Since the first Lok Sabha elections, India's democracy has come a long way, and today, seven decades and 17 general elections later, women's participation in exercising their right to vote has surpassed that of men, according to Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra.
He also stated that democracy and democratic institutions thrive when all people groups are represented equally.
Mr Chandra spoke at an international webinar on 'Enhancing Electoral Involvement of Women, Persons with Disabilities, and Senior Citizens' about how the Election Commission worked hard to increase the participation of women, people with disabilities, senior citizens, and transgender people.
He noticed that women's voting rights were extended piecemeal in most countries and territories.
He noted that it took the United States 144 years to grant women equal voting rights.
Women in India were granted the right to vote in the year after the country gained independence.
This does not change the fact that many Indian women fought for equal voting rights. According to him, the Indian suffragette movement gained traction as more and more women joined the freedom war.
The main logistical problem arose during the production of electoral records, when a substantial number of women refused to reveal their actual names, preferring to be listed as A's wife or B's mother, he said.
The Election Commission had to publish guidelines stating that a woman's name is an important aspect of her identity and that she must register to vote in her own name. Public appeals were made, and a one-month extension was granted to allow women to register to vote.
Wherever it was thought that women voters might have difficulty appearing at polling booths, such as in the case of 'purdahnashin,' or women who wear veils, special women booths were built up, with 27,527 polling officers who were all women.
According to the Chief Election Commissioner, about 40,000 people registered as third gender voters in the 2019 elections.
