Mizoram gets pink booths to draw women voters for assembly elections

AIZAWL: As Mizoram votes on Wednesday, there will be 40 polling stations managed by all-women polling officials and security personnel. These ‘pink polling stations’, built for women voters only, are locally known as ‘Dingdi’ after a wild flower, which is found in abundance here and is commonly used in Mizo poetry to depict beautiful women.

Every assembly constituency would have one pink polling station. Each of these would have one presiding officer, three polling officials and sufficient security personnel, state election department officials said, adding that these all-women booths have been created to encourage more women voters to come forward and vote.

As patriarchy was stringent in Mizo society, this was a welcome step, a woman activist said. In a state where women voters outnumber male counterparts by 19,399, their representation in the assembly has been surprisingly low. Even this year, among the total 209 candidates, only 15 are women. Among these, six are from BJP and five from Zoram Thar, an evangelist party floated by Zaichhawna Hlawndo.

Though just 15, this is the largest number of women that has ever been fielded in the state — a fact which shows how difficult it can be for women here to breach the proverbial glass ceiling.

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