Punjab assembly elections: Female election officials in Ludhiana snubbed during allotment of presiding officers roles

Female election officials, who account for 50% of the 20,000-strong election staff, were snubbed from being names presiding officer during duty assigning process for 2,978 polling stations in Ludhiana as not even a single one was named as presiding officer for the upcoming Punjab assembly polls.

Female officials, who account for 50% of the 20,000-strong election staff, found themselves at the short end of the stick at the end of duty assigning process as not even a single one was named as presiding officer for the upcoming state assembly polls.

Female election officials were snubbed from being names presiding officer during duty assigning process held in Ludhiana for the upcoming Punjab assembly polls. (HT File)

Presiding officers, all of whom were male officials, were named for as many as 2,978 polling stations.

Expressing displeasure, a female teacher requesting anonymity said, “Female teachers have advocated for equality in terms of their rights, salaries and other facilities for long, but when it comes to duties, they are being ignored for these positions. We are not weaker and the mentality needs to be changed”.

Speaking on the issue, a senior administrative official said since the duties of a presiding officer often involved staying late at night, female officials were excused keeping in view their safety.

“To ensure the safety of the female staff, only the male staff has been made the presiding officers and the women have been appointed as polling officers,” the official, who did not wish to be named, said.

“Teachers can still get their duties changed by contacting their returning officers and can volunteer for the presiding officer position during the rehearsals citing seniority,” the official added.

Rebuffing the official’s weak reasoning, a female teacher deputed as assistant presiding officer said she, and other female officials deputed in the post, could still be asked to take over the duties of the presiding officer in case of his absence—which would effectively have her working late at night.

Highlighting the inherent sexism, the teacher said female officials were simply not being seen as capable of carrying the responsibility.

Notably, district election officer-cum-deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma said duties are auto-generated by the software used by the Election Commission of India and not a lot can be done at the local administrative level.