DIMAPUR, SEPTEMBER 21: Urban local bodies established with the 33% reservation for women but “without the support and mandate of the people, and if by reservation a council is formed without public mandate” they will be ‘powerless councils,’ a community organization in Kohima district has warned.
The Kohima Village Council issued a press statement on Wednesday expressing opposition to the reservation quota, calling it “fatal” and claiming that there was “no discrimination between menfolk and womenfolk and that our Naga women in general were never underpriviledge in any form in the society.”
In the words of the council: “KVC is strong against 33% (or any percentage) women reservation to urban local bodies. If an urban local body is established with 33% reservation principal, without the support and mandate of the people, and if by reservation a council is formed without public mandate and confidence of the general public, it is going to be a powerless council.”
According to the press release, the Nagaland cabinet had “without any discussion with the concern Naga societies” passed the bill in August 2016 “in spite of intense opposition from several quarters against implementation on the policy of 33% women reservation in the urban local bodies, municipal councils.”
The Nagaland government is all set to conduct municipal elections ‘in the near future following this controversial bill,’ the council stated.
“In this regard, the Kohima Village Council would like to reiterate on its earlier resolution which was published in the local dailies dated 1st March 2012, which stated that, ‘33% women reservation to the urban local bodies is contrary to the Naga culture and alien to us,’” the statement said.
“Hence KVC reaffirm its earlier adopted resolution and convey its total disagreement to this reservation policy, which, our State Govt. is trying to adopt and implement in the formation of urban local bodies.”
The council agreed that it was of “utmost importance to urgently form the urban local bodies to fill up the voids, as our urban areas are at immense lost without them.” Here, it stated, men and women were “equally welcome to participate in this process and hold the municipal council elections at the earliest without any reservation policy.”
The council also claimed that “our Naga women in general were never underpriviledge in any form in the society.”
It stated: “The KVC is of the view that there is no discrimination between menfolk and womenfolk and that our Naga women in general were never underpriviledge in any form in the society. Menfolk are never more priviledge than the womenfolk. Men and women alike gets their due importance in different segments and their status, identities, importance differ in different arena.”
In comparison to India, it explained, “There is a lot of discrimination between men and women. Womenfolk are barred and isolated in many ways in the society, like family administration, social activities, educational sphere, society development planning, religious rites, rural or urban local bodies elections, community development programmes, marital programme planning etc. And moreover there is menance of caste system.”
The KVC was of the opinion that “a leader must carry the mandate of the public, who should after being elected/nominated, discharge his/her duty judiciously in accordance to the law and will of the people.”
The council has requested the Nagaland government “not to further encourage or enhance such a fatal exercise, but reconsider this issue in the interest of KVC and Naga’s as a whole which, if left unattended may become explosive.”
The press release was appended by its chairman Medoselhou Keretsu and press & publicity secretary Thejao Sekhose.
