The stark reality of politics in Nagaland is that we have never had a woman MLA. And this, despite the fact that all these years, we have been proudly claiming to have treated our women equally. True, she may be better off in many aspects. She may be allowed to pursue education, to follow her dreams, to even marry the man of her choice, but we all know with absolute certainty that when it comes to politics (or even the apex tribal organisations for that matter), a woman's place is never, ever given, or considered with seriousness. Whether we like it or not, agree or disagree, the patriarchal system of our society is deeply rooted in us. And the lack of women participation in the highest level of decision making body in the state is a sheer reflection of this sad reality. But this time around, we see the emergence of women candidates (however little the percentage of their participation still is) and it feels like a good start considering that this number of five women filing ...