The unanimous passage of the Nagaland Municipal Bill, 2023, by the Nagaland Assembly marks a historic moment towards women’s empowerment and gender equality in the state. The bill provides for a 33% reservation of seats for women in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). The new bill, however, omits the provision in the previous Municipal Act, which provided for one-third of the offices of chairpersons of ULBs. The constitutional requirement of reservation of one-third seats for women in ULBs prevailed over customary laws. Tribal bodies in the state opposed women’s reservations on the ground that it was in contravention of Article 371 A(1). The Article provides special status to Nagaland, and no central act is applicable unless the state assembly adopts a resolution for its implementation. It was the Supreme Court’s intervention and directive to the Central Government and Nagaland Government to hold elections for ULBs with a 33% women quota to meet the constitutional mandate that pushed the passage of the bill. The apex court, however, made it clear that “the personal laws of Nagaland and even the special status under Article 371A(1) of the Constitution are not being touched in any manner.” Credit goes to women’s organisations in the state that have been at the forefront of the relentless struggle for women’s reservation in elected bodies and carry forward the movement, traversing a critical journey full of complexities of settling legal issues and pressing for women’s emancipation, overcoming challenges of customary laws. For the state government, building a consensus among apex tribal bodies and civil society organisations was not easy. Strong opposition by tribal bodies led to the state assembly repealing the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001, in March and forming a committee to draft a new law. The civil society organizations insisted that the provision for women’s reservation and tax on land and property in the Act violated the provisions of customary laws. The U-turn of the government, however, attracted the ire of the SC, which set a November 10 deadline for passing the municipal law with a 33% quota for women. A consultation was organised by the government with the tribal heads of 16 major tribes and seven minor tribes in the state on September 1, and a consensus was reached, which paved the way for bringing the new law with a 33% quota for women. The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992, constitutionally mandated 33% women’s reservation in all Panchayati Raj Institutions and for the office of chairpersons of PRIs, while the 74th Amendment mandated the same reservation for women in ULBs (municipalities and town committees). The legal argument advanced was that the 73rd Amendment does not apply to Nagaland as the state does not have panchayats under the special provision of Article 371A, but the 74th Amendment did not give exemption to the state as it is applicable to ULBs. Nagaland has 39 ULBs, and elections to these bodies were held last year with reservations for women. The participation of women in decision-making bodies is crucial for strengthening democracy. Women in Nagaland have demonstrated their leadership in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, education, and entrepreneurship, and creating the space for them in elected bodies will go a long way in enriching the governance with their experience and expertise. The election of two women legislators to the Nagaland Assembly earlier this year also reflected people’s trust in the capacity of women to represent them in elected bodies. The election of women in ULBs will unlock the huge potential of bringing new ideas to running the elected bodies and pushing development in the state. Parties, women’s bodies, and ULBs will need to provide adequate training to elected representatives on financial management, understanding laws, project monitoring, and evaluation so that they can push for people-friendly policies, projects, and programmes. Political parties can ensure greater participation of women in these elected bodies if they initiate training for capacity building of women leaders in governance by viewing women's political space beyond 33% reservation. Women being 50% of the population, 50% of the representation of women in the elected bodies should be the ultimate objective. There are instances in several states where male members or relatives of elected female representatives function as proxy representatives. Nagaland women, because of their strong position and leadership in the social space, can be expected to set examples for those elected bodies run by men as proxy for women representatives when they get elected to ULBs and the State Assembly. Exemplary performance by elected Naga women representatives in ULBs will be crucial to emboldening their cause for equal representation in all elected bodies. The state government has assured the SC to complete the process of municipal elections with a one-third quota for women by April 30, 2024. Naga women are poised to script a new history in the electoral politics of the state in the first half of next year, provided the Nagaland government adheres to the timeline.