Skip to main content

Advent of female village leaders: women asserting in meetings up by 25%

By Moin Qazi*
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women” ― Maya Angelou
In her opening address to the United Nations World Conference on Women , Aung San Suu Kyi had said: “There is an outmoded Burmese proverb still recited by men who wish to deny that women too can play a part in bringing necessary change and progress to their society: ‘The dawn rises only when the rooster crows.’ But Burmese people today are well aware of the scientific reasons behind the rising of dawn and the falling of dusk. And the intelligent rooster surely realizes that it is because dawn comes that it crows and not the other way round.”
How true it is for rural India. Its women are now heralding the dawn and the roosters are waking up to the new socioeconomic and political revolution that is emerging in the countryside. Women throughout India are ensuring that roads are repaired, electricity is brought to their villages, schools are built, toilets are installed, water sources are made safe, medical services are available, local savings groups are formed, and the list goes on and on. When put in charge, women in India have shown they are better than men at providing public good witch have greater priority for the community.
The harbinger of this social change is a seismic innovation of modern democracy by which women have been given reservation in the village councils. In 1993 India introduced Panchayati Raj (Village Government) Act, a constitutional amendment which stipulated that village councils needed to reserve one-third of their seats, and one-third of their council leader positions, for women .The vision was that those female-headed councils would bring greater transparency and better governance in their villages . As a byproduct, women’s status and that of girls might improve.
Having women as at least one-third of all local elected representatives are beginning to transform gender relations and strike at the deeply entrenched patriarchal system. Old prejudices are dissolving and new partnerships between women and men are developing. For example, one man from Maharashtra who works with women Panchayat leaders said: “I realized when I started working with these women leaders that I needed to begin my work at home.” He has started to view his relationship with his wife as a partnership and has begun doing household chores–something he never imagined he would do. Earlier women representatives were often perceived as puppets of men. Yet, women Panchayat leaders say that “women are beginning to cut those [puppet] strings.” They are furrowing the age old trunks of gender biased customs and mores.
Though the evidence base for the results of work on women’s political empowerment is badly underdeveloped despite more than 20 years of such work in close to 100 countries, we have some clue to common questions on the ability of these women. How is Panchayati Raj working in India? Are women sarpanchs (chief councilors or heads) still remote-controlled by their husbands or male relatives? Do women leaders really have the power to change things in their villages? The paradox of the new experiment was rooted in the attempted imposition of a modern democratic ethos on an entrenched feudal culture, which articulates itself in various ways.
The new role models the legislation created did have a dramatic impact on families and younger women in large parts of the hinterland. This innovation, writes Ms Iris Bohnet of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, in her book “What Works: Gender Equality by Design”, showed that “the act of seeing women lead increased women’s self-confidence and their willingness to compete in male-dominated domains, and it changed men’s and women’s beliefs about what an effective leader looked like.”
With the advent of female village leaders, the likelihood that a woman spoke up in a village meeting increased by 25 per cent. Villagers who had been exposed to at least two female chiefs in West Bengal overcame their initial bias against women as leaders and rated male and female leaders equally. Exposure to a female leader makes voters realize that women have the ability to lead effectively. Successful and effective women leaders have improved perceptions of female leaders’ effectiveness and led to electoral gains for women in future, unreserved elections.
In Wanoja village in Chandrapur district, the sharp tongued Chanda Buradkar was a firebrand right from her early days. Her voice was not the only voice raised in the village. But his was surely the loudest and most persistent, and — cumulatively — the most persuasive. She was such a zealous believer in the empowerment theory that she tramped through almost all the villages with me to demonstrate the creative potential of poor rural women in governance and resource management .A lot of women (sometimes backed by family support) harbouring aspirations to positions of power, have enthusiastically fought elections and emerged winners. Transcending their ascribed roles, they have dispelled the myth that women are good just for homes. They have refused to succumb to the pressures, and have successfully brought about changes in their community.
She ran for village chief five years ago at the behest of large numbers of supporters. She proudly lists her achievements since taking office: encouraging parents to welcome baby girls into their families, getting more girls into school, purging the local society of vices like alcoholism and gambling and decreasing the size of dowries if people don’t want to totally shun them.
But obstacles to the realization of the transformative potential are many. There is still tremendous resistance to devolution of funds from centres of (male) power to the periphery.
Full gender parity requires consistent policy support. it will take long to undo the entrenched biases and skewed gender balance on account of age old patriarchal mores. Patriarchal currents running through rural lives and institutions have proved far more influential and persistent than any law or policy. Gender inequality is usually enforced by a set of biased and deeply entrenched social codes and traditions against women’s participation in public life. Interventions that plan to rupture these biases must be focused on the variety of interrelated institutions (political, legal, religious, and social) that have established – and continue to reaffirm – the patriarchal ideology.
There is enough evidence in the truism of what society has been told for centuries: women are supposed to work twice as hard as men, for half the reward. This is still an unequal world. But women are freer than they have ever been to build independent lives, to refuse to be shamed into lives they did not choose. They can’t ‘have it all’ when the system is broken. It’s time and beyond time for women to start asking what else they want- starting, perhaps, with a fairer deal.
Panchayat Raj reminds us of a central truth: power is not something people give away. It has to be negotiated, and sometimes wrested from those who have remained unvanquished even by the tide of political storms. Enshrining political change within the law has forced both the pace and direction of such change.
Village women’s struggle for empowerment and participation in India’s growth, in the face of heavy odds, has been a revolutionary saga. Surprisingly, the media and the public intellectuals, who have been so strongly and convincingly gunning for transparency at the higher levels, missed the enormous grassroots movement that is not only reducing the trust deficit but imbuing the grassroots public institutions with greater transparency and stronger governance. But many of these women have elbowed their way into the narrow bandwidth clogged with political stories. For poor women, it is a journey towards the second Freedom or the real Freedom, as Mahatma Gandhi said when he talked of the unfinished agenda at the time of independence.
Men may fret that when women win, they lose — but the lesson of history is that when women advance, humanity advances.
*Development expert

