Women’s reservation provisions in the assembly of Jammu and Kashmir came closer to reality on Friday as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an official notification bringing the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Act, 2023, into force.What is J&K Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Act, 2023The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 12, 2023, and seeks to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 — the parent legislation that had reorganised the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into the Union Territories of J&K (with legislature) and Ladakh (without legislature).The Act inserts a new Section 14A into the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which provides for the reservation of seats for women in the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.Key provisionsOne-third reservation for women: As nearly as may be, one-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election to the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir — including seats reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes — shall be reserved for women, in such manner as Parliament may by law determine.Reservation within reserved categories: One-third of the seats reserved under sub-section (7) of Section 14 shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.Nothing in Section 14A shall affect any representation in the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir until the dissolution of the then existing Legislative Assembly.When will reservation take effect?The provisions relating to reservation of seats for women shall come into effect only after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken, based on the relevant figures of the first census published after the commencement of this Act, and shall cease to have effect after a period of fifteen years from such commencement.Context: Part of women’s reservation frameworkParliament had earlier enacted the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, to pave the way for the reservation of one-third of the total number of seats for women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of every state, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.The J&K Second Amendment Act was required to extend similar provisions to the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which is governed by Parliament and not by the Constitution’s state legislature provisions.The women’s reservation provisions are expected to come into effect from 2029 across the country, once the census figures are published and delimitation is completed.SignificanceToday’s notification marks a critical step in the legislative journey of women’s political representation in J&K. With the Act now officially in force, the legal framework for one-third reservation of Assembly seats for women in the Union Territory stands established.However, the actual implementation on the ground will await the completion of the upcoming national census and the subsequent delimitation exercise.The move is being seen as a landmark step toward greater political inclusion in the Union Territory, which held its first Assembly elections in 2024 after the reorganisation of the former state in 2019.