Disenfranchisement of Women in India's Electoral Rolls
A concerning trend in India has surfaced where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has resulted in the largest-scale disenfranchisement of women, reversing decades of progress in women's electoral participation.
Historical Context and Current Trends
- Women's political recognition has been increasing over recent decades, with improvements in women's enrolment and voter turnout.
- The SIR threatens these gains by disenfranchising women who were already on the voters' list.
Factors Affecting Women's Electoral Participation
- Double Whammy:
- Missing Girl Child: A gap exists between expected and actual births of girls, a phenomenon noted by Amartya Sen.
- Under-Enfranchisement: Women reaching voting age are less likely to be on the voter lists than men.
- Triple Whammy: SIR introduces the large-scale disenfranchisement of women already on the voters' list.
Case Example: Bihar
- Before SIR, the gender ratio for every 1,000 men was 932 women.
- The voters' list further reduced this to 914 women for every 1,000 men.
- Post-SIR, the ratio declined further to 890, increasing missing women voters from 7 lakh to 16 lakh.
Impact Across States
- Data from six major states shows a decline in the gender ratio of voters’ lists post-SIR.
- On average, the gender ratio went down from 979 women per 1,000 men to 963, adding 23 lakh "missing women voters."
Exceptions and Anomalies
- Kerala and Tamil Nadu, usually high in gender ratio, also saw declines.
- Assam improved its gender ratio through different methods that didn’t involve the enumeration forms and mapping requirements of SIR.
Systemic Flaws in SIR
- The requirement of enumeration forms with photographs and strict deadlines disadvantages women.
- More women excluded due to being "absent/shifted," often married women removed from maternal and not added to marital homes.
Historical and Administrative Observations
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) manual outlines sensitive procedures for women's enrolment, such as monitoring gender ratios and appointing female BLOs.
- Yet, the SIR has resulted in disproportionate deletions of women voters.