Comments

TRENDING

Dev Anand ably acted as westernised, urban educated, modern hero, as also anti-hero

By Harsh Thakor  On September 26th we celebrated the birth centenary of legendary actor Dev Anand. Dev Saab carved out a new epoch or made a path breaking contribution in portraying romanticism and action in Bollywood cinema, giving his style or mannerisms a new colour. Arguably no Bollywood star manifested glamour in such a dignified or serene manner or struck the core of an audience’s soul in romantic melodies. Possibly we missed this evergreen star being cast in a Hollywood film. Dev Anand is like an inextinguishable soul of Bollywood. Although not as artistic or intense as Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor or Ashok Kumar ,Dev Anand surpassed them all for liveliness or flamboyance, with his performances radiating g energy on the screen, in realms rarely transcended. In his own right, Dev Saab, was a craftsman, like his classical contemporaries, with a characteristic composure. Perhaps never was a Bollywood star so suave, bubbling or charming as Dev Anand, who often looked like an Indian versi

Why Govt of India, Sangh Parivar want to stop the use of ‘India’? What's in a name?

By Ram Puniyani  Coincidentally after the opposition parties came together to form INDIA (Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance), the ruling BJP is desisting from the use of word India in official communiqués and its parent organizations RSS has issued a fatwa that only word Bharat should be used for our country. While inviting the representative’s participants of G 20, the President issued the invitation in the name of ‘Rashtrapati of Bharat’. Since then BJP is on the track of avoiding the use of the word India in all its pronouncements, saying this word smacks of colonial legacy since this word was given to the country by British colonial rulers. Mr. Hemant Biswa Sarma of BJP said that word India is part of the colonial legacy and should be removed. RSS chief and other functionaries have intensified this message. Speaking at a function at Guwahati Mr. Bhagwat, stated “We must stop using the word India and start using Bharat. At times we use India to make those who speak Eng

Significant step towards empowering and particularly engaging with informal workers

ActionAid note on drive to empower informal sector workers Odisha with the support of District Labour Department: *** The Odisha Unorganised Workers Social Security Board (OUWSSB) facilitated an Unorganized Workers Awareness Camp at the Red Cross Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The event took place in collaboration with the District Labour Department at Khordha, Centre for Child and Women Development and ActionAid Association. This informative event aimed at empowering informal sector workers by disseminating crucial information regarding their eligibility for various social security schemes provided by the Government of Odisha.

Grassroots NGO enlightens people of Kupwara with intricacies of Right to Information

J&K RTI Foundation and Founder Civil Rights Movement Kupwara note on how RTI Pend is empowering Kupwara with insights on Right to Information Act: *** RTI Pend, the grassroots initiative aimed at democratizing access to information, hosted its 2nd event in Kupwara. On the request of the Civil Rights Movement Kupwara, this event was tailored to enlighten the people of Kupwara with the intricacies of the Right to Information Act, presented in their local language and dialects. The event successfully bridged both offline and online participation, addressing queries on the spot and offering applicants practical solutions.

