all hindrances in regard to succession for women would be removed. For example, Shrimati Lakshmi Menon, a Member of the Rajya Sabha and then Parliamentary Secretary to External Affairs Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,
said that those opposing the Bill would realize that they could not hold back the change that was inevitably coming in favour of women. In 1977 when the Rajya Sabha completed 25 years, a volume was published entitled “The Second Chamber: Its Role in Modern Legislatures” edited by Shri S.S. Bhalerao, the Chamber’s then Secretary-General.
Many of its women Members contributed articles to it, including Shrimati Leela Damodar Menon who catalogued its significant achievements and wrote: “What the Rajya Sabha needed the most was more women Members in its fold”. Her robust vision for the Rajya Sabha in terms of greater representation of women was as true for the House as it was for all legislative bodies of our country including the Lok Sabha.
Representation of women on parliamentary committees and in local government
Members of the Rajya Sabha have always remained vigilant in taking up the cause of women’s representation on the committees of Parliament. It was best exemplified in their actions on 29 August 1985 when the constitution of the Joint Committee of both Houses on the Bill to provide for the appointment of the Lokpal to enquire into allegations of corruption against Ministers was being discussed in the Rajya Sabha.
Several Members wanted representation of a woman Member of the House on that committee. The Law Minister admitted that when the matter was discussed no one thought of appointing a woman Member. The Minister of Parliamentary
Affairs was very candid in acknowledging that it was his mistake that he did not propose the name of a woman Member when he prepared the list. The then Deputy Chairman, Hon. Najma
Heptullah, noted that the whole House was conscious of the fact that a woman should have been included. She ruled that the particular rule permitted for the resignation of the Member from the proposed committee and the vacancy caused thereby could be filled by a woman. To end the controversy, the Deputy Chairman ruled: “According to rule 72, a person will resign and the vacancy so created will be filled by a lady Member.” Eventually a woman Member occupied the seat vacated by a male Member after he resigned from the membership of that committee. That instance of 1985 proved beyond doubt that Members of the House including its Presiding Officers did underline the issue of representation of women Members in a wide variety of activities of the House which includes the work done by committees. The Rajya Sabha passed the Constitution (73rd and 74th Amendment) Bill 1991 which eventually became an act of Parliament constitutionally guaranteeing 33 per cent of seats for women in representative bodies across the nation at the local level. As a result, one million women are now elected to such bodies every five years.
Besides, the Rajya Sabha has passed many resolutions which asked for adequate representation of women in legislative bodies. The passage of the Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill to reserve 33 per cent of seats in the lower House of the Indian Parliament and the state Assemblies is a step in that direction.
Correcting the “lopsided” male view
In India, seats are reserved for territorial constituencies. The Rajya Sabha as the federal Chamber represents not territorial constituencies but the states and union territories of our country so it is not possible to reserve Rajya
Sabha seats for women. In spite of such limitations, it is important to analyze the role of the Rajya Sabha to further the cause of women’s empowerment. While doing so, it is pertinent to bear in mind that more women Members in both the Houses of Parliament would go a long way in achieving gender equality and justice in our country. Our first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote in early 1950s:
“I have been meeting our new Members of Parliament. There are over 700 of them as between the two Houses. I have noticed with great regret how few women have been elected. I suppose this is so in the state Assemblies and Councils also. I think we are very much to be blamed. It is not a matter of showing favour to any one or even of injustice, but rather of doing something which is not conducive to the future growth of our country. I am quite sure that our real and basic growth will only come when women have a full chance to play their part in public life. Wherever they have had this chance, they have, as a whole, done well – better, if I may say so, than the average man. Our laws are man- made, our society dominated by man, and so most of us naturally take a very lopsided view of the matter. We cannot be objective, because we have grown up in certain grooves of thought and action. But the future of India will probably depend ultimately more upon the women than the men.”
The passage of the
Constitution Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha to reserve 33 per cent of seats for women is thus a step towards fulfilling the vision of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. It is certainly a great and bold beginning for women’s empowerment which will contribute to build a better India firmly based on the values of inclusion, justice and equality.