Sonia determined to push through Women’s Bill

“Women’s representation in Parliament has hovered between 9 and 11 per cent,a figure that is considerably lower than in many other democracies. Legislation for a 33% quota in Parliament and state Assemblies has been passed by the Upper House. We shall persevere in our efforts to get it approved by the Lower House as well,” Sonia Gandhi said addressing the Commonwealth Lecture in London on Thursday. She added she was “less than happy” at the low representation of women in legislatures.

Pointing at climate change as a big challenge of the future,Gandhi asserted that “most climate debates have so far been gender-blind” and advocated the need for enhancing women’s role in protecting environment and suggested Commonwealth to undertake fresh initiative to “bring women’s participation and perspectives more squarely into the global negotiations” on climate change.

“We need climate justice not only between countries,but also between genders,” Sonia Gandhi said. In the wake of rising urbanisation,she also called for collaboration among Commonwealth countries regarding creating urban environments conducive for women’s safety and security.

“If urbanisation is the world’s future,we must design urban environments and services in ways that will give women greater security,and educate and involve citizens in this cause. A Commonwealth initiative bringing together our great cities to collaborate on this issue would be timely,” Sonia suggested.

Speaking on the topic of “Women as Agents of Change”,Gandhi credited the “leading role” played by women in introduction of UPA government’s flagship right to information,a right to work,a right to education and soon,a right to food security legislations.

“We now have a right to information,a right to work,a right to education and soon,a right to food security. What is remarkable about the rights debate and how it has progressed is the leading role women have played as its champions and advocates,” Sonia Gandhi said. Incidentally,it was the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) in India that has framed these legislations in India.

Sonia Gandhi,however,expressed concern over discrimination against women in India,particularly in relatively prosperous states like Punjab and Haryana.

“In my own country,most worrying of all is the declining sex ratio of females to males. The age-old preference for sons,coupled with the development of sex-selection technologies,has given an alarming demographic twist to gender bias. That this is happening in regions of substantial economic prosperity within the country is even more disturbing,” Sonia said in her London speech,the copy of which was circulated by the Congress party in the Capital here.