Dimapur, March 9 (MExN): The Naga Rising (TNR) group on Wednesday urged the state government to focus on how best to leverage women’s participation in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) instead of viewing it through the “narrow prism of financial resources.”
A statement to this effect was issued by the group on Wednesday following the consultative meeting between the State Government and various ‘stakeholders’ comprising of civil society organisations, NGOs, church bodies and others.
“The Naga Rising welcomes the resolution adopted on the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) by the consultative meeting held on March 9. It is heartening to note that the august gathering approached the issue with a fresh and progressive mindset,” the statement read.
The group reasoned that the 33% quota for women in ULB is a provision sanctioned by the Constitution and denying its implementation amounts to a constitutional violation. It said that the issue “cannot be resolved with appeasement policy such as having nominated members of women in ULB,” and the state government, having already adopted the constitutional provision, “is duty-bound to implement the constitutional provision without further delay.”
“The resolution rightly observed the elections to the ULB should be conducted as per the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 that mandates self-governance in urban areas such as cities and towns,” it said, while underscoring that the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 that mandates local self-governance with similar provisions in rural areas such as villages is not applicable to Nagaland.
“Therefore, our traditional village institutions such as our village councils remain unaffected and will continue to serve as the custodians of our customary practices as guaranteed under Article 371(A),” it added.
Stating that “reason and logic has prevailed on how we apply our customary practices,” The Naga Rising group further said that the collective has “avoided an embarrassment by finding a political route to resolve the issue rather than the state government’s deterrence being superseded by the court in securing the implementation of women reservation in ULB.”
Beyond the legal arguments, it said that one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to achieve gender equality and women empowerment where women’s participation in decision-making is seen as a crucial step towards achieving the goal.
“Nagaland should be playing a pro-active role in contributing to achieving this global goal,” it said.
In this context, the group urged the government “to avoid viewing the women’s reservation in ULB through the narrow prism of financial resources because the real issue is about ensuring women’s representation and participation in political decision-making.”
“It is important to keep the focus on how best to leverage women’s participation in ULB and not just to increase the state exchequer,” it added.
