Where have all the men gone?

Samarjit Kambam *

Polling for Second phase of 12th Manipur Assembly Election on March 05 2022 :: Pix - Lamdamba Oinam

Now that the 12th General Assembly Election of our state is over and the election fever has subsided, the expected majority party has ruled the roost.The portfolio of Chief Minister has also been conferred to the incumbent as has been widely anticipated by many. This article has nothing to do with politics and election. Rather, it’s blended more towards human ecology vis-à-vis gender disparity in our state.

Out of the two election dates, we the ‘inner’ voters exercised our franchise to choose the rightful or wrongful candidates on 28 February. Being a voter of Khurai Assembly Constituency, on that memorable day, I went to cast my vote like many other enthusiastic voters from my residential address to my polling booth in the morning at around 8 a.m. I came across many polling booths.

When on my journey I glanced at the many polling booths along the way. However, my gaze could not be restricted to one glance, the reason being that the people queuing up seemed to be all females. Course, there were males too. But the number of females lining up to cast their votes overwhelmed the number of males. I didn’t have to do the counting, my naked eyes were testimonies to that.

Of all the polling booths that I saw, there were four to five lines of females for every single male line. When I reached my polling booth, the situation was even grimmer. There were seven female lines for a single line of male. That also, the lines of females were serpentine and far longer.

There was no way the male voters congregated, came to a conclusion and casted their votes early in the morning before any of the female voters arrived taking into account the discordant attitude of males of our state.

Of all the days of the year, they could not be hibernating on that very special and promising day. The rule was that each male voter had to cast his vote after every three females due to the disproportionately high number of female voters turning up. Where have all the men gone? I thought.

It can be mentioned without an iota of doubt that in Manipur women always steal the show. Our society is such that the males are like drone bees, used to idling around. We can proudly bring to the fore the herculean deeds of our womenfolk for eons.

Mention may be made of the first ‘Nupi Lan’, the rebellion against the heavily armed forces of the mighty British Empire which broke out in 1904 in response to the reintroduction of the Lallup System, wherein local men were obligated to offer free labour for the British for 10 days after every 30 days followed by the second Nupi Lan in 1939 against the indiscriminate export of rice from the state resulting in a famine-like situation of Kangleipak.

The heart-rending incident of brave hearts in front of Kangla Fort when it was a battalion of 17 Assam Rifles led to handing of the historic Kangla Fort to the people of Manipur during the Manmohan Singh regime as Prime Minister, of course under Sonia Gandhi’s approval.

Such acts not only sowed the seeds of economic and political reforms but also inspired generations of Manipuri women to assert their rights as equal citizens.Mention may also be made wherein the trades women of Ima Keithel stood up and demonstrated against the order of raised tax on water supply by the British administration in 1925. The womenfolk never took things for granted.

When we were kids, our elders narrated that the womenfolk kept the men locked at their homes so that they are not harmed by the British army during the First and Second uprisings of Nupi Lan. Such are the compassion and audacity of the womenfolk of Manipur. They are a force to reckon with, hardly seen on other places of the earth.

The bravery of Manipuri women like Rani Gaidinglu who called upon the ethnic Naga tribes to challenge the British colonial administration at the young age of 13 can be considered unparalleled. The historic Ima Keithel or “Mothers’ Market” is the biggest and first of its kind of trading centre in the world run only by women.

The women torch bearers at night known locally as “Meira Paibis” have a significant role in the socio-political movement against aggressors or suppressors of the society.They stand against domestic violence, injustice and makes the women’s community a stronger one and manifest itself as a tool against army atrocities, economic exploitation, political subjugation, honour their identities and is an example of collective strength. There are not enough words of praise for the bravery of Manipuri women.

As of the 2011 census, Kerala tops the list with 1084 women against every 1000 males, followed by Puduchurry and Tamil Nadu. There are states with grim scenarios where the number of males exceed females by a high ratio.

Mention may be made of Delhi with 868 followed by Haryana with 879 females per 1000 males. In such states, female infanticide, selective abortion and female child neglect are prominent futures. Such states have the stereotype of perceived lower status of females and are highly patriarchal societies resulting in lower female literacy rate and less female empowerment.

Experts have opined that in a country like India, the number of women exceeding the number of men is a good sign of women empowerment. But controversy in this issue still abounds. As Indian society being a patriarchal one, women are usually kept back-burner, afar from decision making, controlled by the men, subjugated and perceived that they are weaker sections of the society who are not productive, that they are to be bounded within the four walls of the kitchen, that they are only for procreation, to produce heirs of men. A few states like Meghalaya and Sikkim have the opposite perception though.

We don’t have any official figure of how many females are there for every 1000 males in Manipur as of present. But the scenario of the election day can be considered as a tell-tale sign of ground reality that the number of women far exceeds the number of men in Manipur.

Taking into account the bravery of Manipuri women, many may have the view that the number of women exceeding the number of men in Manipur is a good sign. Well, strength lies in numbers but unity is a deciding factor when it comes to strength. If the number of women exceeding men is a good sign in Manipur, can it be considered as women empowerment? Suppose, if the answer is a big yes, what if the women are not united? Questions Galore.

Experts have opined that gender equality should prevail in any societal set-up. Unequal societies are less cohesive. They have higher rates of anti-social behaviour and violence. Countries with greater gender equality are more connected. Their people are healthier and have better wellbeing.

The First Punic War, for example, killed off roughly a quarter of all military-age men throughout the Mediterranean - as a result, the remaining men could make the most ridiculous demands of any women who sought male companionship. The writer is of the opinion that the ratio of male to women should to the tune of 50 : 50.