AGRA, Nov. 3 -- Ever since its inception in 1920, Aligarh Muslim University has never had a woman at the helm of its students' union. Now, as AMU prepares for its first student union elections after 2018, a 28-year-old research scholar has taken the plunge in an otherwise male-dominated domain at the university. Amina Irshad, the only woman among nine candidates contesting the president's post, hopes to break the glass ceiling that has kept the top position out of women's reach. Although this is not the first time a woman is in the fray for the top post, Amina's candidature is being seen as a more serious attempt than in the past. Also, it was just two years ago when the university got its first woman vice chancellor. Polling for the Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union (AMUSU) will be held on November 5. It is also the first time in 14 years that a woman candidate is in the fray for the president's post. Unlike the traditional campaign, often marked by regional loyalties, lobbying and noisy motorcycle rallies, Amina has chosen social media and direct interaction with students, both men and women, to reach voters. "Male candidates often approach 'behno' (women students), seeking their support for a brother contesting the election. But there is little interest in sharing power with a 'behan' (sister) by allowing more women to occupy positions in the union. I want to change that equation. I am reaching out equally to women and men, asking them to support their sister," she says with a smile. Originally from Lucknow, Amina studied at Air Force School in Bareilly before graduating with honours from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. She joined AMU in 2018, completed her MA in Economics in 2020 and later returned to Jamia. She is now back at AMU as a research scholar. Her decision to contest, she says, stems from a desire to give something back to the university. Since its establishment in 1920, AMUSU has never had a woman president. The last woman candidate to contest the post was 14 years ago, though she, too, failed to win. "AMU has given me so much that I felt I should give something back to the university and its women students. That is what prompted me to take the plunge," she says. Her campaign also focuses on issues beyond gender representation. Amina opposes what she describes as unnecessary police interference on the campus and calls for a stronger student union to protect the university's interests. She cites the loss of university land to the Aligarh Nagar Nigam as an example of what can happen when students lack an effective representative body. Her agenda includes improving the quality of education, providing free coaching for the National Eligibility Test (NET), ensuring fair hostel allotments, speeding up examinations for students with backlog papers, registering paramedical degree courses, appointing women staff at women's hostels and improving food quality. She also wants more hostels built at the residential university. "I believe those who think rationally will vote for me and support change, rather than lobbyism and regionalism. I am receiving encouraging support from both male and female students. We want good leadership based on student issues," she says. Women have made some inroads into AMUSU over the years, though the top post has remained beyond their reach. In 2012, Iram Khan filed her nomination for president but did not win the polls. A significant step came in 2016, when three women - Ghazala Ahmad, Labeeba Sherwani and Sadaf Rasool - were elected to the union's 10-member cabinet. This year's contest suggests that participation is widening. Apart from Amina's bid for president, two women are contesting the vice-president's post, while women have also filed a notable number of nominations for the 10-member cabinet. AMU PRO Omar Peerzada confirmed that Amina is the only woman among the nine candidates contesting the president's post. He said two women were in the race for vice-president and that women's participation in the cabinet elections was encouraging. Prof Javaid Talib, chief election officer for AMUSU, said no eligible woman student had been denied the right to vote. The electoral contest is also gathering pace at the university's Women's College, which has a separate students' union. According to Prof Nazia Hasan, chief election officer for the Women's College Students' Union (WCSU), six candidates are contesting the president's post, four the vice-president's post and five the secretary's post. Eighteen candidates have been found eligible for the cabinet. Undergraduate women students admitted to the Women's College have their own union, with elections held alongside the AMUSU polls. Following weeks of protest and a 19-day hunger strike by postgraduate student Yasir Fahad, the AMU authorities accepted demand for holding students' union polls last held in 2018. There are 22,000 students/voters at the AMU and 4,500 at the Women's College, said AMU PRO Omar Peerzada. The university has appointed Prof Javaid Talib of the law department as chief election officer to conduct the AMU students' union elections and Prof Nazia Hasan of the department of English, Women's College, as chief election officer for the undergraduate students' union of Women's College for the 2026-2027 academic session. According to a press note issued by the office Prof Javaid Talib, final speeches of the candidates as the AMUSU tradition is scheduled for Tuesday (November 3) on the topic "Role of student leadership in nation building"....