Meghalaya, Sikkim and Assam are among the States that recorded maximum increase in registration of women electors between January 2014 and 2019, says Election Commission’s data. Nagaland recorded the lowest rise at 2.7 per cent. Daman and Diu is the only region where the number of registered voters, both men and women, declined.
Overall registration of women electors over the past five years climbed 11.1 per cent, faster than the 9.1 per cent recorded for men. Yet, the share of women electors continues to be lower than their share in the population. The 2019 update of electors shows the share improving marginally from 47.6 per cent to 48 per cent.
However, the share of women electors is higher than males in eight States and the union territory of Puducherry. Women account for 51.5 per cent of the electors in Kerala, as the State has had a favourable sex ratio for many decades.
Other States
The other States where women account for more than half of the electorate are in the South or the North-East. From the South are Goa, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and from the North-East are Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. In Puducherry, 52.8 per cent of the electorate is women.
Women’s share in the electoral list is the lowest in the National Capital Region of Delhi at 44.8 per cent, even though registration had risen 14.2 per cent, at a faster rate compared to 13.2 per cent for men.
The lower representation of women in the electoral list could be related to migration — many women continue to stay back in rural areas of States such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, while the men come to live in the capital in search of livelihood. Women’s representation in the electors list in Uttar Pradesh is slightly better at 45.8 per cent. The share of women in Haryana’s electoral list is just a shade over 46 per cent.
Data also show that registration of women increased at a faster rate than for men in most States and union territories; Kerala, Punjab and Lakshadweep being the few exceptions.