India calls for more participation by women in parliamentary committees

UNITED NATIONS: India has called on the parliaments across the world to ensure more participation by women in parliamentary committees and that they are allotted more time in the House to have debates on gender equality.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, participating in the Tenth Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament here, said the organisation should ensure that more and more women become participative in parliamentary committees and are appointed to positions of effective leadership in parliamentary structures.

Addressing parliamentarians at the meeting attended by her fellow Speakers from around the world, Mahajan yesterday spoke on 'Development: Innovating for Financing for Gender Equality' and urged them to be vocal about focal issues of women at local and global levels.

She called for allocation of more time in the House to debate gender equality, a release from her office said.

Observing that gender equality connotes fairness and justice in distribution of opportunities, Mahajan spoke of India's long tradition of women empowerment, stressing that equal access to resources is not new to India.

She emphasised that women Speakers of parliaments have a particularly major role to play and ensure that gender dimension is highlighted in local and international issues as well as in all aspects of the parliamentary work.

At the closed-door meeting, Mahajan shared with the global parliamentarians Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative of 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao', saying the ambitious programme addresses not only declining child sex-ratio but also discrimination against women in a life cycle continuum.

Mahajan pointed out that the Gender Budgeting process in India has been institutionalised by forming 'Gender Budgeting Cells (GBCs)' in 57 ministries and departments.

To facilitate the integration of gender analysis into government budget, a 'Gender Budget Charter' has also been drawn for guidance and implementation.

She urged the gathering to encourage women participation in decision-making at various levels, referring to a provision in India for at least one woman director included in the new Companies Act, 2013.

India has reserved 33 per cent seats for women in local governance and "encouraged by this," some state governments in India have raised the reservation level up to 50 per cent, the release said.

Mahajan also listed government initiatives to promote gender equality through financial inclusion in India. The Bhartiya Mahila Bank was formed with a vision of economic empowerment for women.