The sweet-sour memories of two women who had polling duty in Kolkata

Women polling officers in Kolkata and rural areas face physical and attitudinal challenges during elections, highlighting their capabilities and struggles.

While voters wait with bated breath to see how far the actual results match the exit polls, the people who actually conducted the elections at the booth-level — particularly in rural areas — are exhaling in relief that it is all over. The Hindu spoke to two women — both teachers — who were assigned poll duties when Kolkata and surrounding places went to the polls last Saturday, and both have bitter-sweet memories of their experience. While the challenges were more physical for the polling officer stationed at a rural area, the surprise that the one who served in a south Kolkata booth expressed was more attitudinal.

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“Almost every woman official had objection to the employment of women in such jobs. They kept saying, ‘Women are not fit for such responsibilities. This was not a practice before, but this time the Election Commission has taken so many women. This is wrong. How can we carry such heavy machines, how can we stay at school buildings? How can we go home after 9 p.m.?’ It is true that the situation was challenging, but I think women are capable of things much beyond that,” Amrapali Bose, who served as the presiding officer at a pink booth in south Kolkata, said.

“Most of the women in my polling station found it unbearable to sleep on a bench or use unkept toilets. I think women need to come out of comfort zones more often than and prepare themselves for unforeseen challenges. As women, we are capable of much difficult challenges, only if you learn how to believe in yourself,” Ms. Bose, who teaches English at Heramba Chandra College, said.

She said she was surprised when one woman badly hurt her leg at the booth and the others, instead of helping her, were busy submitting papers because they were in a hurry to leave. “Around 3 p.m., a senior citizen approached me with a concern. He said his wife suffered from partial loss of sight. I told him we would send her to the voting compartment first and if she failed (to read), we could assign him as her companion. He said enthusiastically, ‘I want her to cast her vote independently. I don’t want to encroach into her socio-political privacy.’ I was elated. I did everything I could to assist her cast her vote independently. When she finally succeeded, she threw her hands upwards and exclaimed ‘I have done it!’ Nothing can beat that moment for me,” Ms. Bose said, recalling a memorable incident.

For the other teacher, who teaches English at a rural college and who served as a polling officer in a booth in a village outside Kolkata, there were moments of dread and gratitude. “We are really grateful to the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) jawans for their care, but overall, the experience was a nightmare,” the teacher, who did not want either herself or her college to be named, said.

“We got a bathroom that was untidy and unusable, and doors broken, with spider webs everywhere. The water tap was out of service. In fact, there was no water supply except for a handpump outside — we had to pump water each time. The conditions were so filthy that it caused UTI (urinary tract infection) to some of us. When one official was using the bathroom, another had to stand outside. Even the CRPF jawans were sometimes guarding us from a distance. Even the village people warned us that there might be snakes in the bathroom as it had not been cleaned for a long time. We couldn’t bathe,” she said.