Article 332A reserves seats for women in Parliament.

This Article deals only with State Legislative Assemblies; women's reservation in the Lok Sabha is addressed by a related provision (Article 330A), inserted by the same 2023 amendment.

The one-third reservation for women and the one-third sub-reservation for SC/ST women are separate, additive quotas.

Clause (3) explicitly states that the overall one-third for women already includes the SC/ST women's seats from clause (2); it is not an extra layer on top.

This reservation took effect immediately for the next State elections after 2023.

Implementation of this women's reservation was tied to a subsequent delimitation exercise based on census data, meaning it was not automatically applicable to elections held immediately after the amendment.

The Constitution of India

Article 332A

Reservation of seats for women in the Legislative Assemblies of the States

(1) Seats shall be reserved for women in the Legislative Assembly of every State.§

(2) As nearly as may be, one-third of the total number of seats reserved under clause (3) of article 332 shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes.§

(3) As nearly as may be , one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Sceduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in the Legislative Assembly of every State shall be reserved for women.§

Why this exists

Despite forming roughly half the population, women have long been underrepresented in India's legislatures. Reservation for women in Parliament and local bodies (like Panchayats and Municipalities) had existed for years, but State Assemblies lacked such a guarantee. Article 332A was inserted by the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 — popularly called the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' — to extend similar reservation to State Legislative Assemblies, aiming to increase women's political representation and voice in State-level lawmaking, while also ensuring SC/ST women are not left out within that reserved quota.

Common misconceptions

Myth: Article 332A reserves seats for women in Parliament.
Fact: This Article deals only with State Legislative Assemblies; women's reservation in the Lok Sabha is addressed by a related provision (Article 330A), inserted by the same 2023 amendment.
Myth: The one-third reservation for women and the one-third sub-reservation for SC/ST women are separate, additive quotas.
Fact: Clause (3) explicitly states that the overall one-third for women already includes the SC/ST women's seats from clause (2); it is not an extra layer on top.
Myth: This reservation took effect immediately for the next State elections after 2023.
Fact: Implementation of this women's reservation was tied to a subsequent delimitation exercise based on census data, meaning it was not automatically applicable to elections held immediately after the amendment.