The 16th Lok Sabha was constituted in June 2014 and is to end its term post the general elections concluding in May this year. This term of the House of the People was presided over by the honourable speaker Sumitra Mahajan, the second ever female speaker of the house after her immediate predecessor, Miss Meira Kumar.
A total of 568 members served as members of the house including those who resigned or died also. Out of those 68 members in the Lok Sabha were women. This constitutes 11.81% of the total strength. While the BJP had the most number of women MPs (20), in terms of party-wise gender ratio, Trinamool Congress is the frontrunner. Around 34% of Trinamool members are women.
Amid all the bills that posed as problematic pieces of policy for groups marginalised by their social status or gender, the following 5 legislations have proved to beacons of hope for the groups facing discrimination in the society.
- Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018
- The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018
- The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2016
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017
- Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
Source: Feminism in India
