DUSU elections: A battle fought on women's rights lacks representation

Several of the all-women colleges don't even have voting rights in DU elections

From the sleek peacock flooring of the new Parliament building to the raggedy student hub that is popular as “Joshi canteen” at the arts faculty in Delhi University’s (DU’s) North Campus, one issue dominates every conversation: women's representation in politics.

On Friday, as the university goes to the polls after a three-year break, every party will contest the election on the issue of women’s rights and their security. The last election was held in 2019, after which it was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, while the women's reservation Bill, which aims to set aside one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, is in the process of becoming a law, women’s representation at the DU elections remains wanting – notwithstanding the parties’ women-centric campaigns. Turns out that not even half of the nominated women candidates might contest the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections. The reason: many of them are, as in the past, just dummy candidates. 

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which has been at the helm since 2019, and its rival National Students' Union of India (NSUI) have both released manifestos addressing topics such as women's security, gender sensitisation, self-defence programmes, and more. Other parties such as the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students' Association (AISA) have also centred their manifestos on similar issues.

Women's empowerment might be the key agenda in this election, but there are more male candidates running for office. According to the list available on the DU website, for this election, four out of eight presidential candidates are women. However, among the leading four parties (ABVP, NSUI, SFI and AISA), only AISA has fielded a woman for president. The fight is for four positions: president, vice-president, secretary, and joint secretary. ABVP and NSUI have each fielded one woman, but not for the post of president.

In the last 15 years, DU has not seen a single woman president. While only two women have occupied the post of vice president, the count for secretary and joint secretary stands at four each. ABVP has not had a woman presidential candidate since 2011. And while NSUI had one in 2019, that was after a gap of 11 years.

Compare that to the period from 2005 to 2008, when DUSU had four consecutive women presidents. It has had none since.

“Many parties nominate a woman to contest, but only as tokenism or to boost their vote bank,” said Aditi Tyagi, SFI’s secretary candidate. “These token candidates don’t necessarily fight the elections and are informed about it just a day before the notification.”

However, Tyagi’s ABVP competitor Aprajita, who goes by only her first name, said that this was not the case for her party. “We only field candidates if they are worthy for the post.”

Highlighting the challenges of being a female presidential candidate, AISA’s Aiyesha Ahmed Khan said, "I feel intimidated since I'm subjected to daily social media threats." Several students, she said, don't even come out to complain about the harassment. "During my campaign, I met many students who were scared to speak up. Without sensitisation, gender justice serves no purpose,” she said, adding, “AISA is demanding more gender sensitisation cells around DU campuses."

It is worth noting that most of the all-women colleges, such as Lady Shri Ram College, Gargi College and Mata Sundri College for Women, are not part of DUSU, implying they don't have voting rights in the elections. "It is a disturbing trend. Not only is representation lacking in leading roles, but voting rights are also not evenly provided," said Tyagi. 

Out of 80 DU colleges, 52 are part of DUSU. Many colleges that are kept out have been demanding inclusion. The administration has not been serious about this issue and political rallies are prevented from entering the premises, Tyagi said, highlighting that this hampers the women's participation as they are kept away from DUSU activities.

Sudipto Ghosh, a postgraduate student at the University, said men with power and political backing are capturing the posts in the circuit. “Women-led campaigns are being disrupted by influential male candidates. Women’s voices must be heard,” he added.

Divyanshi Singh, a second-year Bachelor of Commerce student from Uttar Pradesh, said that women's security is an issue at the university. The evening college ends at 9 pm and it becomes tough for girls who come from far-off areas. It is only during the election time, though, that campaigners start talking about respecting women to boost their vote bank, she said.

Student politics and Buddhist studies

Of the 23 candidates, nine are from the MA programme of Buddhist studies. Many of the candidates who have passed out for DU but still haven’t given up on their political dreams opt for this course, said an NSUI campaigner. "This has been a trend for several years because of the 300 seats in the course, many remain vacant, which these candidates eventually occupy," he added. All four ABVP candidates are from this course, said the campaigner with a smirk.

“Women's participation in politics can't be ensured with mere representation if they don't have hostels or a space where they find themselves secured and comfortable," added Satarupa Chakraborty, author of Students Won't Be Quiet and a former student union representative.