S Phangnon Konyak made a significant stepping stone in history as she became the first woman member from Nagaland to preside over the upper house – Rajya Sabha. She presided over the house on Tuesday. How much of significance that development holds in the larger picture of women upliftment?
Nominating a woman at the important position in the upper house certainly holds significance as ideally, it promotes the voice all genders. The step is also likely to help the house look at rules and laws from a woman’s point of view.
When Konyak was appointed to the panel of Vice- Chairpersons on July 17, she was the first ever women member to get there. Last week, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar had nominated four women (50% of the total number) to the panel of vice-chairpersons.
Another noteworthy part of Konyak’s public life is that she belongs to the ruling party at the centre – Bharatiya Janata Party. She is only the second woman from Nagaland to be elected to either House of the Parliament or the state assembly.
All the women nominated to the panel are first term Parliamentarians and made it the first time the Upper House saw equal representation in the panel of Vice-Chairpersons. Apart from Konyak, Padma Shri athlete PT Usha, Congress Party’s Dr Fauzia Khan, and Biju Janata Dal’s Sulata Deo were also nominated to the panel.