Political Empowerment and Participation

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

Political Empowerment and Participation

1 UNDP (2009), Helping women lead change, http://www.undp.org.in/?q=undp-enhancing-women%E2%80%99s-role-and-participation-governance (last accessed on 31 October 2010)

Introduction

“Women are very important to a smooth functioning of

government and home. They are like one wheel of a

chariot, and to function well, a chariot needs both wheels.

Right now, women are too burdened with the notion of their

womanhood. They need to step out of that, they need to

have courage. A Panchayat is helpful in allowing them to

gain that courage, as it gives them a voice.”

Anna Hazare (1999).

n spite of the fact that Indian women were active members in

politics from the early twentieth century, it was only in 1993

that their participation at all levels was guaranteed by the 73rd

Constitutional Amendment. This provided 33 percent electoral

quota for women in local bodies and gave recognition to these

bodies as institutions of self-governance indicating that people's

participation is sine qua non for realizing the goal of self-

governance. Sweeping changes in the rural landscape were

seen as more than one million women from all communities

competed to become members of executive bodies of the

panchayats. Despite India having more Elected Women

Representatives (EWRs) than all other countries put together 1(UNDP, 2009), their participation is still limited due to

discrimination, lack of access to information, illiteracy, the double

burden faced by women at work and at home, and most

importantly, the fact that often women are not seen as political

entities but merely instruments through whom men can continue

to exercise political power.

The Amendment gave recognition to panchayats as institutions of

self-governance indicating their liberty to decide on local issues of

development. The Gram Panchayat is often referred to as the

grassroots level of democracy, and as an institution of local self-

governance at the

village level. Villagers

can both voice their

opinion and

participate in the

governance of the

village, especially

through the Gram

Sabha. Thus all

members of a community are provided with the opportunity to

hold their representatives to account on all aspects and activities

of the Gram Panchayat through the Gram Sabha. However, low

attendance and participation in the Gram Sabha, particularly of

women, prevents their priorities from being addressed.

Therefore, improving women's participation and making them

aware of their rights to act and engender local governance and

development was a crucial step for Mahila Samakhya.

The state of Uttarakhand provides an interesting picture with

regard to the socio-economic and political status of women. Like

many of the northern states, women face high levels of violence

and discrimination. Unlike these states, however, women in

Uttarakhand, especially tribal women, have established a

stronghold in agriculture and production due to male migration. It

is perhaps a combination of these factors that allowed women to

emerge as leaders in a range of social movements historically.

I

The “Gram Panchayat” is an elected

body and the primary unit of local

governance in the Panchayati Raj

Institutions at the village level.

Source: The Planning Commission of India

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

75

As early as the 1960s, the Mahila Mangal Dals' (MMDs) struggle

against alcoholism

was eventually

successful in banning

alcohol from five

districts of Uttar

Pradesh by 1971.

Rural women's

participation in these

campaigns laid the

foundation for the

environmental struggles of the seventies. As a distinctly non-

violent grassroots movement, women organized themselves

against commercial logging operations that were threatening their

livelihoods, by literally hugging the trees, known famously as the 2Chipko Movement.

Uttarakhand was in the vanguard of states reserving 50 percent 3of seats in panchayats for women for two succeeding terms.

Despite this, and the fact that women outnumber men in eight out

of 13 districts in Uttarakhand, women are still unable to effectively

participate as active members in the panchayats. It was

remarked that, 'there

were two fears when

the reservation for

women was

introduced, first that it

was going to be hard

to find enough

women ready to

leave their traditional

roles and enter into

politics, and second,

that dominant men

would push their

female family

members into the

political arena and 4then control them.'

Studies showed that women elected in local governance systems

led to the emergence of the 'Sarpanch-Pati' or 'Chairperson-

Husband', especially among younger, new members where 5husbands dominated panchayat activities. In Uttarakhand,

EWRs were often accompanied by their husbands who were

shadow boxing for the womenfolk in panchayat meetings. Over

time, this pattern has changed and women are actively

participating as elected members but often have to face

domineering elected male members in these meetings.

EWRs, thus, face the dilemma of their husbands either

dominating their work, or actively discouraging, or hindering their

participation, while at the same time, the community is expecting

them to deliver as elected members. Being new to the political

arena, an EWR often does not know what issues should be

raised, is unaware of her responsibilities, the finances, and lacks

the administrative and technical know-how necessary for effective

delivery. Illiteracy and lack of access to information are major

deterrents to being effective. Further, many EWRs felt that their

being in power was a temporary status resulting from reservation

that would end once their five year term was complete. Thus,

women need the support of the sanghas, to ensure that their

voices are heard in the Gram Sabha.

MS used this opportunity to bring women into the political arena

across several states (Chart 5.1). Mahila Samakhya Uttarakhand

(MS Uttarakhand) through its Panchayat Literacy Programme

(PLP) for community-based grassroots women had the highest

number of sangha women entering the panchayats. This initiative

was designed to build a critical mass of women in the political

arena and through them create this space by ensuring that

women's perspectives influence local governance.

When MS began its work on panchayat literacy, the environment

was predominantly male-dominated and hostile, with women

Objectives

2 Dighe, A (2008), 'Women's Empowerment at the Local Level (WELL) - a study undertaken in the state of Uttarakhand', Commissioned by the Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver, Canada.

3 Kazmi, S. M. A (2008),,Uttarakhand reserves 50 percent seats for women in Panchayats.4 Redlund, Johan, 'Women in the Panchayats - A study of gender structures and the impact of

the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution’, http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=1332408&fileOId=1332409 (accessed on October 31, 2010)

5 Shamim , Ishrat and Ranjana Kumari (2002), Gender and Local Governance, A New Discourse in Development, Centre for Social Research, New Delhi, India, , unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/.../unpan038213.pdf (accessed on 1 November 2010).

"Gram Sabha" means a body

consisting of persons registered in

the electoral rolls relating to a

village comprised within the area of

Panchayat at the village level.rdSource: The 73 Constitutional Amendment

Act, 1993

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

“My husband had developed an

identity as a Pradhan husband or

‘Pradhan Pati’. My role was limited to

signing papers and I acted as a

Pradhan for signatures only. My

husband even kept the stamp in his

pocket. I was limited to doing

household work and felt that given my

illiteracy I will never be able to deal

with all the paper work involved in my

responsibilities as a Gram Panchayat

Pradhan.”

Interview with Vijaya Devi, Gram Panchayat

Pradhan, Tehri District, Uttarakhand, June 2010.

76

Methodology

Panchayat Literacy: A Response to

Challenges Faced by Women

Using primarily a case study approach, three visits to Uttarakhand

were made over a period of six months. Qualitative and

quantitative data was gathered from primary and secondary

sources to enable an in-depth, comprehensive understanding of

the merits and challenges of this practice. Additionally, the study

drew upon findings from a toolkit methodology which was evolved

using a participatory and collaborative approach primarily with

field level MS staff. The 97 respondents interviewed included 49

EWRs, sangha or federation members who were engaged in local

participatory governance, 26 senior and junior staff, and 22

external stakeholders associated with this initiative such as

representatives from the government and NGOs. The main

sources of data included semi-structured interviews with these

respondents, extended informal discussions with MS personnel at

all levels, NRG members, as well as internal documents. The

limitations of the study included unavailability of external

stakeholders especially from the Government. Even when

present, external stakeholders were often unaware of the details

of the initiative because of frequent transfers or unwilling to

provide proper feedback.

As early as 1989, MS envisaged involving sangha women in the

functions of the panchayat. By 1996, this initiative started in Tehri

district (as a part of Mahila Samakhya Uttar Pradesh) and by

2006, it had spread to several districts. MS functionaries

convinced sangha women that the panchayat is the forum that

can address issues such as education, health, infrastructure and

water. However, older women often faced opposition from their

families and were unwilling to contest and for ten years, MS

Uttarakhand faced this problem till it altered its strategy to

mobilize younger women into the sanghas, who were open to

new ideas and suggestions. This change represented a

milestone where this new generation of women in sanghas were

in a majority, more capable, articulate and willing to run for public

positions. The PLP's multi-pronged approach can broadly be

divided into building an enabling environment for women and

building capacities towards women's enhanced political

participation.

