Explained: Why Nagaland Has Never Had a Woman MLA

Do traditions and cultures have a bearing on women's participation in Nagaland politics?

Nagaland is 60 years into statehood – and has had 13 Assembly polls so far. So, in all these years, why has Nagaland never elected a woman to its Legislative Assembly?

In the upcoming elections in the state, there are only four women in the fray out of 183 candidates. In the last Assembly elections in 2018, the state saw five woman candidates contest the elections.

What is stopping women from joining politics in Nagaland? Do traditions and cultures have a bearing on women's participation in politics? The Quint explains.

History of Women's Participation in Politics

The number of women who have been elected to the Assembly since Nagaland became a state in the Indian union is zero. And the scenario is no different when it comes to Parliamentary elections. In 60 years, the state has elected just one woman to the Lok Sabha – Rano Mese Shaiza – who won in 1977.

Its second woman member of Parliament, S Phangon Konyak, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee, was elected to the Rajya Sabha in March last year.

And then, of course, there have been elections where no women have contested a single seat.

Like in the first Assembly election that was held in 1964, no women contested. At the time, the state had 40 seats, for which 73 persons contested. All the candidates were independent and male.

In the second Assembly elections, in 1969, only two women were in the fray for the 40 seats. But both lost by big margins.

There were no women candidates in the fray in the third (1974), fourth (1977), and 9th Assembly polls (1998).

In the 5th Assembly elections held in 1982, there was only one woman in the race – Rano M Shaiza, who happened to be Nagaland's first Lok Sabha MP.

She contested as an Independent from Western Angami and lost. In the 6th Assembly polls, held in 1987, three women contested; while in 1989 (the 7th Assembly elections), none did.

In the 8th Assembly elections, in 1993, the number was low yet again, with a single woman candidate. In the 10th Assembly elections, in 2003, there were three women candidates.

In 2008 (the 11th Assembly elections), four women contested. In the 2013 Assembly elections, there were two women in the race, while in 2018, five women contested.

But Why the Poor Representation?

When it comes to social indicators such as literacy, crimes against women, and child marriage, Naga women fare comparatively better than the national average.

For instance, the literacy rate among women in Nagaland is 76.11 percent, according to the 2011 Census. This is higher than the national average of 64.6 percent.

Now, one would automatically assume that with good social indicators, women's representation in the democratic space must also be good. However, the state remains stubbornly and determinedly an outlier when it comes to that.

Sentsuthung Odyuo, a researcher at Christ University, Bengaluru, told Outlook that the pattern of women's position in Naga society is very distinct.

While Naga women are not subjected to harassment due to factors like caste and other discriminatory practices, there exist different social structures based on age, gender, clan rank, and the status achieved by feasts or warfare skills.

He explained that the traditional institutions around which the Naga social and political life revolves have not recognised the rights of women as "primary decision-makers."

Women are seen as equal members of the community but not held equal as political subjects. He pointed out that dominance and patriarchal values remain a big obstacle in Naga society.

"It limits their voice and agencies by purposefully preventing women from sharing power as equals with men," he added.

That men are reluctant to share power with women was most visible in 2017 when two people were killed in violence that erupted during strikes called by tribal bodies, which are mostly run by men, protesting against Urban Local Body elections that had a provision of 33 percent reservation for women.

The protesters said the quota clause infringes on the special rights for Nagaland guaranteed by the Constitution. Article 371(A) protects Naga customary laws and procedures.

Women, Odyuo highlighted, are seen as the head of the domestic sphere, and are often in charge of handling home economics and treasury. But the outside world is viewed as the preserve of men.

'Low Priority Accorded to Women's Candidature'

Monamenla Amer, an assistant of political science at Nagaland University, notes in a academic paper, shared with The Quint, that political parties in Nagaland accord low priority to women's candidature.

"Women often find their efforts to break into politics marginalised by the failure of the parties to support their viability as candidates," she observes.

"There exists a gendered division of labour within the party structure. The activities of women in party organisation are more or less restricted to auxiliary and support roles. Political parties frequently mobilise them to support the party men. Besides casting their votes, their electoral activities is just confined to preparing meals for party events or home visitation, which in many cases, are to distribute material goods to the prospective voters. Women committees exist just for the purported purpose of activating female voters. It does not develop women political cadres."

Amer further notes that another practice that political parties carry out to dissuade women from entering politics is that the few women aspirants they nominate are often given tickets in constituencies where the party has less chance of winning.

Who Is in the Fray This Time?

The four women candidates who are in the fray are Hekani Jakhalu of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) from the Dimapur-III seat, Rosy Thomson of the Congress in Tening, Salhoutuonuo Kruse of NDPP in Western Angami, and Kahuli Sema of the BJP in Atoizu.

Kahuli Sema, 57, contesting on a BJP ticket from Atoizu, made her entry into politics in 2022 after taking voluntary retirement as the Engineer-in-Chief of the Public Works Department.

Jakhalu, who is contesting from the Dimapur-III constituency on an NDPP ticket, is a US-educated lawyer and social entrepreneur.

NDPP candidate from Western Angami, Kruse, is a 56-year-old social worker with 24 years of experience working with various NGOs and civil society organisations.

Thomson, a 58-year-old social worker, has been a Congress party worker since the 1980s.