Chandigarh: Money, muscle power, patriarchy keep women out of student politics – Hindustan Times

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Women outnumber men on the Panjab University (PU) campus and its affiliated colleges. Yet when it comes to fielding candidates for the president’s post in the student councils, political parties shy away. This year, neither PU, nor any of the city’s co-educational colleges have a woman fighting for the top post.
PU got its first woman student council president in 2018 – Kanupriya of the Students for Society, who is till date the only woman to have held the post.
Co-ed, but not equal
Last year, three women had contested for the post while three others had entered the fray in co-educational colleges – DAV College, Sector 10, Goswami Ganesh Dutta Sanatan Dharma College, Sector 32, and the Post Graduate Government College, Sector 46. None were, however, able to make a mark.
DAV-10, SD College and Sri Guru Gobind Singh College (SGGSC), Sector 26, have the notorious distinction of not having elected even a single woman to the top post till date.
Producing empowered women but no to politics
The city’s five girls colleges, Post Graduate Government College for Girls (PGGCG), Sector 11, PGGCG, Sector 42, MCM DAV College for Women, Sector 36, Dev Samaj College for Women, Sector 45, Guru Gobind College for Women, Sector 26, which take pride in producing generations of empowered women, seem to take a step back when it comes to elections. Barring PGGCG-11, which is the only girls college in the city to have an active presence of student parties, elections in the city’s girls colleges are either largely symbolic or not held at all. At Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, students are elected unopposed every year, with no actual election taking place on campus.
Government Home Science College, Sector 10 – co-educational – does not hold student council elections.
Trend over the years
Over the years, student organisations active on campuses – including Hindustan Students Association, Santan Dharam College Union, Independent Student Front, Khalsa College Student Union, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Association of Students for Alternative Politics – have traditionally relied on male candidates, often from Punjab or Haryana, for the presidential post. The Student Organisation of India (SOI), the student wing of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), had tried to break the trend last year by fielding women candidates for the president’s post at PU and SD College but not this year.
Financial barrier, lack of family support
So why is it happening? Are women reluctant or are the odds stacked against them? Experts say money, muscle power, the influence of regional politics and a deeply entrenched patriarchal mindset continue to keep women on the margins of student politics.
Assistant professor in PU’s department of political science, Prof Janaki Srinivasan explains that the region’s political culture has a lot to do with this disparity.
“Student elections in PU are definitely gendered, as seen in the mismatch between the majority female students and gross under-representation of women as contestants for the four top posts of the council. But the specific nature of this gendered and patriarchal form has to be understood in the peculiar regional context in which these elections take place,” she said.
Srinivasan pointed out that PU has become a major political space because student elections have not been held at any other college or university in Punjab since 1984. As a result, young people interested in politics, as well as mainstream political parties and social organisations seeking political space, tend to focus on PU. “Second, in the politics of the state, issues of the university are closely tied to the identity of Punjab and to the state’s stake in the university,” she said.
According to Srinivasan, this has also brought the money and material resources of Punjab’s mainstream politics into student elections. “Amid all this, the real issues concerning students are lost,” she said, adding, “When so much money is involved, the stakes are so high that only winning matters. Neither women nor the marginalised sections find space in such politics.”
She added that the picture is different at the department level, where greater diversity is seen in the election of department representatives.
A former student leader of SGGSC-26, said the financial burden of contesting elections is another major barrier for women. “In college elections, on average at least ₹10 lakh are spent by the candidate and the party. It is difficult for women to get that financial backing from their families. Male students are ready to chip in since it is a matter of pride for them to win,” he said.
Prof Pam Rajput, emeritus professor at the Centre for Women’s Studies and Development, said the disparity is not because women are disengaged from student politics. “Women actively take part in election campaigns and voting, but when it comes to contesting or taking on leadership roles, they are expected to step away,” she said, adding that the situation at PU reflects a wider pattern in Indian politics, where women participate extensively as voters but remain under-represented in leadership positions.
A feminist party on campus
Amid this political landscape, however, a different form of student mobilisation is emerging on the PU campus. In the presence of the student wings of mainstream parties, such as the National Students Union of India of the Congress, ABVP of the RSS, ASAP of the Aam Aadmi Party and SOI of the SAD, the Punjab Feminist Union of Students (PFUS) has sought to build a student movement around gender justice and equality. Founded by law graduates Harpuneet Kaur and Simran, PFUS works on issues concerning women, the queer community and persons with disabilities. Harpuneet, who completed her master’s in human rights from PU, said she initially sought leadership roles within mainstream student organisations but found little space for her views. “Mainstream parties are more busy building their image than working at the grassroots level. PFUS is helping survivors of sexual violence, holding group discussions on issues that matter to students, having reading cirlces, providing legal aid when needed, etc. We haven’t contested elections so far, as we want to build a support group on campus that stays beyond council. We may contest in future.”
Women’s issues find no voice
When there is no women’s representation in the council, issues related to them take a backseat. Research scholar in the department of community education and disciplinary studies, PU, Aditi said there are numerous issues faced by female students that remain unaddressed. “First, stalking and street harassment have become part of PU culture. It is student parties themselves that often objectify women and use their vehicles to harass them. I live in a South Campus hostel, and commuting to the main campus is always a safety concern, especially when returning from the library at night,” she said.
Aditi also highlighted the lack of female coaches across various sports, which she said makes it difficult for women students to participate. “Many want to take up swimming, gym, shooting and other sports, but the lack of female coaches does not create an inclusive and safe environment for women,” she said.

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