Box 5.2 indicates the range of interventions, including building

capacity of sangha women to participate in the Gram Sabha,

sensitizing male family members on the responsibilities of elected

women and the need to support them, training elected members

at higher levels which is done in collaboration with other NGOs,

and holding broad-based awareness campaigns on electing

deserving candidates.

Chart 5.1: Women Sangha Members Elected to Panchayats across MS States

Sta

tes

Number of Sangha women elected into Panchayats

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000

Uttrakhand

Uttar Pradesh

Karnataka

Jharkhand

Gujarat

Bihar

Assam

Andhra Pradesh

3565

604

916

1

1566

470

323

1874

playing their socially perceived role of pliable, dependent

members, with no real decision making powers. The aim of the

PLP in Uttarakhand was to expand women's capacities to

participate both directly in the political arena and through Gram

Sabhas in local governance. Therefore, introducing women to

various dimensions of political participation was crucial. The

issues revolving around water-forest-land (jal-jungle-zameen)

were linked to the jurisdiction of the panchayat. To address these

issues as well as those of special concern to women, and to

ensure women's political empowerment, MS Uttarakhand

designed specific objectives to develop and expand the

boundaries of women's political participation, engendering

institutions of local self-governance, and increasing transparency

and accountability (Box 5.1).

Box 5.1:

To empower women politically by:

- Developing a political understanding among women to

ensure that they can exercise their political rights in

decision making and take the lead by enhancing their

participation in panchayats.

- Facilitating women’s participation in panchayats to bring

women into local decision-making bodies.

To engender institutions of self-governance and make

them more accountable to the needs of women and

communities.

- Change patriarchal ideology and sensitize local

government towards women to respond to their issues

and priorities.

- Increase community awareness and participation to

identify community needs.

Increase transparency and accountability of institutions of

self-governance to women and communities.

Source: Interviews with MS State and district staff, Uttarakhand, June 2010.

Objectives of the Panchayat Literacy

Programme for Women in Uttarakhand

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W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

one with debates among women, designed to pave the way for

the ideal candidate to emerge. In these discussions, women

identify and prioritize their issues. MS then encourages women

leaders to address these issues by running for elections. Such

campaigns are now conducted just before elections to build

confidence and capacities among women to contest them.

Women were urged by MS to form separate Mahila Panchayats

to table women's issues on the development agenda. The first

Mahila Panchayat established in Dikhet village at Pauri district in

2002 was largely composed of Dalit women who were elected

without any opposition since the panchayat was set up in

consensus with the villagers. However, the all-women's

panchayat did not perform any better than other panchayats and

many problems remained unresolved during its tenure. The

lessons learnt from this, as well as current and future strategies

on the Mahila Panchayat initiative are elaborated in Box 5.3.

Mahila Panchayats

Village Awareness Campaigns on governance

Preparing Women to Contest Elections

Campaigns have been conducted by MS to build awareness for

all community members on the election process, motivating

deserving candidates to run for elections, and creating an

enabling environment for women candidates, using methods such

as nukkad nataks (plays), songs, displaying phads (long piece of

cloth with paintings depicting panchayat issues) on walls, and

conducting jathas (processions).

Women with leadership qualities are identified from the sangha

itself to contest the panchayat elections. MS also leads

campaigns on activities of women in the panchayat and motivates

the panchayats to recognize that women are equally capable of

solving village problems. The selection process is a participatory

Box 5.2:

Village awareness raising campaigns on selection of

deserving candidates.

Motivating women to contest for elections.

Formation of All Women Panchayats or Mahila

Panchayats.

Training for sangha women members on their rights and

responsibilities in participating in the Gram Sabha.

Intensive training for Ward members and Pradhans on

panchayat structures, and their roles and responsibilities.

Other capacity building measures dealing with financial

management, programmes such as MGNREGS and laws

like the Domestic Violence Act.

Gender sensitization of family members of elected

representatives to sensitize them on roles and

responsibilities of panchayat members.

Source: Interviews with MS staff, Uttarakhand, June 2010

Strategies of the Panchayat Literacy

Programme

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Box 5.3:

The idea of constituting a Mahila Panchayat in Dikhet

village of Pauri district was discussed with villagers in 2002,

a year prior to its formation. It was hoped that if women

were given an all-women’s political platform they would be

able to establish an identity for themselves. To accomplish

this, meetings, nukkad nataks, wall writing, among several

activities, were organized to sensitize men and the

community and motivate women to contest. Once elected,

members were trained on conducting Gram Sabhas, in

writing resolutions and in budget preparation. Men were

supportive and with their consensus, the first Mahila

Panchayat was formed unopposed in 2003, in Uttarakhand.

This was highlighted as an innovation and everyone was

motivated to have one in their constituency. As a result in

2008, all-women panchayats emerged in Dhuradh-anai GP

and in Gadsikathu GP whereas two more Gram Panchayats

at Kandaravani and Bonda also elected women members

with only one male GP member each. This shows the

potential for the strategy of all-women Panchayats to

become popular in the state.

The sangha was instrumental in the selection of women as

ward members for the Mahila Panchayat and the most

active sangha member was elected as a Pradhan. Men

thought that women could take care of the development

work, while they would have the primary say in budgetary

matters. However, intervention by sangha and ward

members challenged men on this perspective. The family

members of the Pradhan and the Up-Pradhan as well as

Mahila Panchayat builds its own

Identity

EWR with community members

78

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

environment by providing intensive training on gender

sensitisation for women first, and later, for men. Women

identified the inequalities they faced and arrived at ways to

counter them. The combination of capacity building inputs on

gender discrimination, and knowledge of the Panchayati Raj

system worked marvels and many women came forth not just to

run for elections but to face the many challenges in this role

head-on. Since these EWRs would have to advocate women's

issues and be capable of negotiating with government officials to

effect changes in policy, it was necessary to elect women with

strong leadership qualities.

Training sessions are designed to help women become aware of

their right to bring women's issues into, as well as raise their

demands in the Gram Sabha meetings, and to participate

regularly in them. The relevance and importance of the Gram

Sabha also called 'open meetings', the difference between the

Gram Sabha and the Gram Panchayat, the rights of Gram Sabha

members, and possible areas of intervention, are explained

through the medium of group discussions, plays, pictures relevant

Educating Women on Citizenship Participation

The objectives of the all-women panchayat could not be fulfilled

as some representatives were not competent to handle

panchayat functions. The initial setbacks in the Mahila

Panchayat compelled MS to plan for better functioning of these

panchayats over the next five years. Additionally, MS is

rethinking its future strategies for intervention in such panchayats.

The MS philosophy underlying this programme revolved around

creating awareness of women's basic rights and the concept of

pro-women initiatives. So, when the programme first began in

Tehri, it focused on the prevailing restrictive patriarchal social

Capacity Building Initiatives

two or three ward members then started influencing the

EWRs who gradually began to move away from the sangha

and its philosophy. The Pradhan, under the influence of her

family, began siphoning money to benefit her family and

children. This resulted in internal differences within the

panchayat. The women however, completed their tenure as

panchayat members and their panchayat was even

awarded 1,00,000 rupees from the block which served as

an inspiration for neighbouring villages.

Special features expected of an all women’s panchayat

include:

Creation of an open forum for women to express

themselves.

Women’s issues brought into the development agenda.

All members participate equally.

Creation of a women’s self-identity.

Design solutions for issues based on women’s knowledge

and experience.

Lessons learnt from the experience of the first Mahila

Panchayat

All-women Panchayats require intensive capacity building

on how to build a strong women’s identity. Once in power,

their capacities to be more effective and implement

decisions on women’s issues need to be built. They need

to be prepared in advance for internal differences, possible

family interference, to know ways and means to resolve

conflicts, and resist influences that could corrupt them. The

Pradhan especially needs to be closely linked to and

accountable to the sangha. Another lesson in context to the

all-women Panchayat at Dikhet was that intervention at a

later date in local politics by external institutions like MS

Uttarakhand was difficult. The villagers treat MS staff as

outsiders and are not open to their intercession in local

village politics.

Source: Interviews with MS staff, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, June 2010.

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EWR with community members

Sangha women and EWRs training

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W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

to the panchayat. For instance, information and street plays on 6the Right to Information (RTI) Act are organized to acquaint

women with the concept of RTI and how to use it effectively to

access information on entitlements.

