Mizoram Election 2023: On Women's Representation, Mizoram Has A Record Since 1972 That No State Wants

One oft-overlooked record of Mizoram is the lack of women's representation. Despite having a sex ratio of 975 women per 1,000 men, Mizoram has the wretched record of having the least women MLAs.

Mizoram election 2023: The last woman MLA in Mizoram, Vanlalawmpuii Chawngthu (top left), the first woman MLA from the state, L Thanmawii (top right), and the Mizoram Assembly House in Aizawl. ( Image Source :DIPR Mizoram, Facebook@SDPFTNEI, Mizoram Assembly )

This year's second season of elections will see the northeastern state of Mizoram head into its ninth state polls with the unenviable record of having zero woman MLA in the assembly. The state did not elect a single woman in the 2018 assembly elections. In fact, the Mizoram Legislative Assembly had not seen a single woman MLA for 27 years since the 1987 elections. In 2014, one woman — Vanlalawmpuii Chawngthu — won the bypoll from the Hrangturzo seat and went on to become a