India’s parliament passed a landmark bill Thursday that will reserve a third of its seats in the lower house and state assemblies for women, in a major win for rights groups that have for decades campaigned for better gender representation in politics.
A total of 215 lawmakers from the upper house voted in favor of the bill, which was introduced by prime minister Narendra Modi’s government in a special parliamentary session on Tuesday. It was approved by the lower house on Wednesday.
Six attempts to pass the bill, first introduced in 1996, have failed, at times due to strong disapproval from some lawmakers. Despite being voted through, the implementation of the quota could take years as it depends on the redrawing of electoral constituencies, which will happen after the completion of India’s once-in-a-decade census.
Nonetheless, the bill’s passage in parliament will be seen as a further boost to Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of national elections next year.
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