Haryana polls: Rabia Kidwai blazes a trail as Nuh's first woman candidate, but challenges aplenty

Nuh: In Muslim-dominated Nuh, counted amongst the country's most backward areas, Rabia Kidwai has broken a glass ceiling -- becoming the first woman to contest Assembly polls from the constituency where women are rarely seen without a veil, let alone lead a political campaign and fight an election.

While the 34-year-old businesswoman from Gurguram is aware of the myriad challenges that confronts her -- the deep-rooted gender bias, the outsider tag in Nuh, the general lack of awareness and education among voters, and seasoned political opponents -- she also knows she represents a change which is precisely why, she feels, people would vote for her in these assembly polls in Haryana.

Kidwai, granddaughter of former state Governor Akhlaq Ur Rehman Kidwai, has been fielded by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Up against her are battle-hardened Congress MLA Aftab Ahmed and Indian National Lok Dal's Tahir Hussain, who also holds sway among the locals.

Kidwai is up for the challenge though, banking on her family's political lineage and her being a woman. As the polling day nears, she is busy campaigning, seeking votes for herself and her party.

"The women here tell me that they rarely visit any political party's office to raise any problems they might have. Although the gender bias situation is not as it used to be decades back, they tell me it is still not very common to have a woman contesting elections or sitting at a political party's office to attend to women coming with problems or request," she told PTI in an interview.

She found out during her campaign "the bias is much deep-rooted than I thought it would be." Nuh was established as a separate district in 2005 from parts of what was then Gurgaon and Faridabad. It has three assembly constituencies: Nuh, Fereozepur Jhirka and Punhana.

"Yes, I am an outsider in Nuh and have never lived here. But I come from the community and I have what it takes to bring Nuh at the same level as Gurgaon, especially when it comes to education," she told PTI.

"I believe any outsider perspective is great contribution for the area because I can represent the people from the area in a way that is more inclusive and educated." She said her grandfather is known the development work he carried out in the region, including the establishment of Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Medical College.

However, she says overall the region lacks development and it is extremely backward even though it is just 70 kms away from Delhi.

"The kind of development there is in Sohna and Gurgaon, this area is far from that. If you go to the villages here, you will be surprised with the lack of development and amenities there," she added.

She claims both men and women are supporting her, driven by a desire for change, particularly after the 2023 Nuh riots which left many feeling abandoned by the political class.

"I think the communal violence was someone's publicity stunt, more than anything, all these people who instigated it...they were heartless people, unkind people and that is why voters are looking for alternatives," she said.

While no woman has contested an election from Nuh so far, Shamshad became the first woman candidate to contest from Ferzepur Jhirka in 1977. She was fielded by Janata Party. In 1987, Lalita Devi contested from Ferozepur Jhirka followed by Mamata in 1999. They both contested as Independents.

From Punhana, Nauksham Choudhari contested the polls in 2019 as a BJP nominee. However, she lost the election. In 2023, she was elected from Rajasthan's Kaman. INLD has fielded Dayawati Bhadana from Punhana for the upcoming Assembly polls.

No woman has been elected from any of the constituencies in Nuh.

Since it was carved out from Punjab in 1966, the state, known for its skewed gender ratio, has sent only 87 women to the assembly. Haryana has never had a woman Chief Minister.

Elections for the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 5 and the results declared on October 8.