At Maulana Azad National Urdu University, only one girl to contest union election

Hyderabad: Students’ union elections in central universities are not much different from general elections in the country when it comes to the gender gap in political representation. Girls continue to be under represented in these elections.

At Maulana Azad National Urdu University (Manuu), students’ union elections for which is scheduled to be held on September 8, 12 students are contesting for five positions of which only one is a girl student. She contesting for vice-president.

This despite there being nearly 500 girls studying in the university. Last year too only one girl student had contested and won in the elections, as treasurer.
A student from Manuu said, “Most girls who come to Manuu are from orthodox families and are not very outspoken and do not show much interest in elections. Also, the university does not provide them an encouraging atmosphere. Rather, they are subjected to moral policing including by some faculty members."
Many girls can be seen actively taking part in various events and protests at University of Hyderabad (UoH) and English and Foreign Languages University(Eflu) but when it comes to students’ union elections, the gender disparity is huge.
Last year in UoH only one girl student contested in the students’ union election, for the position of cultural secretary. Over the years, the position of cultural secretary has usually been contested by girls, an example of gender stereotyping that exists even in universities.
In Eflu as well, only one of the six office bearers in the present students union is a girl.