NE ELECTIONS Where Women Shine Bright

By Sukanya Chakraborty

Dusts have settled over the assembly elections to the three North Eastern states – Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland repeating more or less the same NDA  parties  leading the Government with the previous Chief Ministers. But one notable thing has happened in the three states that went to polls. But this time women have shined bright in the recent elections,  with record 14 women elected to the three state assemblies, overtopping the tally of only six women legislators in the previous houses.

In the February assembly polls, the highest number of nine women including a sitting Union  Minister were elected to the Tripura assembly followed by three in Meghalaya and two in Nagaland. In each state a one-woman legislator was made cabinet  minister and entrusted with important departments. 

Scripting history in 60 years of statehood, two women, Ms Hekhani Jakhalu and Ms Salhoutuonuo Kruse of the ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), were for the first time elected to the Nagaland assembly. Fifty-six-years-old Salhoutuonuo Kruse was included in the 12-member cabinet  headed by Chief Minister Mr Neiphiu Rio. Earlier the male dominated state had for the first time elected a one-woman Rajya Sabha M.P. , S Phangnon Konyak.

In Meghalaya, former state minister Dr Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh and Ms Santa Mary Shylla, both from the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) and Ms Miani D. Shira, daughter of former Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma of the Trinamool Congress, were elected to the assembly. Congress turned NPP leader Dr Lyngdoh retained her East Shillong constituency. The 58-years-old Dr Lyngdoh has been allotted the departments of Agriculture, Directorate of Information and Public  Relations (DIPR), Health and Law.

Dr Lyngdoh urged women  legislators not to allow party politics to achieve their common interest. Terming the low   representation of women in the Assembly as ‘very sad’, she said. “Three has been more or less a  number  that  has been there for quite some time. We had four then, now it is three  again.” In the February assembly elections in the three North Eastern states, women voters’ turnout was higher than  men.  For the past many years, women voters have also outnumbered their male counterparts in the electoral lists of several North Eastern states.

But despite this success, the number of women ministers, MPs and MLAs in several North  Eastern   states is very less compared to their percentage in population. Number of women in many autonomous  bodies of the seven North Eastern states is also equally depressing, if not worse. Of the total of 466 seats  in the assemblies of these North Eastern states, only around 5 per cent are currently occupied by women.

Mizoram in the last 50 years saw only one minister and three MLAs with a more or less similar situation in the other North Eastern states. Currently, there are no women ministers in two of the seven North Eastern states -- Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh.Social activist and writer Nandita Datta said: “Women were earlier deprived of sharing governance and policy making despite female voters being more than 50 per cent in the voters; list of several North Eastern states. They are also in the forefront in both domestic and societal affairs. However, the scenario is gradually changing with few women being elected to the assemblies and becoming ministers.”

She said that North East India traditionally is a woman-empowered society, though the women were earlier given very less scope in politics, governance and policy making. “Women of the region are educated, efficient and conscious of all basic issues. We are successfully able to take care of our family, society and administration collectively.  But male political leaders thought that we are not capable,” said Datta, who has received several prestigious awards for her social work.