As an elected panchayat member, a woman is bestowed

constitutionally with the authority to initiate change. Yet, she is

often unable to exercise this power due to lack of experience or

when she tries, her views are often overlooked. Earlier, before

women became cognizant of their rights, meetings were irregular

and if held, EWRs were informed at the last minute giving them

very little time to prepare. Often, they were not even informed

about the meeting schedules. Once elected, the PLP prepares

women representatives to overcome these challenges, providing

knowledge about the structure and functioning of the panchayats.

It includes a range of initiatives including women's entry into local

government, skills on how women in communities can articulate

their demands, and roles of EWRs in the process of local

governance in acting on informed demands. Simultaneously, MS

works with community elders and other prominent players of the

village to create an enabling and supportive environment for the

elected women. Special training for elected Pradhans focuses

primarily on ensuring their independent functioning as leaders.

The story of Ganga Devi (Box 5.4) describes the journey of a

woman from the time she joins the sangha to becoming the

president of her village panchayat.

To create an enabling environment for EWRs, MS organized

sensitisation workshops for women representatives along with

their husbands, with the explicit goal of soliciting their support.

Elected Women Representatives Trained on

Governance

Gender Sensitisation to Build the Support of Men

Box 5.4:

Ganga Devi, ex-pradhan and Federation Chair-Person,

from Sra village, Yamkeshwar block of Pauri, Gharwal

district counts her life’s experiences as a success story.

While she narrates her struggle and subsequent

achievements, one cannot miss the feeling of satisfaction

she radiates. Her journey towards actualizing a fair and

sound position for women around her began when she

joined the sangha in 1995-96. Soon she was trained by MS

to understand the challenges before her in the programme,

“Information on Open

Meeting or Khuli

Baithak”. For Ganga

Devi, it was a chance to

get information on basic

necessities like health

and also to understand

the potential of political

empowerment through

participation in the

panchayats. This was a

long and arduous

learning process that she

readily took on. The

different issues covered

in the various training

sessions were to prove

an enormous help. They

included understanding

the role of a panchayat member, significance of a voters list,

understanding the Gram Sabha, understanding Gram

Panchayat documents, budgets and budgetary allocation in

the panchayats, access to monetary resources available

from different sources such as the central Government,

state, district and block; financial management including

account keeping and cash book maintenance, pass book

maintenance and the purpose of revenue stamps in official

documents. During training MS showed women the actual

documents required in the Panchayats. Ganga Devi says

this training programme strengthened her knowledge and

information base. Thus, she was able to address large

groups of people with confidence, and subsequently

ventured to contest the Zilla Panchayat elections at district

level.

Source: Interview with Ganga Devi, ex-Pradhan and sangha member, Pauri

Gharwal district, Uttarakhand, June 2010.

Sangha Woman Overcomes Struggles

to Become Panchayat Leader

6 Right to Information Act (2005) mandates that every citizen has a right to know how the Government is functioning. Right to Information empowers every citizen to seek any information from the Government, inspect any Government documents and seek certified photocopies thereof. Some laws on Right to Information also empower citizens to officially

Inspect any Government work or to take samples of material used in any work. http://www.rtiindia.org/guide/fundamental-facts-about-rti-2/what-is-right-to-information-6/, (accessed on October 25, 2010).

Games played during follow up training for EWRs, Udhamsingh Nagar

Ganga Devi

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W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

MS Uttarakhand has recognized that there should be a procedure

to gauge the progress of EWRs members who had received

training held by MS. Data is now collected on the basis of which,

profiles of all EWRs are compiled to track their performance over

a period of time.

In the initial years, the expected outcomes targeted for capacity

building by trainers included a few basic changes in perspectives

among women. One of these was the need for women

participants to come out of their homes so as to be exposed to

external influences. A second was the need to effect a change in

their perspectives towards patriarchy and to develop a rights-

based approach. At the outset, it was hard for women to imagine

a separate sense of identity, or to exercise choices that may differ

from those of their families. Women had to understand that it was

development and social problems in the village that needed

attention and the local government had the potential to address

and resolve these. Capacity building for EWRs was expected to

increase their confidence in order to discharge their duties during,

and even after their term ended.

The workshop focused on gender concepts, and panchayat

related functions which EWRs have to perform (Box 5.5). Several

joint activities are conducted to elicit male support. For instance

in a workshop, husbands were asked to hold a pen with their

wives and write a few words or draw an image. Often men were

more literate than women, so they had a firm grip over the pen.

They helped their wives to hold the pen and together helped them

to write or to draw. A group discussion followed in which men

realized that they were playing a more prominent role in the

writing or drawing and instead agreed to work to support their

wife play her role independently in the panchayat.

Box 5.5:

The training conducted for men focuses on gender issues and the Domestic Violence Act (2005) with the objective of

showing how women's rights are ignored. The discussion

on violence against women is conducted subtly as

otherwise it leads to men becoming defensive. Participants

acknowledge the inequality among men and women in

subsequent dialogues. Discussions are then held on the

imbalance of opportunities among men and women and on

strategies to bring about equality. This activity sets the

stage for participants to be active and open to new ideas.

The men are asked to describe specific characteristics

which a man should possess. Participants list out different

stereotypical characteristics of men (for example, being

physically strong, brave and so on). The discussions

following this exercise allow the participants to realize that a

single man cannot possess all these characteristics. The

deliberations help them realize that every man is different,

the notion of masculinity is an illusion and cannot be

generalized. During the training, men openly voice their

sense of losing power in the erstwhile male bastion of the

PRIs after the reservation of seats for women. There is

confusion among men regarding their roles when women

assume power, replacing men in the panchayats.

Participants are informed that women being delegated

power through reservation is a global phenomenon in the

international effort to bring about gender equality. The

current leadership role of women is discussed at length with

the men. Examples of interventions by women in the public

domain are used as illustrations. This helps the participants

realize the importance of supporting their wives in their

functions in governance.

Source: Interview with Rabinder Singh Jeena, Coordinator, Centre for

Advancement for Rural Empowerment, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, September

2010.

Gender Training For Male Family

Members of EWRs

Gender training for men, Bazpur, Udhamsingh Nagar, Uttarakhand

Interaction between trainer and participants in gender training, Udhamsimgh Nagar

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W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

Principles of MS that inform the PLP

Process Orientation and Relevance to Women's

Lives

From the women's movement perspective, politics is broadly

defined as, 'the collective action of women against oppressive

patriarchal power with the long term goal of social transformation

that would ensure women's rights and their liberation from 7subjugation, superstition, degradation, and injustice' . The PLP

is informed by this perspective crystallized in the Eleventh MS

Plan document which challenges traditional leadership

stereotypes and centre stages women in leadership roles.

One means of empowering women to deal with their issues is to

bring them into decision making arenas, especially into local

bodies of self-governance. MS principles related to women's

rights, their collective strength, discrimination against women

such as those caused by domestic violence, and other

developmental issues have been woven into the PLP. This is an

inclusive programme wherein, 'the entire concept of the

Panchayat Literacy Programme is women friendly. Preference

and respect is given to women in the trainings. This ensures a

healthy environment for women to learn and be inspired.

Awareness is part of life-skills. If a woman is cognizant of the

schemes and whom to approach for them, she becomes

confident and makes decisions of her own'. In essence then, as

suggested by Gita Gairola, State Project Director, MS

Uttarakhand, the programme has great potential given that, 'this

is the first programme by which community women can enter the

panchayats The functioning of any programme is different in MS.

The programme has to be understood as process oriented and

not target centred and most important of all is the fact that its

relevance be understood by all women and community members.

7 Patel, V. (Ed.), 'Getting a foothold in Politics' in Readings on Women Studies Series No.5, Research Centre for Women's Studies, SNDT University, Mumbai, 1986

8 Interview with State Program Director, MS Uttarakhand, Dehradun, June, 2010.

If this happens then it will have strong roots and there will be a 8 day when there is no need for MS to guide them any longer'.

