Disenfranchisement of Females: Women Organisations Submit Memo to CEC

New Delhi: Eight women’s organisations on Tuesday submitted a joint memorandum to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) drawing his attention to the fact that millions of women aged 18 years and above have not been registered as voters.

“The 2011 census suggests that by 2019 the total population of women above 18 years will be 97.2 per cent of the total men’s population. But the Election Commission data for 2019 shows that women voters are only 92.7 per cent of the male voters indicating a 4.5 per cent shortfall of women voters. This 4.5 per cent translates into a staggering 21 million women who will be denied their right to vote just because their names are not registered in the voters’ lists,” said the memo by All India Democratic Women’s Association, All India Progressive Women’s Association, National Federation of Indian Women,

All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch, Guild of Service, Joint Women’s Programme,

War Widows’ Association and National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights.

The women’s organisations pointed out that 21 million ‘missing’ women voters meant that around 38,000 women voters will not be voting in every constituency of India, said a joint press statement issued by the women’s organisations, adding that the largest number of unregistered women are in Uttar Pradesh (6.8 million), Maharashtra (2.3 million) and Rajasthan (1.2 million).

“This means that on an average 85,000 women voters will not be allowed to vote in every single constituency in Uttar Pradesh,” it said.

Terming this disenfranchisement of women voters as an assault on their democratic right as citizens of the country, the organisations appealed to the CEC. to take immediate steps to rectify this injustice on an “urgent basis.”