India moves toward reserving 33% of the seats in Parliament and state legislatures for women

India's Parliament on Wednesday took a major step toward reserving 33% of the seats in its powerful lower house and in state legislatures for women to ensure more equal representation, an issue that had languished for nearly three decades because of a lack of consensus among political parties. Indian President Droupadi Murmu called the measure the most “transformative revolution in our times” for gender justice. The Lok Sabha, Parliament's lower house, approved legislation introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government that is expected to boost its image ahead of national elections before next May. An overwhelming 454 members across the political spectrum supported it and only two voted against it.