The one way to ensure that women related problems gets adequate attention is to have more women as elected representatives. To achieve this, it is legally binding to have a fair proportion of women in the elected bodies.
(i) Panchayati Raj in India has reserved onethird seats in Local government bodies for women.
(ii) In India, the proportion of women in legislature has been very low. The percentage of elected women members in Lok Sabha is not even 10 per cent and in State Assemblies less than 5 per cent. India is lagging behind several developing countries of Africa and Latin America. Women organisations have been demanding reservations of at least one-third seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for Women.
(iii) And only recently, in March 2010, the women's reservation bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha ensuring 33\% reservation to women in Parliament and State Legislative bodies.