Asia-Pacific

India committed to women empowerment

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-06 17:02

NEW DELHI - The Indian government Saturday said that it is committed to women's empowerment and has been moving towards giving one-third reservation for females in the Lower House of Parliament and legislative assemblies in the states.

"We are moving towards providing one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures. We also hope to give this movement of political participation of women further fillip by increasing the number of seats reserved in Panchayats ( village) and city and town governments to 50 percent," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in the national capital.

The recently introduced Women's Reservation Bill, which gives 33 percent reservation of seats for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, will be tabled in Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament, on Monday.