New Delhi: “Every major legislation that protects women owes its founding to the bravery of a few simple acts of resistance. Hence, it is important that we stand hand in hand and demand our rights,” said Advocate Amita Joseph while using the example of Bhanwari Devi — whose pursuit for justice led to the creation of Posh Act — during the Women Leaders Conclave 2026. The programme brought together lawyers, artists, policymakers, entrepreneurs and grassroots women leaders to discuss equity, law and leadership over two days.The conclave, held at the India International Centre, featured ten discussions with the overarching theme of ‘Claiming Equity in Viksit Bharat’. Panellists from various states of the country spoke about their experiences during the event, highlighting the need to support and learn from each other. Programme lead Rekha Mody said that such an event, which brings together women ‘riding the same chariot’ is necessary to embolden and encourage them.“Women contributed equally in the independence movement. However, once it was achieved, politics was built up as a dangerous space to keep us out of it,” she added. Speaking on the under-representation of women in parliamentary bodies, panellists called for a 33% reservation for women.Professor Anil Vaidya, who moderated a discussion on ‘Panchayat to Parliament’, compared the gap between female representation in panchayats, which stands at 44%, to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, which stand at 15% and 13% respectively. Even those women who are elected are majorly from dynastic political families and do not emerge from local bodies, he said. “Can policy decisions that might benefit our rural population be made by those sitting in air-conditioned rooms?” He added that reservation for women is a basic right, but called for political parties to break the glass ceiling and not restrict themselves to token seats for women.“Women like us don’t deserve seats because they are reserved, we deserve them because we’re capable,” said panellist Ebha Patel.Organised by Shree Shakti, an organisation that has advocated for free transport for women in public buses, the conclave saw a discussion on ‘Women, Work and Mobility’. Panellist Sheilza Bhatia said that mobility inspires confidence, independence and the ability to overcome challenges. An audience member pointed out that even after free passes in DTC buses, the journey remains difficult due to ill-maintained infrastructure and the lack of public toilets.“Even if the path is ill-maintained, even if it doesn’t exist, let us hold hands and walk for miles and miles together, just to show the world that we can and we will walk,” said advocate Shobra Gupta, asking women to embrace ‘sisterhood’ and work together to improve their lives.
