By Amrita Saikia
In June 2024, the Nagaland state in India’s Northeast held the Urban Local Body (ULB) elections after a gap of two decades. According to reports, out of 278 seats in civic bodies, women won 102 seats. The numbers indicate how women’s quota can pave the way for women into male-dominated political arenas in patriarchal societies. In 2023, two Naga women were elected to the 60-member Nagaland Legislative Assembly for the first time since state formation in 1963, which was hailed as “historic.” These positive developments can be considered major steps in Naga women’s decades of struggle for their constitutional rights.
ULBs are institutions of urban local self-governance in India administering or governing a town or a city with specified population. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, mandated all state governments in India to reserve not less than one-third of the total number of seats in ULBs for women.
However, the Nagaland state government did not hold any ULB elections after 2004 because tribal bodies had objected to women’s reservation citing violation of Article 371(A) of the Indian Constitution. The special provisions provided by Article 371(A) with respect to the state of Nagaland explicitly protects religious or social practices of the Nagas and Naga customary laws and procedures.
Contrary to the general belief that indigenous societies in Northeast India are egalitarian, the Naga society is deeply patriarchal and discriminates against women on many levels. For example, as per Naga customary laws, women cannot inherit ancestral property or take part in public matters. Therefore, the journey to secure 33% reservation in ULBs was not easy for Naga women, especially for the members of the Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA) who spearheaded the fight for women’s reservation in ULBs.
The Naga women approached the Guwahati High Court and Supreme Court against the Nagaland state government, and after a prolonged court case, in November 2023, the Nagaland Assembly had passed the bill reserving 33% of seats for women in ULBs, and elections were finally held in June 2024.
Naga Mothers’ Association — An Agent of Change in Naga Society
NMA is synonymous with social service and peacebuilding in the violence-torn Naga society. NMA has led the women’s movement in Nagaland for decades. To trace back the history of NMA, the idea of organizing a mothers’ forum took shape in 1970. Around that time, many social evils such as drug addiction, alcoholism, and ecological destructions had begun to plague Naga society. A few conscious Naga women decided to take matters to hand and began raising their voices against the social issues in front of government agencies. They also sought the help of the government agencies to tackle the issues. With these initiatives, NMA was officially formed on 14 February 1984.
The organization was involved in activities such as fighting against injustices, drug addiction, alcoholism, trafficking of women, electoral reforms, and so on. However, the conflict between the Indian state and Naga insurgents and the fratricidal killings between different Naga insurgent groups compelled the NMA members to intervene adopting the powerful slogan “shed no more blood.” NMA’s contributions to peacebuilding in Nagaland have been monumental, and the members have been tirelessly working as changemakers in the Naga society. In 2024, the government of India recognized the contributions of NMA members when it awarded Mrs. Sano Vamuzo, the first president of NMA, the Padma Shri award, the fourth-highest civilian award in India, for her dedication and commitment to social service. In 2024, NMA was awarded the “Excellence in Social Service Award” by Sadin Pratidin Group, Assam.
When I met octogenarian Sano Vamuzo in November 2023 to learn about NMA, she said, “When our own people started fighting against each other, we [NMA] formed a peace committee. We are guided by God, and we take any problem as our family problem. Through the peace committee, we mobilized our women telling them that mothers should be peacemakers, we are born peacemakers.”
Naga Women’s Struggle for Reservation in Urban Local Bodies and Success
Despite Naga women’s sacrifices, struggles, and enormous contributions, they have encountered many challenges within the Naga society while fighting for their rights. Their toughest challenge was when they demanded 33% reservation for women in ULBs, a right granted to women in India by the 74th Constitutional Amendment (1992). However, the Naga women argued that ULB elections, like general elections, lie outside the realm of Naga customary laws. In 2011, Naga women, including members of NMA, approached the Guwahati High Court demanding that Municipal elections be held, and the court ruled in their favour. As a response, the government of Nagaland appealed to the High Court against the decision as it feared retaliation from some sections of the Naga society. The High Court directed the state government to form a committee to examine the matter. Dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court, in 2017, the Naga women petitioners approached the Supreme Court, which directed the government of Nagaland to conduct the elections with women’s quotas. However, massive protests broke out in Dimapur, and two people lost their lives in the violence. The elections were withheld, and NMA members withdrew their petitions. In spite of this, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) carried the petition forward. Several Naga tribal women’s bodies distanced themselves from NMA, and it received severe backlash. The issue of women’s quota, therefore, exposed the rifts within the Naga society and the tension between traditionalism and modernity.
Naga women’s struggle for their rights continued. Meanwhile, the government of Nagaland negotiated with the tribal bodies for women’s quotas in ULBs. After much dilly-dallying on the part of the government of Nagaland, in March 2023, the Supreme Court directed the government of Nagaland to conduct the Municipal elections with quotas for women. In November 2023, the government of Nagaland passed the Nagaland Municipal Bill with 33% reservation for women in ULBs but not for the posts of chairpersons. In June 2024, the ULB elections were conducted with women’s reservations, and for the first time in the history of Nagaland, women candidates won 102 seats.
The Way Forward
The ULB elections have ushered more women into the public space, which was needed. More women in public space means women’s voices being heard, which will have an impact on policymaking. Women’s increased participation in public matters might have a positive implication on the Naga peace process, as told by Prof. Rosemary Dzuvichu, a professor in Nagaland University and former president and an active member of NMA in a personal interview. Resolving the decades-long issue of women’s reservation in ULBs is a positive step toward change in the conflict-torn Naga society. The peace talks between the insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and the government of India have been inconclusive. However, the civil society groups, including NMA, have been actively working towards positive peace, which entails development, gender justice, equality, and social welfare, and not just ending armed conflict.
The passing of the bill reserving 33% seats for women in ULB elections, women contesting elections and winning a significant number of seats indicate the change that Naga women, especially NMA, have been envisioning and fighting for since decades. While Naga women have been active in all spheres of Naga society, social, cultural, and institutional constraints have kept them on the margins of formal politics. Women’s increased participation in the public sphere will hopefully change people’s perceptions about traditional gender roles in Naga society and set examples for future generations.
Amrita Saikia is a visiting fellow (2023-2024) at the Institute for Asian Studies, German Institute for Global and Area Studies (IAS, GIGA), Hamburg. Her research at the IAS, GIGA, is funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, Cologne. Amrita completed her Ph.D. at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. Her research interests include ethnic conflicts, women in peacebuilding, Northeast India, Tibetan refugees, and social science perspective of disasters, among others.
Note: This article gives the views of the author, not the position of the EADI Debating Development Blog or the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes.
Image: Vice President’s Secretariat, Government of India, on Wikimedia