Women in the indigenous communities of Nagaland may not be politically empowered enough, but they are certainly better off than their counterparts in the rest of the county.
If molestation, domestic violence and female foeticide are unknown here, women are, however, yet to secure a place for themselves as heads of the all-powerful Village Councils. A Village Council is a supreme body of nominated members of various tribal clans in accordance with the prevailing customary practices. The Village Councils have been granted administrative and judicial powers under the Nagaland Village and Area Councils Act, 1978.
As of now, no woman heads the Village Councils, though women do find a place in the Village Councils and various other bodies established under the Village Councils. One such important body is the Village Development Board or the Health Committee.
“When other Village Councils nominate women to head, we will also do it,” says Akho, head of Hakchang in response to a query on whether it was time to include women in the Village Councils.
The women's reservation laws are not applicable in Nagaland Village Councils and since members to the Village Councils are nominated by the clans, it is totally for the clans to decide whether or not to politically empower women to head a Village Council.
Women can also not inherit land as land is a community resource. Only, in case an individual owns some property it can be willed to his children, but so far inheritance is confined to male members only. Women have equal access to education and health facilities, though the concept of two-child norm is alien in the State. “The birth of a girl is celebrated as much as that of a boy,” says Ms Songmo of a self help group at Hakchang village in Tuensang district. Nagaland has an impressive sex ratio of 987 girls to 1000 boys. It is strengthened by the fact that the much influential religion does not allow abortions and, thus, eliminates any possibility of selective abortion.
There are no cases of domestic violence either. “We will all get together to beat up the man,” says another young woman from a tribal clan.
Young girls roaming around freely in the vicinity even late in the night, particularly as the villages have no electricity supply, is a common sight in Nagaland, but there are no reported cases of violence against women. “Any case of molestation will result in the accused being ex-communicated from the village,” says Longkong, members of Hakchang Village Council. The Village Elders quickly point out that they do not remember any incident of molestation.
So highly are women respected that men in the family and neighbourhood helping a women deliver is an accepted norm, unlike in the rest of the country where woman would rather be allowed to die along with the child but no man is allowed to help a woman deliver – even husband shies away from this situation. “The community bonding is so strong that no one can deny help,” says Dr Kika Longkumer, Deputy Director (National Rural Health Mission).
