SIR could roll back decades of progress in women's political participation, Pg13

Key Highlights:

• The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has led to a significant decline in women's electoral participation across India.
• In Bihar, the number of "missing women voters" increased from 7 lakh to 16 lakh after the SIR.
• Six major states experienced a drop in the gender ratio of voters, resulting in 23 lakh additional "missing women voters".
• Even states with better gender ratios like Tamil Nadu and Kerala saw a decline due to the SIR.

Detailed Insights:

• The SIR requires filling out enumeration forms with photographs by a strict deadline, leading to administrative disenfranchisement, especially affecting women.
• Many women are excluded for being "absent/shifted," disproportionately impacting married women whose names are deleted from their maternal homes but not added to their marital homes.
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) manual emphasizes monitoring gender ratio and appointing female Booth Level Officers (BLOs), raising questions about the implementation of SIR.
• Unlike other states, Assam saw an improvement in the gender ratio of voters after its Special Revision, as it did not use enumeration forms and "mapping" requirements.
• The decline in women's voter enrollment threatens to reverse decades of progress in women's political participation and representation in India.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Disenfranchisement: The denial of the right to vote to a person or category of people.
• Gender Ratio: The number of women per 1,000 men in a population.
• Electoral Roll: An official list of persons entitled to vote in an election.