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Three women who broke the glass ceiling in Nagaland polls

ByAlice Yhoshü
Jul 02, 2024 01:51 PM IST

The June 26 urban local body polls in Nagaland, which ended years of litigations for women’s reservation, had 198 female candidates in contest across 24 seats

The last urban body polls in Nagaland were held in 2004, and for two decades, 77- year-old Sibuele waited for her opportunity. On Saturday, she was elected as a councillor in Peren town council. She is the oldest of the 102 women candidates who won the June 26 polls across the total 278 seats and one of the eight women who were victorious from unreserved seats.

Sibuele, Sole Tep and Ruth Thong.
Sibuele, Sole Tep and Ruth Thong.

The urban local body elections were significant because it was held with the Supreme Court mandated 33% reservation of seats for women; an issue that has proved a difficult fault-line in a state which only elected its first two women legislators in history in March 2023. There were 198 female candidates in the contest across 24 urban local bodies (ULB) in the state, with the oldest, Sibuele, and the youngest, 22-year-old Nzanrhoni I Mozhui from Bhandari town — both women.

Sibuele told HT that the first urban local polls in two decades had presented to her the opportunity to “rise to the challenge”. “My home town of Peren is small but without a functioning civic body for so many years, there is much to do. I hope to turn it into a better place for residents,” she said.

The youngest winning candidate, 22-year-old Nzanrhoni I Mozhui from Bhandari under Wokha district, who shone through the contest with hopes of improving governance said she is grateful to her family and ward members for their confidence in her.

For Sole Tep, who fought from the unreserved ward from Tseminyu, also an unreserved seat, said that the 33% reservation had come as a blessing for Naga women. Tep, who has a masters degree in English literature said, “From my experience, politics is not for everyone. It is not easy but if you have the heart for the community and society, you have to be part of decision making bodies. I encourage young women to boldly step up,” Tep says.

Ruth Thong, another woman who fought and won in Tseminyu, said that she had been told not to contest because her ward was not reserved from women. “I got elected against two male opponents because of the unflinching support of women and the youth in my area. The reservation has opened the doors against the old patriarchal mindset and women have felt emboldened to contest in the election. I aspire to create an inclusive and equitable community, where every voice is heard,” Thong said.

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