Women’s coalition demands delinking of one-third quota from delimitation

Published 10 July 2026 · politics

Women’s organisations and civil society groups, under the banner of the Coalition for Women’s Reservation (NCWR), demanded on Friday (July 10, 2026) that the Centre

Women’s organisations and civil society groups, under the banner of the Coalition for Women’s Reservation (NCWR), demanded on Friday (July 10, 2026) that the Centre introduce a Constitutional Amendment Bill in the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament to delink women’s reservation from the Census and delimitation process. They also sought the implementation of the 33% reservation in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies at the existing strength from the next round of elections. The Coalition also announced a nationwide programme to build public pressure for the immediate implementation of the quota. It said it will organise joint protests across the country on July 20 and 21, followed by daily protests from Monday to Friday throughout the Monsoon Session of Parliament at Jantar Mantar in the national capital.

The groups said that similar protest programmes will be held across States and districts. The Coalition will also convene a national conference with women MPs, organise webinars to deepen public engagement on the issue, and launch a sustained social media campaign to mobilise citizens in support of the demand for immediate implementation of women’s reservation. The Constitution (106th Amendment) Bill, popularly known as the Women’s Reservation Bill or the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, was passed in September 2023. The law stipulates that the 33% reservation for women will come into effect only after the first Census conducted following the commencement of the Act and the subsequent delimitation exercise, with implementation from the election held after that process is completed.

On Friday (July 10, 2026), the Coalition released a public statement demanding the immediate and unconditional implementation of the women’s reservation in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies. The signatories include women’s rights activists, academics, lawyers, writers, artists, trade unionists, students, former civil servants, and concerned citizens from diverse walks of life. Prominent signatories include Sharmila Tagore, Mallika Sarabhai, Zoya Hasan, Jayati Ghosh, Nandini Sundar, Mridula Mukherjee, Chander Uday Singh, Rajeev Bhargava, and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. “It is clear that the government is using women’s reservation as a front to push its political agenda of delimitation and increasing the number of seats in the Lok Sabha. This was reconfirmed in 2026, when the government suddenly called a Special Session of Parliament to ostensibly pave the way for 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies from 2029, but did not delink women’s reservation from the politically contentious issue of delimitation.