Panjab University to reserve one seat for women in student body polls
This move marks the first instance of any form of reservation for these coveted positions in the university's history.
The decision stems from recommendations put forth by a committee, established by the vice-chancellor to overhaul the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) governing student elections.
Led by professor Nandita Singh, this committee was tasked with drafting revised SOPs for the dean student welfare (DSW) office following a fatal stabbing incident on the campus in March.
PU vice-chancellor Renu Vig confirmed that she had received the recommendations, assuring their implementation from the next academic session. 'The varsity has a large number of female students and there had been a pending proposal for a while calling for reservations in the PUCSC. With a bill passed to provide reservation for women in Lok Sabha seats, it is a step in the right direction to do this for the PU student council as well,' she said.
According to the committee's recommendations, the specific office-bearer seat to be reserved—be it president, vice-president, general secretary or joint secretary—will be determined through a draw of lots conducted by the DSW office.
However, this method raises the possibility that the prestigious president's seat might either be consistently overlooked or repeatedly selected.
Addressing this concern, the vice-chancellor said they will monitor the situation and can choose rotational reservation for women, if needed.
'We can choose to hold a draw of lots at the start of the next session and then choose the seat to be reserved from the next session on rotational basis, either in ascending or descending order,' she said.
Female students in majority yet underrepresented
Despite comprising a majority of the student body, with approximately 52% female students compared to 48% male students in the last academic year, female representation in PUCSC leadership remains disproportionately low.
Notably, only one female student, Kanupriya, has held the position of PUCSC president, during the 2018-19 session.
Expressing her thoughts on the initiative, Kanupriya remarked, 'While I am excited about this, it seems too good to be true. PU elections are held as per the Lyngdoh Panel Guidelines and it remains to be seen how this reservation will be included while keeping with these guidelines. PU has made such promises in the past and not kept them.'
She also emphasised the need for caste-based reservation within the female quota to prevent upper-caste female students from disproportionately benefiting.
In some cases, parties also use women candidates to fetch votes but interfere in their working once they get elected. Something similar was seen last year when Ranmeekjot Kaur won the vice-president seat in the last session. Within a month of her election, her party Sath had cut ties with her. Speaking about the new initiative, she said, 'There is still a taboo in people's minds about women who enter politics. This initiative will normalise thinking of a career in politics for women and it is much needed.'
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