As MS was new to the concept of panchayat literacy in 1996, a

clear-cut vision was initially absent in this initiative. Issues like

sexual harassment and rape were not even discussed within the

panchayat. These issues were suppressed as the women feared

dire consequences if they exposed them within the larger

community. The literacy work increased discussions within the

sanghas regarding exploitation of women and the need to bring

such issues to the forefront. Though social in nature, these were

related to the community and hence ought to be resolved in the

panchayats. The panchayats argued that it would be difficult to

register women related cases in the proceedings register of the

panchayat. The sanghas replied that if the panchayats took up

the cases, it could be resolved within the village itself instead of

being heard in the courts, a more tedious and expensive

procedure. The sangha women played the role of a pressure

group in discussions with the panchayat elders. If women chose

to seek active and speedy remedies through the panchayats, they

also had to understand the intricacies of the local governance

system and party politics. Hence, they needed to be educated in

various ways, to be seen in public fora and to address the

community. This needed time and effort, to let them develop their

confidence while in office. The vision of the PLP gradually

emerged to ensure that women's issues enter and are addressed

by the governance process.

The patriarchal social structure constrains the active participation

Bringing Women's Issues into the Panchayats

Elements of Political Empowerment

and the Participation of Women

Gender training, Udhamsimgh Nagar

Sangha women and EWRs

82

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

Impact of Empowerment

Building a Critical Mass of Women in the Political

Sphere

The primary impact of the PLP has been in bringing large

numbers of women from the sanghas into power in the last two

terms. As a result of this intervention, the number of sangha

women elected has doubled in 2008 as compared to 2003 (Chart

5.2).

After getting women to contest, most sangha women who ran in

the elections won handsomely thereby quelling fears of defeat

and consequently a loss of face for themselves and their family

members. (Box 5.6)

The vision of the PLP could only be translated into reality if the

women brought into the panchayats had a clear women's

consciousness. Therefore, sangha members with a strong

women's perspective had to be brought into leadership. In the

of women in the public arena. Community members often

perceive women as ignorant as far as politics is concerned. Even

when elected as Pradhans, women continue to remain

subservient and unable to function effectively in public office.

However, when sangha women are elected, a need to develop

and strengthen their capacities on political participation is felt and

expressed.

The PLP has responded by empowering them politically and

enabling them to harness community support in the democratic

process. Figure 5.1 shows the various facets, especially in

relation to political empowerment, as envisaged through MS

philosophy. It depicts the varying degrees of impact on different

aspects of political participation with the highest being the

achievement of a critical mass of women in the Panchayati Raj

Institutions. Through this initiative, the stereotypical image of a

woman as a rubber stamp is challenged. Women are now not

just active participants of PRIs and Gram Sabhas, but are

engendering these institutions by making sure they address

women's issues.

Figure 5.1: Facets of Political Empowerment

Political

Empowerment

Increase in number of elected sangha

women to PRIs

Increased participation in

electoral process

Ability to choose theright representative

Ability to raise issues at public for a such as

GS and block meetings

Ensure accountability in governance

Ability to interact and access information from

officials at police stations, block and panchayat offices

Increased ability to intervene in village

development and access to public resources like

MGNREGA

Increased awareness to utilize the right to vote

Increased support to women elected members

in domestic and public sphere

Increased demand and access to literacy

programs by EWRs

50%

res

erva

tion

for

wom

en &

MS

’s in

puts

fo

r sa

ngha

wom

en

73rd

Amen

dmen

t &

Pe-

electi

on aw

aren

ess

rca

mpaign

Pre-election awareness campaign

MS training for sangha women on Gram Sabha and

their entitlementsUse of RTI

Net

wor

king

with

go

vern

men

t de

part

men

ts a

nd U

se

of R

TI

Infor

mation

on

prog

rams a

nd

sche

mes

pr

n

ovide

d i

MS train

ings

Mock elections in MS trainings

Use of case study on

i

ta

i

mpornce of l terate

EWR

MS trainings for male family members

83

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

38 and 44 percent) which is testimony to the success of the PLP.

Clearly, the impact of MS' capacity building efforts is visible in the

2008 elections where sangha women occupied the majority of

seats (more than 50 percent) for both Pradhans and EWRs.

Many of these women leaders were already exposed to

government programmes through their work as sangha and

federation leaders, with the result that their capacity to perform as

elected representatives, both as Pradhans and as ward

members, tend to be higher. Sanghas have thus enabled

deserving and capable candidates, with strong leadership skills,

to come into power with the ability to table women's issues.

Bringing large numbers of sangha women into politics has

provided them the strength and allowed their voice to shape the

political agenda. By bringing issues like rape squarely on to the

Channelling women into politics

Chart 5.2: Women Sangha Members Elected to Panchayats

Nu

mb

er o

f S

ang

ha

Wo

men

ele

cted

Year of Election

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0

1832

2003 Elections

3565

2008 Elections

Chart 5.3: Proportion of Sangha Women EWRs:2003 and 2008 Elections

San

gh

a W

om

en e

lect

ed a

s E

WR

s 53

52

51

50

49

48

47

46

45

44

53

47

49

51

2003 Elections 2008 Elections

Sangha women as panchayat members Non sangha women as panchayat members

Chart 5.3: Proportion of Sangha Women Pradhans:2003 and 2008 Elections

San

gh

a W

om

en e

lect

ed a

s P

rad

han

s

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

38

62

44

56

2003 Elections 2008 Elections

Sangha women as Pradhans Non sangha women as Pradhans

election year 2003, out of 2,317 EWRs across these six districts,

sangha women occupied 1,095 seats (47 percent).Similarly, out

of 360 women Pradhans across the six districts where MS

operates, sangha women occupied 224 seats (62 percent).

(Charts 5.3 and 5.4)

This strategy of sangha women claiming political spaces was

deepened over time as seen in the increase in women's

participation both as members and presidents in the panchayats

between the two elections held in 2003 and 2008. Chart 5.3

indicates that non-sangha EWRs reduced in 2008 to 49 percent.

Chart 5.4 shows that the proportion of sangha women Pradhans

is higher in both election years with 62 and 56 percent

respectively as compared to non-sangha women Pradhans (only

Box 5.6:

Dulari, a woman from Nainital, was persuaded by MS and

the sangha to run for elections. Although initially hesitant,

Dulari decided to take up the challenge and confront

whatever difficulties she might face in the process. She

decided to attend literacy camps and appear for the open

board exam which gave her the ability to read relevant

documents at the panchayat office. She won her seat as a

Pradhan in the Gram Panchayat and began her work in

earnest. She was trained by MS on her roles and

responsibilities as an elected panchayat member and as the

Pradhan. She has since undertaken many activities such

as getting housing facilities and paid employment for the

deserving through programmes, thereby discharging her

responsibilities as a true leader and people’s representative.

Source: Interview with Dulari, Nainital District, Uttarakhand, June 2010.

Overcoming educational barriers: Sangha

Women Compete for Panchayat Elections

84

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

agenda of the panchayats, sangha women have started to

engender the political process (Box 5.7)

A wide range of women's issues such as alcoholism, girls'

education and abandonment are now being addressed through

the political process (Box 5.8).

By training women on the importance of the Gram Sabha, MS

has been able to emphasize its relevance and significance.

Women now realize the need to articulate their issues in the

Gram Sabha where problems and priorities of the villages are

tabled and addressed. They now insist on adequate participation

and on a minimum quorum. Through these interventions, sangha

Expanding Women's Access to Resources

through the Gram Sabha

women can be credited for 104 proposals won through the Gram

Sabha alone. This was accomplished both through facilitating

women's active participation as well as through building

capacities of the Pradhans and EWRs on the programmes

themselves. Women are able to access employment from

programmes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) especially by

raising the demand for it in the Gram Sabhas (Box 5.9).

The employment guarantee scheme appears more successful in

Uttarakhand where women have been able to get relatively higher

number of days of employment in their villages (Table 5.1).

Box 5.8:

Kaushalya from Gadauli GP of Pauri District contested for

the position of the Pradhan in the 2003 elections and won.

In 2006 she participated in the PLP, after which her

awareness and information increased as did her confidence

and courage. Her decision making powers grew and she

was able to resolve many important issues, especially those

that mattered to women. She contacted many parents for

their girl’s education and ensured that drop out girls were

registered in a KGBV nearby. She also stopped the

practice of alcohol production in 32 households of Gadauli

village. In one case where a girl was divorced in her

village, Kaushalya got the divorce revoked and resettled the

girl back in her in-laws family.

Source: Focus Group Discussion with MS field staff, Tehri District,

Uttarakhand, June 2010.

