Demands that ULB elections be conducted with 33 % reservation for women as soon as possible
Delhi, February 17 (MExN): People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) has condemned what it called “anti-women stand of the Naga HoHo/ Naga Tribes Action Committee (NTAC)” in the context of reservation of seats for women in elections to local urban bodies.
“The accompanying mob-violence and the threats to women who wanted to contest from reserved seats, reveals the irony that a movement fighting for freedom for Naga people is willing to suppress rights of half of the population who comprise women in the name of customary laws,” stated a press release issued by PUDR Secretaries, Cijo Joy and Anushka Singh.
Pointing out that it has not “flinched” from extending support for the Naga people’s struggle, PUDR reiterated that without equal rights and privileges freedom becomes illusory.
The provision of 33 percent reservation for women in local bodies, a law implemented in most parts of India, it stated, has no conflict as projected by the male-dominated NTAC with Article 371 (A) of the Constitution. “The urban local bodies are not Naga customary institutions, and hence laws about representation in them do not violate the autonomy guaranteed by Article 371 (A),” PUDR asserted.
The union further maintained that existing tax and land related laws in Nagaland discriminate against women; however what is more important is that opposition to the provision of women reservation is “illegitimate” as “such opposition goes against the principle of equality before law.”
“The misogynist agenda behind such resistance to reservation for women is apparent from the near-complete absence of women in representative bodies in the entire political history of Nagaland. The tally of women MLA in Nagaland in its entire history is zero (0), and the tally of women MP is one (1) - Rano M Shaiza, who got elected in 1977. No better proof is needed that the protests against the reservation bid are based on an extremely conservative, male-chauvinist exclusionary vision of politics,” the PUDR statement read.
Meanwhile, it stated that the comment made by Naga Hoho President that they are not opposed to women’s rights per se, but want to include women by nominating them to the municipal council rather than electing them, “shows how women’s participation is not acceptable as a right but only as a favour from benevolent patriarchs.”
PUDR further termed it notable that Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA) has played a critical role, from time-to-time, in bringing the warring factions of Naga political groups to take to dialogue instead of engaging in internecine blood-letting. Naga people also turned to NMA to encourage the factions to unite, it added. “The struggle for inclusion in the formal political process, stands in stark contrast with how NMA was asked, at critical junctures, to play the most prominent role in negotiations with the leadership of the underground armed movements. Thus the systematic exclusion of women from power, and the attempt to continue it in the name of customary law, is a regressive turn that a people struggling for their freedom could take.”
PUDR also viewed that changing social misogynist attitude requires widest debate and the law must bend in favour of equality. In this context, it extended solidarity to the Naga women fighting for their political rights, even as the Naga people collectively fight for their freedom. “The struggle against forced union with India cannot be fought by promoting inequality and discrimination against women. The violent turn that the conflict has taken, where two people have died in police firings, is extremely unfortunate, and we appeal to both the government and the Naga leaders to restore peace immediately,” the statement added.
Demands
Meanwhile, PUDR made three demands in its statement. First was that elections to urban local bodies of Nagaland be conducted with 33 percent reservation for women as soon as possible. It further demanded that personal safety of the women who filed nomination for contesting the elections under reserved seats be ensured. “All threats upon them that they would be excommunicated if they continue with their candidature be publicly withdrawn with an apology,” it stated. The third demand said that the Naga political groups’ leadership “must come out unequivocally in favour of equal rights and privileges for all if their commitment to freedom to be taken seriously.”
