Women’s political voice fades in Srinagar’s election

Srinagar, Sep 20: As Srinagar prepares for its first assembly elections in a decade on September 25, a glaring disparity has come to the forefront: the stark underrepresentation of women candidates.

Despite Jammu and Kashmir's history of having a female chief minister, the upcoming elections paint a concerning picture of gender imbalance in political participation.

Out of 93 candidates vying for eight assembly seats in Srinagar, only three are women. This minuscule representation becomes even more pronounced when these three candidates contest in only two of the eight constituencies.

Asiea Naqash of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is contesting a seat she previously won in 2014 from the Hazratbal constituency. Shameema Firdous, another veteran politician, is seeking re-election from the Habba Kadal constituency, which she secured in the same year.

The third female candidate, Rubina Akhter from the National Loktantrik Party, is also contesting from Habba Kadal, making it the only constituency in Srinagar with more than one female candidate.

The issue extends beyond Srinagar, reflecting a broader trend across Jammu and Kashmir. Major political parties have fielded remarkably few women candidates.

As Srinagar’s 7.44 lakh eligible voters prepare to cast their ballots, the lack of female representation among candidates raises important questions about gender equality in political participation. This election, while historic for being the first after the abrogation of Article 370 and a decade-long gap, also serves as a stark reminder of the long road ahead in achieving equitable gender representation in the political arena.

This low representation of women candidates stands in stark contrast to Srinagar's electorate, which is almost evenly split between males (3.75 lakh) and females (3.73 lakh). This gender balance in the voting population, however, is not reflected in the candidate list.

The National Conference leads with three female candidates, followed by the PDP with two. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, and Apni Party have each fielded only one woman candidate. Notably, the Peoples Conference and the Democratic Progressive Azad Party have not fielded any women candidates at all.

In total, these mainstream parties have collectively fielded just eight women, constituting a mere 0.89 percent of their total candidates. This figure becomes even more striking when compared to the 21 women contesting as independents and the 13 female candidates fielded by other smaller parties.

The gender disparity is evident across the union territory. Out of 90 constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, 58 do not have a single female candidate. Another 22 constituencies have only one female candidate, while seven constituencies have two. Only in two rare instances are there three female candidates contesting in a single constituency.