Dimapur, November 21 : Asserting that it is an irrefutable part of Naga customary law that the women are not second to men, the Naga Mothers Association (NMA) said many Naga leaders while commenting upon women reservation in municipal and town councils appear to be in total oblivion of this essential ingredient of gender equity.
A lengthy release issued by its president Abeiu Meru and advisor Dr Rosemary Dzuvichu on Monday sought to point out that one of the important aspects of constitutional guarantees under Article 371 A(1)(a) of the Constitution of India is that no Parl iamentary Act on “social practices “of Nagas will apply to Nagaland unless the Nagaland Legislative Assembly decides to apply by a resolution.
The NMA said if there is 100% opportunity for both men and women to participate in any sector, according to this custom of gender equity, Naga men and woman shall have to share the sector on 50/50 basis. “If Political leaders and Tribal Hohos deny this equitable share they would be committing irreparable injury , not only to the Naga customs, but the very letter and spirit of Article 371 -A (1)(a),” it explained.
“So far, despite this inviolable Naga custom of gender equity, women have been unable to occupy a small space, leave aside, equal space in electoral politics, be it elections to the Municipal and town Councils , the Legislative Assembly or the Houses of the Parliament,” the mothers association noted. It said the political parties in the State which vividly championed the cause of Article 371 A(1)(a) of the Constitution have not, in practice, sponsored equal number of women to contest elections to municipal and town councils, Legislative Assembly or the Parliament in accordance with this custom of gender equity.
“Thus, these political parties and their leaders, the Tribal Hohos and other civil societies, have only been paying lip service to Article 371 A (1)(a) and flagrantly denying women their due share in electoral politics under the garb of advocating customary law,” the NMA stated. On the other hand, it said, they have only been contradicting the Naga customary law of gender equity and mutilating the age-old custom of equality of sexes.
The NMA further stated that during all these many years of denial of women reservation in municipal and town councils, the political leaders who had their heyday in the yesteryears were firing from the shoulders of other sections of society.
According to it: “Neither, these political leaders thought it prudent to consult the women groups starting from the village level to the apex bodies nor encouraged the tribal Hohos and other organisations to include woman representatives, so that the voices of women was heard and their dues, duly reckoned.”
Maintaining that over these many years of undoing the Naga custom of gender equity, the NMA said they did not give any opportunity to hear the women who were the affected parties. “All these years only the men spoke , the men’s voices were heard and the men decided against women reservation, all in the name of upholding the Naga custom of gender equity and Article 371A(1)(a),” it rueds.
The NMA observed that under the direction of the High Court which came down heavily upon the State Government, the woman reservation provisions in the State Municipal Act was enacted in 2006. “This happened, because they were unable to explain to the High Court how under Article 371A)(1)(a), they could deny women reservation when the Naga custom is to provide gender equity,” it said.
“In the name of law and order situation, the State Government under the former Chief Minister refused to effectuate the women reservation provision enacted under the High Court’s Order. Thus, the entire State Act was committed to the Article 371A(1)(a) Committee of the Assembly for a review to buy time,” the NMA said.
It opined that without examining and explaining how the Naga custom of gender equity is affected by women reservation, the Assembly Committee recommended to the State Government to stop the application of Part IX A (Municipalities ) of the Constitution of India to Nagaland.
“Without hearing the women in Nagaland, the all men Assembly on 22.09.2012 passed a Resolution against Women Reservation in Municipal and Town Councils without explaining how “Social practice of Nagas” were adversely affected by women reservation provisions in the Constitution of India,” it stated.
The NMA also lamented that all these past years, those leaders, who have been protesting against women reservation in the guise of Naga customary law being affected, did not consider their duty to explain to the people of the State how the Naga customary law remains unaffected by ST/SC reservation, the process of elections unknown to the Nagas in their customary world and the administration of municipal and town councils through administrators for all these years, which is a serious breach of Naga customary law.
“The political leaders under whose nose the battle against women and women reservation was being organised owe answers to these questions to the Naga public - both men and women,” it added.
The Sumi Hoho has made it clear on Monday that it fully endorses the stand of the Central Nagaland Tribes Council (CNTC) on 33% women reservation issue.
Stating that it has no objection to the move to empower women, the Sumi hoho, in a release issued by its Toniho Yepthomi and general secretary Vihuto Asumi, however, said the women reservation should be replaced by nomination of women with voting rights. “At par with men, women too, who are competent and desirous can contest from anywhere they wish to and hold any position as men do,” it stated.
The Sumi Hoho said it was constrained to issue its statement following a number of views and opinions written and expressed by various tribal bodies as well as concerned individuals in regard to the Nagaland Municipal Act 2001.
On taxation on lands and buildings, the Sumi Hoho described it as a serious issue and asserted that it is unacceptable.
“In Nagaland, land holding system is entirely different from the rest of the country. Land belongs to individual or community. Imposing taxation on lands and buildings is a direct infringe to the Article 371A,” it maintained. The Sumi Hoho, therefore, asserted that such provision for taxation of lands and buildings in the Act should be altogether deleted and should never be raised even in future.
