The fact that there are only six women out of 74 contestants in all the five parliamentary constituencies of Uttarakhand in the forthcoming general elections highlights the dismal state of political awareness among women of the state. Interestingly four out of these six women are in the fray at Haridwar lok Sabha constituency while Almora and Nainital constituencies will have an all male battle.
It is only the Haridwar constituency in State where the women contestants are drawing the attention and are in reckoning as major political parties have given tickets to them. In Haridwar Renuka Rawat the wife of State Chief Minister Harish Rawat in the congress candidate while former director general of Police Kanchan Choudhary Bhattacharya is contesting on the ticket of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded Anita Saini. In Tehri lok Sabha Mala Rajya laxmi Shah of BJP is the only women candidate among 16 contestants. Surprisingly the Kumaon region with Nainital and Almora lok Sabha constituencies do not have even a single woman contestant this time. Renu Agarwal from Garhwal and Razia Beig from Haridwar are contesting as independents.
Sarita Arya the Congress MlA from Nainital told The Pioneer that women should become more active in politics of the state. “If it happens only then the political parties would consider giving tickets to them” Arya said.
The Principal of Scholars home school Chhaya Khanna said that women are hesitant to enter politics as it is still considered not good for women in our society. She however claimed that perception of the society is changing and more and more women are joining politics.
Founder of Samadhan helpline for women Renu D Singh said that poor participation in electoral politics reflects the condition of women in our male dominated society. She said that Gender equality act should be brought in our country to give women their due powers in our country. The State co convener of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Asha Rani Kapoor told The Pioneer that all the women who are active in politics are because of either their fathers or husbands. She said women should increase their participation in the political affairs and create their independent identity.