'Enhancement of reservation for women in panchyats will facilitate more women entering the public sphere and thereby lead to further empowerment of women. It will also make panchayats more inclusive institutions, thereby improving governance and public service delivery,' Soni pointed out.

Presently, 36.87 percent of the nearly three million panchayat members are women. With the amendment, this will rise to more than 1.4 million.

'Having more elected women representatives would benefit the entire population of the states and union territories where panchayati raj is in existence,' Soni said.

All states and union territories to which Part IX of the constitution applies would be covered. The measure would not apply to Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, the tribal areas of Assam, Tripura and hill areas of Manipur in the northeast.

According to NCW's Vyas, 'women face discrimination from the home to parliament. They have to be made equal partners in decision-making'.

She also admitted that there were women elected to the panchayats who were often proxies for their male relatives.

'It is true that in the beginning there are some women panchayat leaders who are a front for their husbands. They are about 10 percent, but with this new move, even this number will come down,' Vyas maintained.