Naga Women Enter the Political Fray

After a period of uncertainty marked by civil society’s and the NNPG’s opposition to holding the election in Nagaland, the feeble resistance offered has been steamrolled. On February 8, the Election Commission published a list of candidates who had filed their nominations. Among these prospective candidates are five women who filed their nomination papers. Nagaland had witnessed violence and the resignation of a Chief Minister in 2017 when a proposal for 33% reservation for women in urban local bodies was sought to be implemented. The aversion then was based on ‘Naga customary law’ which in this case was a ruse to protect the patriarchal order in Naga society.

In the present fray are one independent candidate, one from the BJP, one from the BJP’s partner NDPP, and two from the NPP. The independent candidate, Rekha Rose Dukru is a 35-year-old candidate contesting from Chizami constituency. She will be up against 5 other candidates, all of whom are male, and one of whom is the incumbent MLA Deo Nukhu from the NPP. The BJP candidate is 66-year-old Rakhila who will be contesting from the Tuensang Sadar II constituency. All the other candidates in the constituency are contesting on party tickets, including Kejong Chang who is a Minister in the NPF government. The NDPP candidate, 38 year old Awan Konyak is the daughter of a former MLA from the same constituency, Aboi. She will be contesting against the NPF candidate, Eshak Konyak. 27 year old Wedie-ü Kronu is one of the NPP candidates, and the youngest among the women contesting. She will be contesting from Dimapur III constituency against Tokheko Yeptho, the current MLA from the NDPP, and former MLA Azheto Zhimomi from the NPF. The other candidate from the NPP is Dr. K. Mangyangpula Chang who will be contesting from Noksen constituency. The 45 year old will be up against the incumbent CM Chang from the NDPP.

In Nagaland women have tended to do better than men in terms of enrollment and obtaining degrees in Higher Education. In PhD programs in terms of enrollment in Nagaland, women make up around 59% of the total. In MPhil programs the women to men ratio is at 9:1. In terms of overall enrollment in higher education, women make up 52% of the total.