JOIN USElections in Himachal Pradesh have long been well-fortified by men. Women are arguably subjects of 'bias' when it comes to ticket allotment by parties across the spectrum or even representation in the state Assembly.
The number of women making it to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, ironically, has never touched the double-digit figure.
This prejudice is also reflected in not being the preferred choice while voting. And, this election is no different.
Women in the hill state have struggled to make their presence felt on the broad political canvas. This, despite the fact that the women have outnumbered men in voting over the past two decades.
In the coming elections, the Congress has given tickets to only three women of the 68 nominees in the fray. The BJP fairs a tad bit better as it has given six seats to women candidates, including newcomers.
High point in 1998
The high point was in 1998 when only six women candidates made it to the Assembly. In the 2012 Assembly election, only three women candidates made it to the Assembly. The same number of women became MLAs in 1993.
This bias towards women has a stereotyped response from leaders across party lines. They cite winnability as a criteria, perhaps, assuming with conviction, that women won't win. But winnability of women, observers say, will be ascertained only after they are given adequate representation by political parties to contest polls beyond just one election.
In the last election, of the several hundreds of contestants, less than 6% were women. Majority of them lost their security deposit. Those who have made it consistently to the Treasury or Opposition benches have a strong political background.
Women also beat men in voter turnout (they polled 7% more than men in the previous election), which also brings to the fore an interesting point - women haven't voted as much for women.