As much as I hate the very idea of Indian electoral politics which is corrupt one cannot escape the fact that as of now everything that happens in India has a direct or indirect impact on the lives of the Nagas and its polity. Thus my great interest, in the happenings in India’s political narrative and of Burma. Having studied the two most talked about and significant elections this year in India were the Delhi polls and the recently concluded Bihar polls two very important factors caught my attention. One was the presence of a viable political party in both these states unlike Maharashtra and Haryana (Where elections were held this year but the only party was the utterly incompetent and useless congress lead alliance). But my focus here is the second factor that changed the tide of elections into a total rout of the saffron alliance.A very important factor if you believe in the social media/electronic narrative for the saffron debacle in Delhi was the overwhelming support the AAP got from women and the youth. Even according to statistics that elections saw more women participation than ever. Coming to Bihar I am certain that the statistics again will show that the percentage of women voting was much higher than before. While listening to the many interviews I saw on television one thing was clear a large section of the women supported the grand alliance under Nitish Kukmar because of the many pro women programmes that he initiated during his rule.
But I will not get into the nitty gritty of why women voted in such numbers during this elections as I am not doing a thesis. Suffice to say that women played a very important role in these two elections and its outcome which fooled even the most experienced of Indian political observers.
Now coming to Nagaland and other Naga areas let us be clear about one thing the women do count very much in changing the course of politics here too but this has not been observed at least as far as I know. In Nagaland as probably in other Naga areas the ratio of women to men voters favor the women but sadly unlike what we saw in the two Indian states(Where the grip of patriarchy is even worse than in Nagaland and among Nagas) here the women are divided just like the men. On this matter I would like to request all right thinking women to start educating each other on the rights and power the women vote so that we can bring about a more equitable society where both men and women contribute as much to the building of the Naga Nation. On this matter creating a bi partisan platform where women’s issues are discussed would be a great start. In India this was done by organizations like the Jago re foundation (correct my spelling). My dear mothers, sisters and daughters you are half the population and you need to step up in and utilize your power of vote to bring about changes in the society. You are doing a great deal but in order to do even more you need to empower every girl and woman in our land with knowledge about their rights.
This is not a call to wage war on men but a call to empower yourselves in a patriarchal society like ours and using this tool called elections to create equality so that we men and women can walk hand in hand as equals to bring progress in our society. When women in societies which are much more patriarchal than ours can show their power to bring about decisive change, why can’t you. Naga women are second to none as proved by you flourishing in every field you touch that if you set your minds to it. Let us together break this last barrier of decision making so that together we show the world what Nagas are capable of.
KUKNALIM
