In an exclusive interview with VOA, New Delhi’s Times of India National Political Bureau special correspondent Mahua Chatterjee discusses the historical bill passed in India’s upper house that reserves one-third of seats for women in the parliament of India.
On Tuesday, the upper house approved the measure with 186 of the chamber’s 245 members voting for it. Only one lawmaker voted against it. Others boycotted the vote. The bill now goes to the lower house. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the bill’s upper house passage a “historic step” forward for women’s rights. Mr. Singh presented the Women’s Reservation Bill for a vote on Monday, but it was delayed after a heated debate.
Mahua Chatterjee discusses how this new step will be implemented in the parliament and the barriers that the government must overcome.
