Adilabad and Nirmal Joginis face voter enrollment hurdles over guardian names

Joginis and their children in Bokkalaguda, Nirmal town, Kuntala, Laxmanchanda, Mamada, and Sarangapur are facing severe confusion and hurdles while filling out voter enumeration forms under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll. The issue stems from uncertainty over what names to enter in the mandatory husband or father fields, which social activists warn could disenfranchise thousands of women across Telangana.

The Jogini system, though legally banned, has left an estimated 30,000 women living as single women in Telangana, where they continue to face social stigma. In these communities, children often grow up without fathers taking responsibility, leading to complications when filling out official government documentation.

Posani, a Jogini from Bokkalaguda in Adilabad town, expressed her confusion over the enumeration forms. She stated she was unsure whose name to furnish in the column designated for her husband.

According to social activist Narender Nimmala, this confusion is shared by both the Joginis and the Booth Level Officers tasked with collecting the forms. Nimmala urged district officials to immediately educate Booth Level Officers on the background of the Jogini system and assist them in completing the forms. He warned that a failure to enroll these women could deprive them of crucial government welfare schemes.

Traditionally, Joginis have listed "Potharaju"—the traditional non-Brahmin priest who initiates them into the system by tying the knot—as their husband or father in school applications and other official documents. Others list their mothers or grandfathers as their guardians.

Mahipal Prabhudas, the founder president of the Telangana Potharajula Sankshema Sangham, has requested the State Election Commission to study the Jogini system and issue clear guidelines to Booth Level Officers. Prabhudas noted that most Joginis belong to Scheduled Castes and have historically faced exploitation by upper-caste feudal lords.

The state previously appointed a one-man commission led by V. Raghunath Rao to study the problems of Joginis, Mathangis, Devadasis, and Basavis in undivided Andhra Pradesh. Between 1996 and 2004, the commission identified 646 Jogini families across 12 mandals of Adilabad district.