Gauri Sharma, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: For millions of voters, elections last a day. But for the women who make them possible, the experience stretches far longer and cuts much deeper.
From late-night drops in unsafe areas to nights spent on cold floors without security to waiting hours for a ride home to skipping meals and restrooms altogether, the women who serve as election officers often pay a personal price for keeping democracy alive. Their work is invisible. Their struggles ignored.
Poojitha is 34. She works for the state government in Telangana. She has served in three elections. But she still remembers the fear from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“It was late at night when the bus left me three kilometers away from my home. I panicked because I am a single woman with no male family member to pick me up. I had to call my cousin to drop me home. Thus, for records the transport is provided, but the reality is, it is far from ideal,” she said.
This was not her only bad experience. Many women share similar stories. Some even more troubling.
Renuka Tyagi is 54. She is a school principal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
“A few years back, while serving my election duty in a deserted government school, I remember waiting for close to two hours after the polling deadline before I could even leave for the distribution center. Then I had to wait again for my turn to submit materials and get my attendance certified. I reached home past midnight on my two-wheeler, terrified at every turn,” she said.
The situation is worse in rural areas. Leena Sharma, 38, served in Madhya Pradesh during the general elections.
“Buses were so limited that we had to wait for hours. Drivers would not move unless the buses were full, delaying our return even further. I finally reached my town late at night, with no public transport available further to my home,” she said.
For many women officers, access to toilets is still not guaranteed even now.
Rekha Devi, 46, was posted in Mathura.
“The polling station was a government school, but the staff toilets were locked, leaving us with filthy ones that were barely usable. I had to go the entire day without using the restroom because there were no clean facilities,” she said.
Her colleague, Sunita Kumari, 29, echoed her.
“There was no bathroom in our night stay location. We had to change our clothes in the community hall without bathing,” she said.
The Election Commission has tried to fix things. But problems persist. Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi said, “With the issues of sanitation and likewise, the Election Commission tries every time to make it more comfortable. However, as far as late-night travels by women staff on election duty are concerned, it has always been ensured that security forces accompany them. But, if lags are observed in this, it should be brought to the notice of the commission and remedial measures should be initiated, as the safety, security and welfare of the staff is essential for the smooth conduct of elections, anywhere.”
For many women, night duty means sleeping on floors. Often with no bedding. And little to no security.
Aarti Singh, 31, works in Nagpur. She said, “For the majority of my election duties, I had to sleep on the floor with just a thin sheet. Not only is it uncomfortable, but also makes many of us feel vulnerable, as there are male staff members around.”
Safety is not always guaranteed. Neither is peace. Priya Menon, 45, a government officer in Kultali, West Bengal, shared a terrifying memory.
“We were manhandled. I tried to protect the ballot box, but they shoved me aside. The male officials were equally helpless,” she said.
And sometimes, the threat comes from voters themselves.
“Some men yelled at us, calling us incapable of managing a polling station. One even grabbed my hand in anger when I asked him to wait for his turn,” she said.
‘Why Should We Just Accept It?’
Little has changed despite years of complaints for many women.
Deepika Reddy, 50, teaches in Faridabad, Haryana. “Every year, we raise these concerns, but the authorities do nothing. The lack of safe transport and proper restrooms is something we have learned to accept, but why should we?” she asked.
She believes some changes are not difficult. “Separate transport for women, secure night stays and clean sanitation facilities should be the bare minimum. We dedicate ourselves to the electoral process, but it is time the system values our safety and dignity,” she said.
Kavita Mishra, 44, from Aligarh, has served many times. “I take pride in facilitating elections, but the physical and mental toll is overwhelming. If things do not change, many of us will think twice before signing up again,” she said.
Their faces do not appear in newspaper photos. Their names are not printed in victory speeches. But without them, the vote would not happen.
These women carry the weight of democracy on their backs often without sleep, help and thanks.
But they keep showing up. Even when the system does not show up for them.