Tribal women reach polling stations with their infants

Rajouri, Apr 26: Several women from tribal Bakerwal community reached polling stations at Government Middle School Bali Bhawan, Kalakote to cast their votes.

Bali Bhawan is a polling station that falls under Kalakote Sunderbani assembly constituency of Rajouri where voting for the second phase of parliamentary elections was held under Jammu parliamentary seat.

Although the process of voting was kick started in this polling station at 7:00 a.m. in the morning after conducting mock poll but it was not less than a surprise for the polling staff as well as security forces personnel deployed there when a number of women from tribal Bakarwal community with their infants on shoulders reached the polling station and stood in queue to cast vote.

" Voting an equal importance in our lives and we also prefer voting as our fundamental right as well as duty, " said tribal woman Mansha Begum.

She said that their male family members left houses for voting on Friday morning but village women have lost of things to do for which they visit polling station in afternoon hours.

" We made breakfast, served it to all the family members, than arranged grass for our domesticated animals besides serving them drinking water and after completing all these household chores, now we are on way to our polling station," Mansha said.

She also refer to the infants on their shoulders and said that there is no one left in the family to take care of these babies for which the mothers are left with no other option then to carry the infants on their shoulder upto polling station.

Bakerwal woman Yasmeen Akhter said that they have to walk for over two kilometres to reach polling station and cast vote as they live on the top of the hill.

" Despite all challenges, we have reached polling station to cast vote," Yasmeen said adding that she is also carrying her infant on shoulder and it gives some sort of problem when you have to carry a baby while walking for kilometres together but they will brave all this challenges to reach the polling station and caste vote.