Empowering Women in Bihar: A Landmark Step with the Women's Reservation Bill

In a historic move, Bihar hails the introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament, reinforcing its commitment to women's empowerment. The state has a longstanding legacy of advocating for gender equality, having implemented pioneering initiatives over the years.

In 2006, Bihar made waves by providing 50% reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions, extending the stride in 2007 to include Urban Local Bodies. The state's dedication to empowering women continued, offering 50% reservation in primary teacher recruitment since 2006 and 35% reservation for women in all government jobs from 2016.

Notably, Bihar's dedication has led to the highest participation of women police personnel nationwide. Furthermore, a groundbreaking move allocated 33% seats for girl students in Medical, Engineering, and Sports universities, a precedent-setting step in India.

Bihar's commitment to female empowerment transcends legislative action. The JEEVIKA project, catalyzed by the state, has organized over 10.47 lakh Self Help Groups, impacting more than 1.3 crore women as JEEVIKA Didis.

Expressing a strong opinion, Bihar's stance advocates extending reservations to women from Backward and Extremely Backward classes within the ambit of the parliamentary bill. The importance of timely completion of the Census and the imperative inclusion of a Caste Census cannot be overstated. Bihar underscores the need for a swift implementation of these steps, aiming to ensure that women benefit comprehensively from these reservations.