Abrogation of Art 370: Increasing alienation, relentless repression, simmering conflict

One year after the abrogation by the Central Government of Art. 370 in Kashmir, what is the situation in the Valley. Have the promises of peace, normalcy and development been realised? What is the current status in the Valley? Here is a detailed note by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties , “Jammu & Kashmir: One Year after Abrogation of Art. 370: Increasing Alienation, Relentless Repression, Simmering Conflict”:

Why originality of Gandhi's thoughts, example of his life still inspire people world over

By Moin Qazi*  Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary reopens a familiar debate around his legacy every year. How could a frail man use his moral strength to galvanize 400 million Indians in their struggle for independence from the mighty British Empire? How did Gandhi inspire ordinary people to turn fear into fearlessness and anger into love? What were his tools for fighting colonialism? How could he inspire the world to embrace his philosophy of nonviolence? What can we learn from him today? And is he still relevant?

Regretful: Kapil Dev retired not leaving Indian cricket with integrity he upheld

By Harsh Thakor  Kapil Dev scaled heights as an entertainer and a player upholding the spirit of the game almost unparalleled in his era. In his time he was cricket’s ultimate mascot of sportsmanship On his day Kapil could dazzle in all departments to turn the tempo of game in the manner of a Tsunami breaking in. He radiated r energy, at a level rarely scaled in his era on a cricket field. Few ever blended aggression with artistry so comprehenisively. Although fast medium, he could be as daunting with the ball as the very best, with his crafty outswinger, offcutter, slower ball and ball that kicked from a good length. Inspite of bowling on docile tracks on the subcontinent, Kapil had 434 scalps, with virtually no assistance. I can never forget how he obtained pace and movement on flat pancakes, trapping the great Vivian Richards in Front or getting Geoff Boycott or Zaheer Abbas caught behind. No paceman carried the workload of his team’s bowling attack on his shoulders in his eras muc

Sewer workers not given ESI cards that would ensure health benefits they need the most

A note by the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM), an organization working for the issues of sanitation workers in Delhi NCR, on right to life and dignity which still seems light years away for sewer workers: *** Exploitation of Sewer workers is not just a labour issue, but it is rooted in the caste system and cannot be separated from the historical socio-religious-cultural-economic exploitation of the Dalit community! Stated Mr. Y.S. Gill, Senior Journalist and Documentary Film maker in the press conference organised by Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) in Integrated Social Initiatives (ISI), Lodhi Road, New Delhi on issues of sewer workers in Delhi. The press conference was attended by a number of community members, activists, members of the civil society, students etc.

Agro-biodiversity through seed identification, conservation, replication, crop selection

By Kuntal Mukherjee, Basant Yadav, Shivnath Yadav* This article is mainly based on a journey of the three of us since 2010 based on field experience, study of different articles, reflective journeys with local community based organisations, villagers and practitioners in Chhattisgarh. The slow growth of Agriculture in India with near stagnation in productivity since mid ‘80s in contrast to the remarkable growth during the green revolution period has come to the front as a great concern. In post WTO era Indian Agriculture has been witnessing structural changes, uncontrolled influx of agriculture goods and commodities from foreign countries due to open market nature. The gradual reduction in subsidies from internal production leads to increasing cost of production of agriculture produces at the farm gate. It causes gradual decrease in internal production as well as productivity and posing threats to small farm and stakeholders. 

How the slogan Jai Bhim gained momentum as movement of popularity and revolution

By Dr Kapilendra Das*  India is an incomprehensible plural country loaded with diversities of religions, castes, cultures, languages, dialects, tribes, societies, costumes, etc. The Indians have good manners/etiquette (decent social conduct, gesture, courtesy, politeness) that build healthy relationships and take them ahead to life. In many parts of India, in many situations, and on formal occasions, it is common for people of India to express and exchange respect, greetings, and salutation for which we people usually use words and phrases like- Namaskar, Namaste, Pranam, Ram Ram, Jai Ram ji, Jai Sriram, Good morning, shubha sakal, Radhe Radhe, Jai Bajarangabali, Jai Gopal, Jai Jai, Supravat, Good night, Shuvaratri, Jai Bhole, Salaam walekam, Walekam salaam, Radhaswami, Namo Buddhaya, Jai Bhim, Hello, and so on.