Tabling women’s issues

Box 5.7:

Most issues raised within the panchayat do not include

women issues, but are mainly development issues where

women have no role to play. However, in 1998, the rape of

a Dalit woman in Betalghat block, Nainital rocked the

community. The women demanded that the issue be raised

and solved within the panchayat. The men were initially

opposed to bringing the case to the panchayat. The women

argued this was not an issue of just the panchayat but that

of the whole village. Finally upon their insistence the issue

was put forward to the panchayat and justice was delivered

to the woman. The man was convicted of the crime and

was ostracized by the village.

Source: Focus Group Discussion with MS field Staff, Nainital District,

Uttarakhand, June, 2010.

Bringing gender justice into the

panchayats

Box 5.9:

In September 2009 in Aleru village, sangha women

organized meetings with the Pradhan to complain about not

getting work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The issue,

however, remained unresolved and so it was reported to a

local MS staff who queried the Pradhan in the Gram Sabha

about the issue. It was noted that the Pradhan did not have

proper information about the scheme or the money

allocated to the village under the scheme. Due to such

ignorance infrastructure development of the village

remained poor. The local MS staff held a meeting with the

villagers including the Gram Sabha Pradhan and other

Gram Sabha members to inform them about MGNREGS

and its benefits. During the meeting sangha women

prepared a resolution demanding development work in the

village which was sent to the block office with individual and

community resolutions. As a result the Block Development

EWRs access MGNREGS for Right to

Work

Sangha members active in PLP, Nainital

85

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

Chart 5.5: Employment of Women through MGNREGS

Average employment days per women

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Udhamsingh Nagar

Champawat

Tehri

Pauri

Uttarkashi

Nainital

25

6

17

27

22

2

Women elected members have not only challenged corruption

and misuse of funds under programmes but have raised

governance standards by voluntarily declaring the benefits that

they themselves have received (Box 5.11). Women have chosen

transparency even at the expense of giving up benefits for their

own families.

Office allocated 1,85,000 rupees to check soil erosion in

crop fields. On getting the soil check system in place the

women were happy with this success that benefited

marginalized people and became conscious of their

potential. As a result they express increased confidence in

their ability to plan and make decisions. Nearby villages too

have been inspired by these sangha women and are in the

process of demanding allocation of work to them under

MGNREGS.

Source: Focus group discussions with MS staff, Tehri District, Uttarakhand,

June 2010.

Box 5.10:

Sangha women from Galla GP of Ramgarh earlier had

discussed the issue of job cards and work under

MGNREGS with the GP Pradhan who ignored them. Based

on information which they got in Sangha and cluster

meetings, they approached the BDO and got their job cards

and then requested work. Sangha women also assisted

other people in their village to get job cards. They also got

their bank accounts opened without any extra charges.

Women formed a group of 10 and worked under

MGNREGS. Seeing women work in groups other villagers

sought information from them. As a result over time the

whole village formed into groups of 10 and got work under

MGNREGS. Today all families in the village have got 100

days of work under MGNREGS, with workers receiving daily

wages as high as 250 rupees, at times.

Source: Focus group discussions with MS staff, Nainital District, Uttarakhand,

June 2010

Achieving a Full 100 days of

employment

Box 5.11:

In Paata and Nathuwakhan villages of Ramgarh block many

families were given duplicate job cards under MGNREGS.

In many of the job cards, children’s names were listed

instead of the family head. Every elected member and

government official from Pradhan to BDO was involved in

this misconduct. Hema Devi, the Pradhan of Paata village

raised the issue at village and block levels citing her own

example where her family was provided two job cards - one

card in her name and another in her son’s name. The

Village Development Officer tried to brush aside her

allegations in the Gram Sabha when she cited benefits for

her own family. But Hema Devi spoke up emphasizing that

according to norms each family in a village should have

only one job card. She told him that 22 families in their

village did not have a single job card while six families had

three job cards each. She asked for issuance of job cards to

families who needed it. To set an example she returned her

extra job card. Eventually, the 22 families were issued job

cards and got employment under MGNREGS.

Source: Interview with Hema Devi, Nainital District, Uttarakhand, June 2010.

Protest against fake job cards

Table 5.1:

Nainital 965 1,504

Uttarkashi 536 11,792

Pauri 7,280 19,6560

Tehri 8,753 15,2372

Champawat 774 4,782

Udhamsingh Nagar 786 19,650

Total 19,094 38,6660

Nationally, studies in other states show that the number of days

reported per person employed under MGNREGS was only as

high as 10 days while in Uttarakhand the highest reported was 27

days per woman in Pauri district (Chart 5.5)

In interviews, some women even reported getting 70 to 100 days

of employment (Box 5.10).

Number of women employed under

MGNREGS

District No. of women No. of working days

86

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

Ending the “Pati-Pradhan” Era

Women in the panchayats had no knowledge of their rights. The

PLP transformed this situation. Now the women Pradhans are

able to impress upon others that nobody can occupy their seat in

the panchayat office. EWRs are clear that while they want their

husbands' support, this cannot translate into their husbands

dominating their work. So, women Pradhans understand their

responsibilities and fiercely guard their roles against male

interferences. They have resolved that husbands will not be

allowed to interfere in their work, as they are elected by popular

votes and these voters have not provided their husbands with the

mandate to rule de facto (Box 5.12).

Women leaders are now able to function without their husbands

or other male family members acting as proxy for them. When

the women found officials paying more attention to their husbands

present”. Today she is a strong woman and feels that these

instances will help the future women leaders.

Source: Interview with Babita, Udhamsingh Nagar District, Uttarakhand,

September 2010

even though they were the elected Pradhans, they realised the

need to attend the PLP training. In the course of gender

sensitisation of male members, husbands now play a facilitative

and supportive role even sharing domestic work at home (Box

5.13).

Women Pradhans are now able to support and openly advocate

for the political party and ideology of their choice. At times, (Box

Box 5.13:

“I contested for the Pradhans election inspired by my

husband and won. That year the seat was reserved for a

woman. I am a graduate but when I was elected as

Pradhan, I faced a conflict on how to fulfill my roles and

responsibilities as a woman and a Pradhan. I learnt about

the roles and responsibilities of a Pradhan in these

meetings and started sharing them with my husband. On

one occasion when MS Uttarakhand organized training

sessions for elected representatives and their husbands, my

husband and I participated in these training sessions. We

learnt many things and I was surprised about my powers as

a Pradhan. I used to consider myself an ordinary woman.

Earlier I felt my responsibilities were towards domestic

chores only. But subsequent to the training sessions I

realized that my role was not a limited one. I had political

and social responsibilities as well. I recognized that my

husband was there to help me but ultimately implementation

of my work was to be done by me alone. I also felt that it is

Women Pradhans Function

Independently

Box 5.12:

Srimati Babita says “If a woman is elected as a GP

president then she is hardly acknowledged while the

husband’s image is projected in that position.” It was difficult

for her to change the perception and mindset of villagers

initially when she was elected. Babita is aware of her role

and regularly monitors Mid Day Meal implementation and

MGNREGS work like road construction. Proper monitoring

of food and education provided to the children in the school

is done and if any irregularity is found, action is taken

against the person responsible. Babita said, “I ask my

husband not to sit on my seat in GS meetings. He helps by

accompanying me but that doesn’t means he should take

my chair”. Narrating another incident, when one of the

participants occupied her seat, she states, “I embarrassed

him in front of the whole GS and since then nobody dares

to occupy my seat in GS and GP meetings even if I am not

Woman Pradhan Guards her Chair

Babita Rana

Discussion during gender training for men

87

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

5.14), they help their husbands perform in the panchayats. In a

complete role reversal, women's access to government officials

have enabled their husbands develop linkages for their own work

in governance.

The capacity building efforts of the PLP programme, especially for

those elected as Pradhans, provides the training grounds to fight

for the rights not just of women, but of populations who need help

the most. Elected leaders carry this learning with them into the

panchayat. Box 5.15 illustrates how a woman Pradhan uses a

more inclusive approach through ensuring that other women and

marginalized populations, such as the elderly and widows, benefit

from government services.

