HYDERABAD: BRS MLC and Bharat Jagruthi president K Kavitha on Wednesday said that women should be given a bigger role in decision-making for the overall development and growth of the country and society. Kavitha was addressing a roundtable conference organised by the Bharat Jagruthi in New Delhi demanding 33% reservation to women in legislative bodies.
Representatives from as many as 13 political parties, MPs and others attended the conference and supported the demand for tabling the Women’s Reservation Bill in the ongoing session of Parliament.
Last week, Kavitha had sat on a day-long hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar, demanding introduction of the Bill in the current Budget session.
MPs from BRS, JMM, DMK, RJD, Samajwadi Party, CPI, Shiv Sena, AAP, RLD, RSP (Kerala), CPM, VCK Party and Azad Samaj Party, as well as representatives from farmer unions, women’s organisations and students unions attended the conference.
Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi said that when the makers of Indian Constitution could ensure that women were given an equal right to vote, why couldn’t the government of the day table the Women’s Reservation Bill to ensure greater participation of women in legislative affairs. She requested more women in legislative discourse to start demanding for the same.
RJD MP Prof Manoj Jha said that they stand in solidarity with the demand. Jha said: “We must have a strategy whereby issues are raised in Parliament as well as outside; mass movements on the road bring Parliament to its knees.”
CPI MP Binoy Biswam said that the patriarchal tendencies have come in the way of the Women’s Reservation Bill. RLD women’s wing chief Pratibha Singh and leader Bhupinder Chaudhary, JMM MP Mahua Maji, AAP MP Raghav Chaddha and others participated in the discussion and extended their support to Kavitha.
Samajwadi Party MP ST Hassan said that a country could not be a superpower if its women were not given their due sha-re, respect and most importantly, adequate representation.