Gro Harlem Brundtland the director-general of the World Health Organization vocally announced her unyielding support for a quota system that would reserve a third of the seats in India’s Parliament for women. Ms. Brundtland stated that “many factors still worked against girls and women,” and described the bill as a very important step for women. The proposed quota system for women has met considerable amounts of controversy and opposition within the parliament. The bill which aims at reserving a third of lower house seats for women has been rejected in the parliament twice and now awaits a scheduled date for discussion. Quotas are proving to be instrumental in the quest for women’s political empowerment and ensuring women’s voice in decision making. Since the introduction of quotas in Norway, for example, women represent 40% of political seats and in South Africa women account for 30% of seats in all branches of government.
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