While most of the woman felt that the newly-introduced all woman polling booths were a sign of equality and women empowerment, some also felt that such booths would discomfort men since all the workers in the booth would be women.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Election Commission had introduced all-women polling booths in Tamil Nadu in the ongoing assemble elections, in which all the women, including the polling officers, booth agents, and volunteers would be women. The booth would however host voters of all genders.

In Coimbatore alone, ten such booths have been installed with one booth in each constituency.

Even as many welcomed the initiative, some felt that equal importance of woman in all booths would have sufficed questioning the installation of a special booth.

Lauding the installation, T. Ramalakshmi from Pappanaickenpalayam, where one of the booths was installed, said that more such booths would be set up since it is a sign of woman empowerment.

“It is another chance to prove our mettle in all fields,” she said.

Calling to encourage such ideas, M. Thangamani added that such booths will not only help in women empowerment, but also makes it more comfortable for women to cast their votes.

The contrary views are just as strong too. N. Haripriya from Coimbatore South constituency alleged that while such booths might be comforting to women, it would leave men voters largely discomforted.

“Some men may not find it convenient,” she added.

S. Kaleeshwari from Netaji Road also claimed that it would be better if equal representation of both the genders is seen in all the booths.

Notably, District Electoral Officer Arcahana Patnaik had earlier called for an all-woman constituency, in which all the booths in a constituency would host only women workers. However, the proposal was declined by representatives from political parties.