Due to the official needs of the panchayats, regular visits to

service providing centres such as police stations, the Block

Development Office, the block panchayat office, Revenue

Department, banks and markets are essential. EWRs actively

follow up on the progress and sanctioning of GP plans submitted

at the Block Development Office. Today, they are able to access

information in places where previously they may not have been

entertained and even assist other women in their interactions at

I who needed to get information and learn the ability to talk

with officials. My husband started feeling the change I was

going through and reflected on whether his role was

hindering me in taking on my responsibilities. We both

understood our situation. My husband then told me that as

a woman Pradhan, I have to explain my role and interact

with government officials who were visiting our village. I

started fulfilling my role with his support. Now my husband

helps me in household chores which are a support for me.

Now I meet line department officials and form plans with

them.”

Source: Interview with Poonam Bhandari from Thauldhar block in Tehri

Garwahal District, Uttarakhand, June 2010

Box 5.14:

Ganga Devi from Sra village, Yamkeshwar block of Pauri

Gharwal district was elected as a Pradhan in her panchayat

from where she began her journey towards political

empowerment. Her successful term as a Pradhan and the

capacity building inputs from MS motivated her to continue

her political career further. Her dedication, persuasiveness,

and knowledge got her village adjudged as the best Nyaya

Panchayat amongst twelve villages. In 2001, Ganga Devi

contested the district panchayat elections, which

unfortunately she lost. In 2008 her husband won the

elections and became the pradhan and she now helps him

in his work. As the Federation Chair Person, Ganga Devi

worked towards economic empowerment of women of the

community. At the individual level she assisted women in

getting old age pensions. She helped the women of the

community understand the financial rules for taking personal

loans from the mahasangha and co-operative banks.

Familiarity with basic process of withdrawing money, and

tapping financial sources in times of need was hugely

beneficial to the women of the community. Though money

could be withdrawn from the mahasangha at a nominal

interest, the women were told not to get indebted for

uneconomical ventures. The controls that Ganga Devi

insists upon have built her economic aptitude and resulted

in her being elected the Chair Person of the Cooperative

Bank. This further enhanced her status in the community.

Ganga Devi’s life and her work in the public domain

Women Gram Pradhans Forge Ahead

encapsulate the grit, determination and the desire to learn

and take up challenges head on. It is perhaps these very

forceful qualities that gained her an audience with the then

Prime Minister of UK, Gordon Brown during his visit to India.

Three years ago a national publication from Delhi, “Aha

Zindagi”, covered her story. She says that no matter where

she had to speak in public, be it the Vidhan Sabha or with

the District Magistrate, it is the training and knowledge she

received from MS that has made her what she is today.

Source: Interview with Ganga Devi, Pauri Gharwal District, Uttarakhand, June

2010.

Box 5.15:

Through her active participation in group meetings, cluster

meetings and district and block level workshops, Ketki Devi

from Garsari Gram Panchayat has been able to develop her

skills, abilities and knowledge. With help and backing from

her family, Ketki Devi secured the seat of the Pradhan.

Further, support of MS Uttarakhand ensured that she

discharged her duties and responsibilities judiciously. She

developed the confidence to visit several line department

offices in the blocks to claim benefits due to women During

her tenure she could claim several achievements that

included prioritizing the involvement of women in panchayat

meetings, linking women with development, procuring job

cards for women under MGNREGS and obtaining jobs for

them, developing infrastructure in the village, registering the

names of single women in family registers, and ensuring

disbursement of pension allowance among the elderly and

widowed populations.

Source: Interview with Ketki Devi, Nainital District, Uttarakhand, June 2010.

Woman Pradhan Accesses Resources

from Various Line Department Offices

88

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

Transforming the Attitudes of Men

In the beginning, women were not playing an active role in the

male dominated panchayat meetings and consequently their

demands were never heard. Slowly but surely, women have

learnt to voice their demands, occupy public positions without

male interference, earn the respect of their communities and the

support of their husbands. They have even begun explaining the

process of governance and the responsibilities of the panchayat

to the Pradhans. Men realized that many women are able to

bring about change and have begun to respect their work.

Box 5.17:

Dulari Devi of Bichwa GP recounts her journey of political

empowerment attributing MS’ support and her own

determination to succeed. Gopal, Dulari Devi’s husband

works in the fields to support the family, but he is sensitive

to the needs and responsibilities which Dulari has to fulfill.

He says, “In our family all of us including my children get up

early in the morning and I help my wife with daily chores in

the house. After that she goes to the panchayat office,

children to school and I go to the fields.” Gopal feels his

wife has undergone a tremendous change. Gopal was

instrumental in, and supported her mobility outside and

even mentored her to contest elections. She became

informed and confident after associating with MS. The

sensitization which he underwent gave him insight into

gender inequality in society. Gopal was liberal in his attitude

towards Dulari but feels these trainings have given him

opportunity to gather varied information on gender. He

accompanies her wife to areas where male members are

very dominant. He helps her in doing the paper work of the

Panchayats and is sure that by next year she will be able to

Women Member gets Support from

Husband

such offices. Increased assurance has enabled them to visit

government departments at district level, thereby expanding their

horizons and making them far more mobile than EWRs who have

not been through the PLP.

Elected women from sanghas realize the importance of literacy

as a means of empowerment. Cases are narrated of EWRs who

have been falsely indicted in fraud cases by male family members

taking advantage of their illiterate status (Box 5.16). An EWR has

to learn to stand on her own feet, failing which she could be

cheated even by her own husband or other family members.

Case stories are narrated during training followed by group

discussions in which women are cautioned about possible

challenges. Women Pradhans attend classes (Box 5.6) to

acquire basic literacy enabling them to manage panchayat

functions.

Women now appreciate the importance of the more technical

aspects of their work such as keeping account of expenses,

financial management, and bank transactions. They have

opened accounts in banks, are able to access loans and seek

help from local administrators and bank managers. These

components are dealt with in trainings that rigorously emphasize

on precision and repeated checking of financial transactions.

Women GP members have also become members and active

participants in committees such as the Village Education

Committees (VEC) or in the management of the Mid-Day Meal

programme (MDM) popular in educational institutions across the

country.

Importance of Education in Governance

Box 5.16:

Bhagwati was trained in panchayat literacy at Pauri after

she became an elected member of the panchayat. She

was an active member of the sangha. From her training,

she understood the relevance of finance. In the training

sessions, case studies are shared on the importance of

understanding financial management.

One well known case study is that of a woman Pradhan,

Kamla whose husband opposed her activities in the

panchayat and wanted to teach her a lesson. In collusion

with the panchayat secretary he withdrew 20,000 rupees

from the panchayat accounts in her name. She was

arrested on the pretext of fraud and embezzlement, indicted

for theft, and she imprisoned for a month. This case study

is presented to participants to emphasize the importance of

knowledge basic literacy and of account management.

Source: Interview with Bhagwati, Tehri District, Uttarakhand, June 2010.

EWRs learns Financial Management

Gender sensitisation

89

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

manage that herself. This confidence grew as he has seen

her evolving in her interactions with the community over

time. Dulari is now able to read and write. As a final note

Gopal says, “I feel that if any mishap takes place then Dulari

should be able to withstand it and run the family even

without me.”

Source: Interview with Dulari Devi and Gopal, Udhamsingh Nagar District,

Uttarakhand, June 2010.

Men who did not understand their own traditional attitudes, slowly

transformed themselves, through the PLP, from typical 'patriarchs'

to supporting women in their roles both at home and as

panchayat leaders (Box 5.17).

The PLP gender sensitisation initiative with husbands has

resulted in many men acknowledging the role of their wives as

Pradhans, the need for EWRS to take independent decisions,

and recognize that as husbands, they are not eligible to attend

meetings meant for the EWRs (Box 5.18).

The support of their husbands and their families has increased

women's confidence. Women have grown from strength to

strength influencing increasingly higher spheres of governance

from village to block levels. (Box 5.19).

After successfully winning elections at the Gram Panchayat level,

several women participants have started contesting elections at

higher levels. Women members monitor activities of the

panchayats and attend Block Development Committee (BDC)

meetings voicing their concerns. Overall, EWRs or Pradhans

reported being able to successfully articulate and bring up issues

for discussions in panchayat meetings. This has brought about a

visible difference and transparency in the functioning of the

panchayats.

