Source: Election Commission of India. Created from Excel sheet
Will Traditions and Customary laws keep Naga women away from politics in the upcoming election?
Sentsuthung Odyuo
Research Scholar
The persistent underrepresentation of women in the Nagaland state legislative assembly has been a matter of grave concern. As the state set to conduct its 14th general state elections on 27th February (announced by the Election Commission of India vide press Note No. ECI/PN/1/2023 dtd.18th Jan’2023). Much talk and debate have been centered around who is contesting the election? in which party is the candidate contesting? Who has a fairer chance to win the election? And many more; however, very little discussion on women's participation in politics.
Men are explicitly dominating politics in general, while women's involvement and representation in politics are not readily apparent. Nagaland remains the only state in India that has never elected women in the state legislative assembly; women in Nagaland have been able to strengthen their political visibility only as voters (Amer,2013). The civil societies (male-led organizations) in Nagaland have adopted patriarchally structured deliberations, consultations, and decisions making processes that have failed to give women an equal voice and effective participation (Hausing,2017).
The emancipation of women from being merely an absent electorate to active voters is highlighted in the election commission reports from 1964 to the most recent general elections in 2018. The data shows a shift in high increase of Naga women voters. However, women merely engaged as candidates, and the number of women running for office has not improved. Despite this encouraging trend of women becoming "active voters” they are unable to take advantage to contest in the election.
In the Naga society, where customary laws are pervasive with patriarchal tenets that deny indigenous and tribal women fundamental legal, political, and economic privileges and human civil liberties, there has been an increase in the demand for gender parity of seats in electoral politics. The discourse concerning women's exclusion from the electoral process is one of the most complex issues in Nagaland's electoral studies (Wouters,2017). ChubaOzukum, president of the tribal body Naga Hoho(Appeared on February 24, 2018, First Post) mention that they weren’t against women participating and being part of policymaking. "We know and understand the capability and capacity of Naga women, and they being part of policymaking will lead to less corruption in the state. But Nagas have a very strong and committed customary law that can't be bypassed even today. It is a fact” (Sarah Konyak, 2018).
Undoubtedly, Naga's historically patriarchal society and the rigid male-centric customary laws continue to be hostile toward electing women as candidates and as political representatives. Other political and nonpolitical factors, in addition to patriarchy, are also to blame for this democratic deficit. In relation to their population, women are not sufficiently represented. While we commend the robustness of Naga as an equal society, the underrepresentation of women continues to be a significant obstacle.
Scholars like Horam (1975), Channa (1992), Zehol (1998), and Jamir(2012) note that Naga women traditionally had no direct role at all to play in political matters. They were not even allowed to attend meetings of village councils, address or stand before the village crowd in any kind of meeting. The traditional institutions around which the Naga social and political life revolves have never recognized the rights of women as primary decision-makers. A case in point is the Naga Hoho, considered the apex decision-making body of the Naga people and is represented by different Naga tribes. Till date, it has no woman representative. Even at the grassroots level, the Village Council which is the highest decision- making body, women are still not allowed to take part in the decision-making of the Village Council.
The Naga Mothers’ Association (Appeared on January 26, 2023, Eastern Mirror)appealed to the political parties to ensure that women candidates are encouraged and given space in the state assembly election by issuing them their political party tickets. This information was shared on various social medial platforms however there were mixed responses from different people questioning the very idea of inclusion of women, some arguing that Naga women do not need special attention as they are already empowered and have all the right to contest on their own terms. However, people fail to see that Naga women as empowered is not how it is perceived; several scholars such as Imchen (2015), Kikon (2017), Masoodi (2017), (Syeda, 2018), and Khrozhoh2022) argued that Naga women as empowered is only a myth, this claim is only a misogynistic idea of Naga men to disallow women to hold power in politics. This can also be argued from the words of Hausing (2017) “Higher level of socio-economic and educational development that accompanied modernization does not necessarily translate into greater democratic participation of women and gender justice in Nagaland.”
Why do we need to elect women?
Women are consistently seen as not deserving enough to work in such a crucial field. However, the election of more women leaders will certainly empower more women to overcome all impediments to entering the political arena. If there are more women in political leadership positions, the antiquated stereotypes and erroneous social thought processes will be destroyed (Sarkar,2021). Traditionally, women stay out of politics due to a lack of women role models (Mlambo &Kapingura 2021). Therefore, having more women, political leaders will inspire and motivate other women (Miller, 1994 & Chaudhury 2000). They will ultimately find their courage and get themselves involved in politics. The elected women political leaders will find it simpler to draw attention to other existing women's issues that impede their ability to advance. The men in positions of power generally do not acknowledge or take these issues into consideration. Being women makes it simpler for them to understand the challenges that all women must overcome both inside and outside the home in order to be empowered and to live their lives according to their own terms(Sarkar,2021). Women will benefit from government policy-making, and gender equality will be achieved through active women's participation in politics (Delys,2014). Women in politics will put more effort into creating more opportunities for women in the workplace and in education. They will also put more emphasis on improving the healthcare system and enacting stricter laws against social and domestic abuse by working closely with the executive branch of the government to develop better and more efficient policies(As seen in the case of New Zealand, the UK, and Nordic Countries).
Overall, we can draw the conclusion that it is crucial for a democratic state to include both men and women equally in the governance and legislative processes. Gender equality in Nagaland will increase as more Naga women get involved in politics. Women who actively participate in politics will be able to reclaim their respect, dignity, freedom, and power both in private and public spheres. Therefore, achieving women's empowerment in Nagaland requires political empowerment. As Lovenduski(2005) lamented, Women’s representation in politics is a good indicator to measure the empowerment of women and its effect on democratic ethos.
Nagaland has not seen a women politician who has left a mark in the state's politics, it cannot be denied that Shaiza(the first and only woman to be elected in Lok Sabha) had a remarkable political journey however her legacy is hardly talked about, the recent election of Konyak as the first Naga women elected in Rajya Sabha, unfortunately, did not translate over the states politics critical mass of women. With the state having been considered one of the most progressive states of India in terms of key gender indicators, it is disheartening to note that it has not inspired any women to be at the forefront. It is high time for Nagaland to witness history by electing its first Women Minister in the state legislative assembly. Naga anthropologist, Kikon (2017 reiterated that at this hour, we need to recognize the importance of tribal feminism and justice and the need to conceptualize these terms and processes in the backdrop of these dominant cultural frameworks about women’s participation in politics, the debates about justice and equality are oftentimes interpreted as an attempt to override traditional costumes and practices of the Nagas. The policymakers should begin by accepting the importance of the customary laws for their culture and identity search. A refusal to understand one such basic need of their communities can go against serious reflection.
The author is a research scholar working in the area of Women in Politics),Christ University, Bengaluru.
