With the women's reservation bill moving closer to reality and likely to be passed in the budget session this year, mens welfare organisations have raised the ante, opposing what they call ''tagging men as second class citizens'' by ''opportunist feminists''. The Save Indian Family, an umbrella organisation of a number of mens and family rights' bodies, and its associated NGO, All India Men Welfare Association (AIMWA), have denounced the very idea of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures. In fact, they believe this reservation would just make it easier for ''feminist'' MPs and MLAs to pass other discriminatory laws against men and women-centric Acts and provisions like the Domestic Violence Act and section 498A IPC, the misuse of which "has ruined many a man and families". Sumanth, the Bangalore-based founder member of SIF, termed it as ''officially declaring men as second class citizen''. ''Since the last couple of years, opportunist feminists have tried for 33 per cent reservation in Parliament. They need some more numbers in Parliament to pass some more discriminatory laws against men. At present, the feminist politicians are in a very awkward position due to large scale misuse of anti-dowry laws, section 498a of IPC and also the Domestic Violence Act. This has made it very difficult for them to get the sexual harassment at workplace law passed without the 'prevention of misuse clause'. Their anger and frustration has hit the skies.'' India is not the only country in the world with under representation of women in politics. There have been just 38 women in the the U S Senate since the establishment of that body in 1789. To this the members say, ''Now, the irony is that feminists here want to set an example before the world with this Bill.

Democracy will be dead if men are told that they cannot contest election in a particular constituency, just because of their gender.'' Citing figures, the SIF points out that in the last Lok Sabha elections, of the 443 Congress candidates, only 40 were women.

Opposition BJP was no better with only 43 women candidates of the total 427. ''The Congress Government tried to table this Bill in Parliament before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Still, Sonia Gandhi fielded only 40 women candidates in the elections. If she does not have the courage, then why should I give up my choice to contest elections in my own constituency?'' Another SIF key founder member, Swarup Sarkar, who has been actively protesting 498A misuse for years now, says: ''First, parties have to give more tickets to women. Let us start with the Rajya Sabha. Give 33 per cent share to women in Rajya Sabha.'' Woman member Uma Challa identifies Article 15(3) of the Indian Constitution as the main culprit. It gives the Government the power to make special provisions for women (and children).

''Such reservation for the socially oppressed classes is in vogue for the past 60 years. The presumption now is that women also are a socially oppressed class.'' Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, had expressed hope that the Bill, which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in May 2008, would be passed in the budget session in 2010. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar had recently said ''That a woman has been elected as Speaker is an indication that the Women Bill could be passed in the 15th Lok Sabha.'' The Bill was first tabled in 1997. The organisation and associated NGOs have pledged to launch a massive letter and email campaign to see that ''democracy does not become a joke''.

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