To equalize the low level of participation of women in deliberative bodies, the Government of India amended the Constitution that would reserve a third of the seats in the Panchayats i.e., local governments including the chairpersonship of the local bodies for women. This one step towards empowerment of women paved the way for election of 1 million women at village, district and block level. With the exception of some states like Bihar, in most states they have completed two terms. Let us share the experience of these elected women and what lessons can be learnt from them. Critics would point out lot of drawbacks of such a system of reservation. Numerous examples can be cited where women have been entirely driven by their male counterparts. There are cases where women were left at home and their husbands attended the legislatures and took all decisions. Critics would also give examples where women from politically active families took part in the elections so that the family retains its foothold. But there are other stories also which we might highlight.
There are numerous examples where women have literally come out of their household and actively participated in welfare of their villages. These are women who are fighting the vested interest groups with lot of determination and their achievement cannot be overlooked. There are cases where women are asserting their independence and contributing to the growth of their village. In many cases they are helped by their husbands and NGOs and volunteer groups of their area. They work from their own perspective and often their association leads to better fund management, bringing harmony in the village and address issues that are important but are often neglected like sanitation and girl education. Social issues like alcoholism and domestic violence get priority when women work from the forefront. It has been found out that women play more active role in fighting corruption at panchayat level and they have even openly fought against corrupt government officials. To name a few, Pushpa Rana from Dehradun, Sojar Bai of Ramtek fought against corrupt government officials.
Women’s innate capacity of managing with shoe-string budget also is seen when they manage village funds. It has been observed that women pradhans complete development projects at lower costs and also before time. Women are judicious to cut down on wasteful spending like inaugurations and concentrate on real work. Many have shown capacity to make development work self-reliant thereby ensuring income for the panchayat. Urmila Yadav from Haryana cleared encroachments from panchayat land and built shops there and also rented them out. Women are known to perform better in resolving disputes. Many women pradhans resolve disputes at local levels and hence villagers do not have to waste time in visiting police stations and paying bribes to policemen and middlemen. Even cases of domestic violence are also resolved by women themselves.
Many women pradhans have made concerted efforts to fight liquor consumption and remove liquor vends. In fact all over Uttaranchal this has been one issue through women have been mobilised and they have been very successful. It is genuinely hoped that greater participation of women will bring more development in sanitation, girl education, women’s health and maternity. Some women pradhans have prioritised setting up of ladies toilets at bus stops which were previously ignored by male pradhans. It has been noticed that when women fight against odds and assert their independence and work for community development they set powerful examples which encourage other women to come forward and break age old shackles. This has a far reaching effect on the society which can never be ignored.
