Nagaland scripted history with the election of its first female legislators–Hekani Jakhalu and Salhoutuonuo Kruse–in the state Assembly, and thereafter, the appointment of Kruse as the first female cabinet minister, crucial events preceded by the election of the first female Rajya Sabha MP- Phangnon Konyak last year.
However, in the same city, just as people celebrated history in the making, there were other women who, at least for now, are staring at a bleak future.
‘Watched my hard work burn to ashes’
Elizabeth, 43-year-old from Kohima, had restocked her shop with Naga traditional shawls and mekhala (traditional drapes worn by women) for pre-mother’s day sales. But on the fateful evening of February 27, when Nagaland went to polls, her store, along with nearly 200 stores, was gutted down after fire devastated two famous marketplaces in Kohima city.
For the past five years, Elizabeth had been running a clothing store which deals in traditional clothing at NN market, one of the markets burned down.
The mother of three, in a conversation with EastMojo, said, “I borrowed money from people and started the shop. We are a family that lives hand-to-mouth. Somehow, I was starting to establish a local customer base and was recovering from COVID-19 losses when this tragic incident took place”.
She helplessly watched years of hard work burn down as Kohima witnessed a massive fire that day.
Composing her emotions, she recounted the horrific moment: “I was helpless. I cried for help, but we could not retrieve anything. I only watched it burning in flames.”
The proprietor of a small business said that she, for now, will depend on her husband, a taxi driver, till she rebuilds her business from scratch.
‘Tough fight in men’s world
Kiara Angami (name changed), a 32-year-old government official who led an all-women team at a village in Kohima district, one of the 387 polling stations managed by women across the state during the 2023 polls, shared her experience.
“It is always a tough fight in a men’s world. As the female presiding officer, some members of a political party tried to intimidate me to entertain proxy voting. Some threatened me if I entertained proxy (voting), trying to teach me my job. I was well aware of my duties. The government trained me to conduct free and fair polls. But I felt that these men tried to intimidate me as I am a female officer,” she said.
Managing an all-women polling station, she said, was a challenge and a healthy learning experience for her.
“We had to stand up for our rights and make people understand. We also had to deal with a male Block Level Officer (BLO) who tried to equate his role to that of a presiding officer. When I confronted the BLO, reminding him of his duty, he threatened me and called workers of a political party to confront me. Fortunately, women on my team were as vocal as I am, but we held our patience and managed to handle the situation,” she recalled.
One constant fear on the polling day was preventing any law and order situation at the polling station. “I am glad that we were able to conduct the polls in a fair manner. Our constant thought that day was to avoid any law and order situation. We also feared losing our lives,” she shared.
She revealed to EastMojo that the woman police officer who led a male security forces team at the polling station was “unheard”. “Even when the leader of the security team, a female officer, directed and assigned security forces on duty to perform a certain task at the polling station, they did not listen,” she narrated.
The polling day was full of challenges for the women’s team. But that was not all, the team that reached the village a day before the polls were also deprived of a “usable” toilet.
“We were horrified to see that we could not even step foot in a toilet facility of a school that the village council had prepared for our stay. As government officials, we had to adjust with any arrangements made. But all we needed was a basic and usable toilet as we were camping there for days to discharge our duties,” she said.
She said when they appealed to the village leaders, the team was left in utter shock.
“Then don’t attend to nature’s call,” she vividly recalled and quoted a male village leader who responded to their appeal.
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Despite being a challenging learning experience for the young officer, she admitted that the stigma against women as the weaker gender continues in modern times even as women were making history in the Naga society.
“I am not a radical feminist. I accept that women and men are different in many aspects, and we do respect them where it’s due. I think men should also respect women and not overshadow women with their masculinity,” she opined.
Also Read | Blood, sweat, tears: Fire at 2 famous Kohima markets destroyed dreams