Sir — This refers to the article, “Empowering women in the true sense” (March 11) by Kalyani Shankar. The article is a telling comment on the status of women, both in the social and political strata of our country. Despite all tall claims of women empowerment, women make up for only 12 per cent and nine per cent of parliamentarians and State legislators.
The women’s reservation Bill, seeking to reserve 33 per cent seats for women, both in Parliament as well as State legislatures, has been pending for about two decades now, owing to an disagreement on the issue among the political parties.
This political scenario snitches on the pathetic political will of our leaders, who keep prolonging the matter. It goes without saying that the voting power women exercise during elections is more significant than their empowerment in politics, which often faces gender bias as well.