Protest against delay in implementing women’s reservation

Published 8 August 2026 · politics

The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) staged a protest at Gandhi Square in Mysuru on Saturday, urging the government to stop delaying women’s reservation

The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) staged a protest at Gandhi Square in Mysuru on Saturday, urging the government to stop delaying women’s reservation under the pretext of Census and delimitation of constituencies. Demanding the implementation of Women’s Reservation Bill immediately, AIDWA’s State Secretary Devi told the protestors that the Coalition for Women’s Reservation had urged the government to abandon attempts to deny women the 33% reservation due to them in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies and take steps to implement it at the earliest, during the ongoing session itself.

She said ensuring political representation for women, a right guaranteed to them by the Constitution of India, was a matter of utmost importance. However, even after 75 years of Independence, women had not secured adequate representation in the country’s political and administrative system. At present, only 74 of the 543 members of the Lok Sabha are women, accounting for less than 14% of the total strength. In the Rajya Sabha, women account for only 42 of the 245 members, or around 17%. The situation in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly is even more concerning, with only 10 women among its 224 members, constituting just 4.46%.

Hence, AIDWA said the Women’s Reservation Bill should be implemented and the piece of legislation should be brought into force immediately and without conditions. Women’s organisations from various parts of the country, including the Coalition for Women’s Reservation and the AIDWA, have urged the Union government to amend the 106th Constitutional Amendment, which provides for 33% reservation for women in legislative assemblies, by removing the conditions attached to its implementation and bringing the reservation into force immediately, she said. She said the organisations would urge the Union government to delink implementation of the women’s reservation law from the Census and delimitation of constituencies and implement it without any delay during the ongoing session of Parliament itself.

AIDWA State Secretary Devi, State Joint Secretary Sushila, district convenor Shakuntala, and district leaders Khairunnisa, Roopa, Mamatha, Lakshmi, Manasa, Chandramma and Mahadevamma were among those who participated in the protest.