Women in Haryana Assembly | 23 Sep 2024

Why in News?

Recently, the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections highlighted the persistent gender disparity in political representation, reflecting the state's historical gender imbalance.

Key Points

  • Women in Haryana Politics: 
    • Since Haryana's formation in 1966, only 87 women have been elected to the Assembly. 
    • The state has never had a female chief minister. 
    • Haryana’s gender ratio remains skewed at 916 females per 1,000 males (2023). 
    • Since 2000, 47 women legislators have been elected in Haryana. 
    • In 2014, 13 women won seats, the highest number ever. This dropped to 9 in 2019. 
  • 33% Reservation for Women: The Bill granting reservation to women in Parliament and assemblies, passed recently, will take effect from 2029. 
  • Notable Women Contesting in 2024: 
    • Arti Singh Rao : Daughter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, contesting from Ateli. 
    • Shruti Chaudhary: Granddaughter of former CM Bansi Lal, contesting from Tosham. 
    • Geeta Bhukkal : Four-time MLA and former education minister. 
    • Vinesh Phogat : Wrestling icon, contesting from Julana. 
    • Savitri Jindal: Asia’s richest woman, contesting as an Independent from Hisar. 
    • Chitra Sarwara: Contesting independently from Ambala Cantonment after being denied a Congress ticket.

Women's Reservation Act, 2023

  • The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, reserves one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, including those reserved for SCs and STs. 
  • The reservation will be effective after the publication of the census conducted following the Act’s commencement and endures for a 15-year period, with potential extension determined by parliamentary action. 
  • The rotation of seats allocated for women will be governed by parliamentary legislation after each delimitation process. 
    • Currently, around 15% of the total members of the 17th Lok Sabha (2019-2024) are women while in state legislative assemblies, women on average constitute 9% of the total members.