President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday extended her full support to a Bill that would provide 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, describing it as a “transformative revolution” for gender justice.

”We ensured a minimum of 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies’ elections and in a pleasant coincidence, a proposal to provide similar reservation for women in the state assemblies and national Parliament, is taking a shape now,” she said while inaugurating the annual general meeting and biennial conference of the Asia Pacific Forum on Human Rights.

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The president said the Constitution adopted universal adult franchise as a right, since the inception of the Republic, and enabled the country to usher in numerous silent revolutions, in the field of gender justice, and protection of life and dignity. She expressed India’s readiness to learn from the best practices in other parts of the world to improve human rights which, she emphasised, was an ongoing project.

The president urged all not to treat the issue of human rights in isolation and pay equal attention to nursing Mother Nature which was deeply wounded by the indiscretions of human beings. ”In India, we believe that every particle of the universe is a manifestation of divinity. We should rekindle our love for nature to conserve and enrich it before it is too late,” she said.

President Murmu said that human beings were as good a creator as a destroyer. She added that according to scientific studies, this planet has entered the phase of sixth extinction where man-made destruction, if not stopped, would be the undoing of not only the human race but also the other lives on the earth. The president said that more than the codified law, it was a moral obligation of the international community to ensure human rights in every sense of the term.

She was happy to note that one session in the conference was exclusively devoted to the topic of environment and climate change. She expressed confidence that the conference would come out with a comprehensive declaration that would pave the way for betterment of humanity and the planet.