Jat girls cannot vote till marriage

Voter turnout in Haryana and Delhi increases with the number of jat marriages every year. The reason: jats in Haryana and Delhi don’t let their daughters vote before marriage.

“The girl is not supposed to vote before marriage. Her husband has to make the choice if she should vote or not,” said Pawan Sherawat from Gurgaon. Vijay Dahiya echoes that view, “The girl should vote after she gets married. She should vote for who her husband wants her to vote for.”

Many jats feel their daughters should make their voter IDs after marriage, so that they do not undergo the tension of changing their addresses on their voter cards.

“My daughter will get married in a month. Though she wanted to vote this time, it’s more reasonable for her to make her voter card only after she’s married,” said Jitender Shekhawat in Delhi. According to him, “This way she will not have to change her name and address on the card.”

On the one hand some want to leave it to the daughter’s spouse, and on the other, some don’t want the tension.

“My daughter doesn’t need to vote. Why should she stand in the hot sun?” said Amit Dahiya from Delhi. According to him, “Once she gets married, it’ll be her personal choice.”

Many jats are following a tradition which doesn’t allow women to vote before marriage.