Box 5.18:

‘We attended training on gender in July 2009, because we

felt we need to know more about the PRI system. We got to

know about the roles and responsibilities of the Pradhan,

the importance of her position in the village and how

proposals are translated into actions under her supervision.

We also knew that there should be three Gram Sabha

meetings in a year where the work of the Panchayat is

planned. In the training, we learnt about the number of

registers maintained in the Panchayat and how the registers

are prepared in the GS meetings. Earlier our knowledge

about the role of the women Pradhans was limited. So, we

tried to help them in whatever manner we could, providing

advice as and when needed. Now, we realize that our

wives can handle their own affairs and do not require our

Men’s perception of Women in

Panchayats

help in running the Panchayat. I encourage my wife to

attend the Block Development Committee (BDC) meetings

and I never attend the BDC meetings as husbands are not

allowed. Only those with a valid ID card are allowed’.

Source: Interviews with Bikram Singh and Shiv Kumar, Ranjit Singh,

Participants in Gender training workshops at Udhamsingh Nagar,

Uttarakhand, September 2010.

Box 5.19:

Rama Bisht is a powerful Block Panchayat (BP) Member

from Nathuwarvaan Ghar Gaongaon Panchayat in

Ramgarh block of Nainital. She testifies that the enormous

support provided by her husband, family and the sangha

women was instrumental to her being elected. MS staff and

sangha women helped her to file nomination papers for the

post of BP member and conducted publicity and campaigns

on her behalf. She adds, ‘My education was appropriate for

the post I was elected to. But due to the lack of

opportunities since childhood I was not able to express

myself. Department officials ignored my suggestions and

demands. It was depressing for me. During this time my

husband and MS supported and motivated me. They

helped me prepare resolutions for the Block Development

Committee meeting and articulate them. Over the years I

learnt my work sincerely and today I can express myself

with assurance in any public forum. Community and

government officials listen to my ideas which have added to

my self confidence. I have secured a different place for

myself in society’, she adds.

Source: Interview with Rama Bisht, Nainital District, Uttarakhand, June 2010.

Woman Block Panchayat Member

Addresses Public Forum

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Lessons Learnt, Recommendations

and Policy Implications

Engendering Governance

Governance is an area that is dynamic and ever evolving

impacted as it is by changes in the political environment. 'Poor

people's mobilisation around rights issues helps to build their

individual and collective political capabilities necessary to engage

in negotiations over policy. Because empowerment is a process

by which people learn to think critically about their own

circumstances and possibilities, unlearn prior social conditioning,

and see things differently, it tends to be a precondition for the kind

of collective action that historically has allowed poor and excluded

groups to make their voices heard by re-framing their relation to 9institutionalized power. In conceptualizing the process of

empowerment, the emphasis on rights has been spelt out by

researchers for increasing individual and collective political

capacities. In a patriarchal society, strengthening women's

participation requires strategies that go beyond mere reservation

and the PLP is a commendable move in this direction. Yet there

are areas where the PLP could evolve, adding many more

dimensions that have the potential to make participation of

women that much more effective. Some of these measures are

outlined below.

Despite being in power, EWRs cannot truly engender governance

and fully represent women's issues without knowledge about the

Gram Panchayat planning process and resources available. The

planning process itself is technical in nature, requiring in-depth

comprehension of Gram Panchayat activities, conducting

situational analysis, prioritizing needs, creating a vision document

for the panchayat, understanding the resource envelope to

conduct resource mapping for GP plans, projectising the wish list

in the Gram Sabha into actual projects with budgets and sources

of funds, and finally creating panchayat plans. This requires

detailed training, otherwise EWRs cannot effectively participate in

the planning process nor can they access resources for their

constituencies. The Data Exhibition, as popularized by Assam

Mahila Samata Society, is one method of displaying public

services available to residents of a constituency. Along with this

type of capacity building, further steps are required to engender

the planning process. For instance, the initiative would benefit

from technical inputs on Gram Panchayat planning from 10organisations working on governance in India like Debate and

11PRIA . Training could be designed to inculcate specific aspects

of the Women's Component Plan where 30 percent of most

programme funds are to be allocated for women. When women's

needs do not specifically fit into existing provisions of public

goods and services, the gender budgeting tool could be

employed specifically to better utilize untied funds. When both

male and female elected representatives have access to these

innovative tools, there is greater focus on women's issues in

planning, increased awareness of issues tabled by women, as

well as the means to address them, and consequently, increased

access to resources by women can be expected. Exposure visits

to organisations engaged primarily in governance would expand

the scope of the PLP. Specialized inputs on Gram Sabha and

capacity building modules could be sourced from UNDP or

Debate, which can also provide inputs on sectoral planning, on

resource mapping, and on availability and use of untied funds or

other resources for the panchayat

EWRs also require access to information on new state and

national priorities, new programmes and the latest guidelines on

panchayat management. Information on the National Rural

Livelihoods Mission released in September 2010 as well as 12emerging programmes such as Kishori Shakti Yojana would help

women and girls access relevant resources. The recent

announcement by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj labeling 2010 as

'The Year of the Gram Sabha' confirms that strengthening the

governance process is a national priority (Box 5.20).

Therefore, capacity building of EWRs by MS staff is an on-going

requirement along with continuous exposure to new

developments through online information networks such as

Solutions Exchange where training modules on such aspects can

be accessed. Such online services also attend to specific queries

9 Eyben, Rosalind, Naila Kabeer and Andrea Cornwall (2008), Conceptualizing empowerment and the implications for pro poor growth, A paper for the DAC Poverty Network, IDS.

10 Registered as a Trust based in Bhopal in 2002, Debate is guided by its philosophy of identifying and strengthening mechanisms that promote debate at the group and at the individual level. For this purpose, Debate has identified Panchayats as the basic structural unit towards which it will direct its interventions so that the processes of Debate are rooted as close to the community as possible.

11 Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) is an international centre for learning and promotion of participation and democratic governance, http://www.pria.org/

12 http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Tke_uZfN1SUJ:wcd.nic.in/KSY/ksyGuidelines.htm+WCD+Kishori+programme+new+government+of+India&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in

Panchaayt leader, Nainital

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W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

According to one government official in Tehri, 'MS have done a

great deal of orientation work before panchayat elections, on how

best candidates can be fielded in the panchayat with the help of

sanghas. After the elections, training for EWRs was conducted at

regular intervals. In Uttarakhand seats are reserved for women

and nearly 53 to 54 percent of members elected were women.

Many women didn't have the prior experience of panchayat 13functioning so the training organized by MS was very beneficial'.

To scale up, MS would benefit by capitalizing on these linkages at

state and district levels where MS can provide a pool of resource

persons to engender government training programmes. This

would broaden the scope and reach of MS' initiatives and help it

institutionalize its philosophy into mainstream training

programmes. This will not only improve the quality of the

mainstream capacity building programmes but engender them as

well.

The Gram Sabha has the constitutional mandate of holding the

Gram Panchayat accountable and ensuring that it executes its

mandated functions. It is the forum where the work of the Gram

Panchayat is reviewed and monitored by all citizens. An active

Gram Sabha has the power to ensure that panchayat budgets do

not lapse and that panchayat members do not misappropriate

funds or engage in patron-client relations. The Gram Sabha,

therefore, plays a pivotal role in making the operations of the

panchayat transparent and accountable to citizens. Women

sanghas in particular have a vital part to play in the Gram Sabha

in tabling their needs. On women's growing awareness of their

rights, a Gram Pradhan from Dharima Gram Panchayat,

Betalghat block, Nainital district noted that 'Women have become

enlightened on their political rights. They know that they have a

right to vote and exercise their franchise without external

interferences. Moreover, women have also increased their

participation in the Gram Sabhas and are raising issues and

concerns in these meetings. They are also attending Block

Development Committee meetings where they are placing their

demands without hesitation.'

While there is evidence of increased participation of women in

Gram Sabhas, new capacity building strategies need to be

designed to further strengthen women's voices. First, the

importance and powers of the Gram Sabha as the foundation of

decentralized governance has to be understood by all community

members. Women need to be educated about the primacy of

Gram Sabhas in governance and encouraged to participate in the

Building the Rights-Based Approach to Gram

Sabha Participation

13 B. S. Jaswal, ZP member association Uttarakhand (Zila Panchayat Sadasya Sangathan Uttarakhand)

and clarifications. Additionally, exposure visits to existing MS

sites where technical areas in financial and budgetary allocations

in the Gram Panchayats are already being handled, such as in

MS Kerala, can enhance horizontal learning.

