Hopeful that Women’s Bill will be passed next session, says Kavitha

Hyderabad​:​ Even as the clamor around passing the Women’s Reservation Bill grows day-by-day, Member of Parliament from Telangana K Kavitha is hopeful that it ​will be passed in the next session of ​the ​Parliament.

“It is high time we get the Women’s Reservation Bill passed. If not this session, then at least next session the bill should see the light of the day. The bill will surely bring about the required change in the women’s representation in politics and will help in fighting for women’s rights in a better fashion,” Kavitha said at the ​’​Leadership Summit – Led by Women​’​ organised by ​the ​Centre for Management Studies of the Nalsar University of Law in Hyderabad on Saturday.

When asked about why the bill has not been able to pass since its introduction in 2008, the Nizamabad MP said that the lack of political will from the previous regime of UPA and the current regime of NDA ​was a major reason hampering ​the progress of the bill. On the issue of having women politician​s​ as a token​ gesture​, she ​said, “While for one or two terms we may



have women leaders filling in the shoes of their powerful male politicians but at least after that we will see real leaders taking charge.”

Kavitha also highlighted the various problems that women face on ​a ​daily basis in society like pay gap, domestic violence, safety and security and said that women need to be bold and ​should ​not shy away from demanding their rights. However, she also expressed concern on why women empowerment and related issues ​were discussed only in March and why it ​was ​not part of year-long discussion​s​.

“Why should the onus of championing women-related causes be put on only women and why cannot men champion the cause? The spirit of women empowerment has to come from men,” she said.

Reiterating this viewpoint, senior journalist Sagarika Ghose said women need to develop designer insanity in order to be taken seriously. “We need women in leadership roles and for that to happen it is important that women need to have good male mentors. In addition, angry women are highly unacceptable in our society,” Ghose said.