In order to promote women empowerment, the Mumbai district Collector’s Office has decided that 26 polling stations in Mumbai suburbs will be operated by women only.
According to Mid-Day, at these polling stations right from the presiding officer to the peon, only women will handle the stations. The Collector’s office came up with this idea on the lines of female employees managing railway stations, and will take up various initiatives around it. Apart from this, there will be five female government employees at every station called Sakhi polling station.
An official from the Collector’s office told the leading daily that, “This is the first time such initiatives have been taken up by the district collector’s office in the city. It will be a regular polling station for voters, where every voter irrespective of gender will be allowed inside. However, it is a symbolic move from us for women empowerment and while everyone says handling election activities is difficult, it will send a message that women are very capable of handling even election proceedings.” In suburbs, there are over 7,000 polling stations. The district Collector’s Office in another initiative will appoint employees of self-help groups and aanganwadi to encourage women, voters, to vote on April 29.
