NCW for passing women's quota bill this session

National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Mamata Sharma on Monday said she would soon meet Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to press for the passage of the women's reservation bill in the ongoing winter session of parliament.

"I will be meeting and submitting a memorandum to Meira Kumar and Sonia-ji for speeding up the process of passing the women's reservation bill in the ongoing session," Sharma told journalists during an interaction at the Indian Women's Press Corps here.

She said the bill was important to ensure equal representation of women in policy making.

The bill for reserving 33 percent of seats for women in parliament and state assemblies was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but has been pending in the Lok Sabha due to lack of consensus among political parties.

Sharma also called for amending laws to give the women's panel prosecution powers so it could take action in cases of crimes against women.