With the women's reservation bill moving closer to reality and likely to be passed in the budget session this year, mens welfare organisations have raised the ante, opposing what they call ''tagging men as second class citizens'' by ''opportunist feminists''. The Save Indian Family, an umbrella organisation of a number of mens and family rights' bodies, and its associated NGO, All India Men Welfare Association (AIMWA), have denounced the very idea of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures. In fact, they believe this reservation would just make it easier for ''feminist'' MPs and MLAs to pass other discriminatory laws against men and women-centric Acts and provisions like the Domestic Violence Act and section 498A IPC, the misuse of which "has ruined many a man and families". Sumanth, the Bangalore-based founder member of SIF, termed it as ''officially declaring men as second class citizen''. ''Since the last couple of years, opportunist feminists have tried for 33 per cent reservation in Parliament. They need some more numbers in Parliament to pass some more discriminatory laws against men. At present, the feminist politicians are in a very awkward position due to large scale misuse of anti-dowry laws, section 498a of IPC and also the Domestic Violence Act. This has made it very difficult for them to get the sexual harassment at workplace law passed without the 'prevention of misuse clause'. Their anger and frustration has hit the skies.'' India is not the only country in the world with under representation of women in politics. There have been just 38 women in the the U S Senate since the establishment of that body in 1789. To this the members say, ''Now, the irony is that feminists here want to set an example before the world with this Bill.
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