Future linkages could include stronger networking with

government departments to ensure long-term sustainability and to

build the visibility of MS, already present at block and district

levels. Many officials have, in fact, lauded the efforts of MS in

panchayat literacy initiatives, hinting at the need for further joint

collaboration that could be extended to flagship programmes

such as the NRHM, NRLM, and Bharat Nirman, among others.

MS Uttarakhand can capitalize on the positive perceptions of

officials to increase the reach of the programme to more women.

Future Areas of Growth in Capacity Building

Box 5.20:

‘In a bid to make the year of Gram Sabha (2010) an eventful

and meaningful period for future planning, the Ministry of

Panchayati Raj has issued specific guidelines. The

objective is to make unabated inroads for the

developmental schemes across the rural areas in the

country. Under the guidelines, the activation of Gram

Sabha, Ward Sabha and other People’s Assemblies during

the year of Gram Sabha is one of the priority targets for

accomplishment. For rural local governance to be effective,

energizing Gram Sabhas is the real challenge. Moreover,

there is a direct relationship between proper functioning of

the Gram Sabha and empowerment of the PRIs’.

Source: “Guidelines for activating Gram Sabha, Ward Sabha and other

People’s Assemblies during the year of Gram Sabha”, Press Information

Bureau, Government of India, January 2010.

2010: The Year of the Gram Sabha

Engendering governance

92

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

proceedings of this forum. Secondly, as the Gram Panchayat is

accountable to the Gram Sabha, the demands raised by the

Gram Sabha have to be recognized by the Gram Panchayat in its

power as the final authority on village development plans.

Increasing participation by women in matters of the Gram Sabha

will advance engendered demands of the citizenry to higher

decision making bodies. Thirdly, the rights of citizens within the

Gram Sabha include

participation of all

citizens in planning,

implementation of

plans, transparent

distribution of

resources, and in

monitoring the Gram

Sabha. This, in turn,

would influence

accountability of the

Gram Sabha, which

could be enhanced by

providing sangha

women inputs on

conducting social

audit. Thus, voluntary

disclosure of work undertaken for the village in the Gram Sabha

meetings by EWRs can be stressed as necessary to avoid having

to intervene at a later date on the irregularities observed. In such

an intensive rights-based approach to Gram Sabha participation,

the preparation of a citizen's charter could include demands for

entitlements for the community. Understanding and internalizing

these aspects of the Gram Sabha combined with the mobilisation

of women into sanghas can be expected to motivate women to

participate effectively in the Gram Sabha, articulate their needs

and give them courage to exercise their rights to question the

Gram Panchayat. Only then can women, as key players in the

Gram Sabha, internalize the concept that the 'Gram Sabha acts

‘We consider Mahila Samakhya as

a social auditor to the programs we

are running. We have involved MS

in the social audit of MGNREGS in

Ramgarh block. The Village

Development Officer is not involved

in the documentations of the

proceedings in the discussions with

the community. All the proceedings

in the audit are documented by

MS.’

Interview with Himanshu Joshi, BDO of

Ramgarh block, Nainital District, Uttarakhand,

June 2010.

as the parliament while the Gram Panchayat is the government'.

The PLP has acquired strong legitimacy at panchayat and block

levels (Box 5.21). Government officials have acknowledged that

compared to

programmes initiated

by MS, state capacity

building programmes

for elected

representatives are

often weak in content

and divorced from a

pro-woman's

perspective,. Often the

timings of government

programmes clash with

the household

responsibilities of

women. If government

programmes could be

better designed to

inculcate a strong

rights-based, gender

sensitive approach, on

the lines of the PLP,

both men and women

could be more informed of their choices, understand and exercise

their political rights. Therefore, to add value and create an

enabling environment for women in mainstream capacity building

mechanisms of the state, MS staff with their vast experience can

now act as resource persons in government programmes. They

can influence the design of state programmes in terms of its

timings, security arrangements, gender sensitivity and ensure that

the content has a rights-based, pro-woman perspective. This role

in influencing state programmes would be vital if the PLP is to

Women panchayat leaders, Nainita

BDO, Ramgarh, Nainital

Box 5.21:

‘We have known the name of Mahila Samakhya for long.

After we were elected as Pradhans, we also hoped to

collaborate with MS on Panchayat literacy and women’s

education. But the opportunity has not come as yet in terms

of an active partnership. Working with the government

would be mutually beneficial to both MS and the PR

Department. Then the government would be cognizant of

the work of MS in the area of Panchayat Literacy’

Source: Interview with Kundan Singh, Gram Pradhan, Nayyar, Ramgarh

block, Nainital District, Uttarakhand, June 2010.

Panchayats Acknowledge Panchayat

Literacy Program by MS

93

W O M E N I N S E L F - G O V E R N A N C E

14 Department of Panchayati Raj (2009-10), Annual Plan of 2009-10 http://india.gov.in/allimpfrms/alldocs/12897.pdf (last accessed on 6 November 2010).

have greater reach and for MS to capitalize on the experience

garnered thus far.

Women elected representatives often report feeling isolated and

needing support. MS in Andhra Pradesh has facilitated a network

of EWRs to address this need. To support their work, EWRs said

that they would require a platform of their own, which they lack.

The new central government initiative of the Ministry of Rural

Development and Panchayati Raj, the Panchayat Mahila Shakti

Abhiyan (PMSA) has the twin objectives of building awareness

about gender issues in governance and facilitating EWRs to

perform their mandate to the best of their abilities. The PMSA

enables women panchayat leaders to come together and

articulate their concerns. It would allow them to discuss

institutional mechanisms required to strengthen EWRs to

discharge their roles and responsibilities effectively. The PMSA

supports a core group comprising EWRs, activists, and

academics nominated by the Government to facilitate a charter of

women's issues to be mainstreamed into policy and advocacy for

their concerns to be addressed and adopted by the state and the

three-tier PRI system. Finally, under this programme, the

association of the EWRs would allow them cascading 14 representation from block to district levels. MS can shape this

new initiative to create an environment for peer learning and

support and simultaneously use it to build the strength of EWRs.

The primary opposition to women elected representatives comes

not only from male family members but also from elected male

representatives in the panchayats. Thus, extending gender

sensitisation to Gram Panchayat male elected representatives

would be a more effective strategy to ensure support for women

in power (Box 5.22).

In conclusion, the role of the federation has been crucial for

women to retain their voice in the political sphere. As stated in

Joint Review Mission of 2009 (MS GOI DFID, 2009), 'In

Uttarakhand, the visibility achieved by MS has led to political

parties taking an interest in joining, directing or even attempting to

take over the leadership. Where the mahasanghas are strong,

they manage to retain control in their hands while maintaining

links and negotiating with the local level political forces.' These

and many other lessons on democratic processes are brought

into the panchayat by sangha and federation women leaders,

thus creating a new model for governance. The PLP has been

instrumental in breaking the glass ceiling for women in

Support Systems for Elected Women

Representatives

Support from Men within the Panchayat

Uttarakhand, paving new opportunities for them to gain political

power through the ballot and empowering them to participate in

the democratic process without fear or hesitation. In more ways

than one, the programme has been pivotal in enhancing the role

of grassroots women in decentralized governance especially by

centre staging sangha women in the political realm, raising their

status both in the Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat, and giving

due importance to women's issues in governance and

development.

Box 5.22:

“The training provided by the government is a two day

formality conducted by two officials from the Panchayat Raj

Department and not sufficient. We need to attend the

trainings organized by MS to obtain a clearer picture.

Usually, we are not invited to the training by MS. But this

would be an important step for a fruitful future collaboration.

MS has provided training to women elected members from

my block. Men have also requested MS to train them.

Especially men who are elected for the first time need

information about their rights and responsibilities and about

women’s needs, as much as women elected

representatives. I feel that since the problems of the village

concern both men and women, both need to be trained.”

Source: Interview with Dham Singh Bhandari, Gram Pradhan, Ramgarh,

Nainital District, Uttarakhand, June 2010.

Men demand the PLP

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*Disclaimer: The views presented in this paper/product are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of DFID.

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