Training Neet>s of Women m. rfb. r~\ r\ Nandini Prasad. II ES i r. UNESCO House 8 Poorvi Marg, Vasant Vihar New Delhi , INDIA IN/1998/ED/7

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2 Training Neet>s of Women m r~\ r\ a rfb LJ AN O V E R V I E W Nandini Prasad II ES i r j UNESCO House 8 Poorvi Marg, Vasant Vihar New Delhi , INDIA IN/1998/ED/7

3 DISCLAIMER This monograph is meant to provide an overview of the training needs of women in Panchayats in India. The views expressed are solely of the author.

4 CONTENTS Introduction 1 Training Needs of Elected Women Members 7 Training of Elected Women Representatives 13 National Institute of Rural Development 14 Kerala Institute of Local Administration 15 Sardar Patel Institute of Public Adminstration 16 UNNATI 17 Ahmedabad Study Action Group 18 Indira Gandhi National Open University 20 Institute of Social Studies Trust 21 Sutra 23 Society for Participatory Research in Asia 24 Asha Ramesh 26 Working Group for Women's Issues - Gujarat 27 Young Women's Christian Association 28 Impact of Training 31 Conclusion 34 Glossary 38 Bibliography 39

5 Introduction Background : Historical process Most of the population of India still lives in the 600,000 villages of the country. Five decades of developmental efforts have yielded some gains in the rural areas, yet the fruits of development have, by and large, been the monopoly of urban areas. The "trickle-down" theory of development followed in policy has failed to effectively overcome poverty and its consequences, like over-population, ill health, malnutrition and ignorance. In such a situation, it is imperative to question this entire mode of centralised planning and its implementation. It was thought that the alternative of de-centralised development can be a dynamic means to bring about a genuine transformation at the grassroots level and be instrumental in achieving social, political and economic goals of the country, especially in the rural areas. The fate of the over-centralised, planned efforts after Independence have demonstrated that development can be relevant only when the people, for whom it is meant, are in the forefront of planning and implementation. The majority of the tasks of development are best left to the people. Technical inputs and resources can provide invaluable back-up for the people's efforts but have proved to be meaningless as the sole agents for change. The current debate and acceptance of Panchayati Raj acknowledge this aspect very clearly. Panchayati Raj: Historical Background Panchayat literally means an assembly offiveelders. Since ancient times, thefivepanches led the executive, administrative, judicial and developmental activities of their village, for, till the British Raj the village had always been the basic unit of administration in India. Under Mauryan rule, (3 rd to 2 nd century BC ) village administration was effective. Village councils were nominated by consensus, and handled administrative, economic and judicial duties. Gautam Buddha had summed up the importance and prosperity of the Village Panchayat as being the torch-bearers of prosperity. It is clear that the Village Panchayat played a leading role in village governance and development. Further, inscriptions of the Chola Dynasty ( AD) show that the primary assembly of the villages consisting of all the village residents, elected five members who held office in an honorary capacity for one year and had important functions like collection of revenue, settlement of village disputes, negotiation with government for concessions in case of famines or other calamities, organisation of public utilities, education, religious and cultural activities, etc. 1

6 Decline of Panchayati Raj This institution gradually declined and collapsed, before revival in post-independence India. In the pre-british period, Panchayats lost their pre-eminence due to factors like the failure of kings to live up to the ideals of decentralisation and their stronghold on power; disappearance of Panchayat Samitis ; poor regulation of the functioning of the system, and high, arbitrary taxation imposed by the government which the panchayats refused or were unable to collect. Between the collapse of the Mughal rule and the advent of British rule, the political confusion led to further decline of this rural system of leadership. Under the centralised British administration, the Panchayati system was totally destroyed. The District Collectorate was established for collecting revenue, which later assumed other powers like judiciary on British lines. The change in administrative structure left no place for village assemblies or the higher echelons of the Panchayati system like the Panchayat Samiti to function. Political leadership in the pre-independence period was greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi who considered the soul of India to be in the villages. His concept of rural development consisting of two key concepts of "Gram Swarajya" (village self-rule) and "Gram Vikas " (village development), gave prime importance to the development and the autonomy of villages, where the village Panchayats were the most important political unit in the social, economic and political life of the villages. Panchayati Raj in Independent India After Independence, village panchayats were sought to be re-vitalised by assigning them important functions of local government. Article 4 of the Constitution, in the Directive Principles, states that "the State shall take steps to organise Village Panchayat and to endow them with such power as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government". The Constitution specifically called for "steps to organise Village Panchayats". Community development, from its very inception, was planned to involve people's participation, but it was discovered that the enthusiasm and participation of the people was not forthcoming. The report of the Team for the Study of the Community Projects and National Extension Service, popularly known as the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee, in 1958, suggested "democratic de-centralisation", or Panchayati Raj to ensure popular participation. This committee aimed at establishing a three tier Panchayati Raj system throughout the country, but did not favour rigidity in this. 2

7 The fundamental principles it laid down pertained to: Three-tier inter-related structure from village to district level; Genuine transfer of power and responsibility; All welfare and development schemes to be channlised only through these bodies; The three-tier system should further facilitate devolution and dispersion of power. Panchayati Raj started with high expectations of bringing about a change in the rural structure, with Rajasthan being thefirststate to implement it in Some states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh showed concern by initiating necessary legislation, while others lagged behind. Panchayati Raj, was, by and large, not able to meet its objectives, its resources were few, and there were structural inadequacies and lack of conceptual clarity about its role. It was a financial drain on the state's resources. It was weakened because of the attitude of the bureaucrats, who bypassed it to approach target groups; and the political elite, who would postpone elections or supersede the panchayati tiers. With the change in strategy of agricultural development away from community development, and centralisation of political and economic power, the panchayats receded in the background. With the election of a non-congress government in 1977, the Janata Party interest in Panchayati Raj was revived. The Ashoka Mehta Committee on Panchayati Raj institutions submitted its report in 1978, which pointed out to the tapering of Plan allocation resources, symbolising the decline of Panchayati Raj. It also noted that the vastness and growing complexity of development programmes had been, at times, used to bypass Panchayati Raj institutions, in the name of structural inadequacies. "The truth is that they have not been given a chance to serve as a vanguard in development in rural India. Wherever they have been given responsibility, as in Maharashtra or Gujarat, they have done reasonably well." The Committee also presented a new approach towards Panchayati Raj. Its principal thesis was the functional necessity for decentralisation in administration. Major recommendations included: Two tier panchayat consisting of Zilla Parishad (ZP) and Mandai panchayat; Direct elections to both tiers, involvement of political parties in election, with reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and women; ZPs to plan and Mandai Panchayats to implement programmes which could not be specifically listed as they would be location specific programmes; funding to be transferred as bulk of grants were from state government. Panchayats to mobilise resources and have compulsory power of taxation. 3

8 The next landmark development in this was the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments in April 1993, giving teeth to the local governments. The 73rd Amendment relates to panchayats in rural areas, while the 74thAmendments covers the urban local bodies. By 24th April 1994, as required by the 73rd Amendment, all the States and Union Territories of India (except the tribal areas of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and a few hill pockets of Manipur and West Bengal, exempted under Article 244 of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India) had suitably amended their existing legislation to bring them in line with the new constitutional provisions. The updated state acts now include as a minimum requirement the followingfiveprovision, which had until now been absent from most states' legislation. Term The Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) wilj have a fixed tenure of five years and elections to be held within a period of six months on the completion of the tenure or in the event of supersession. Structure The local government will consist of three tiers except in the case of states with a population not exceeding 2 million; Membership in PRIs will be by direct elections; There will be a reservation in membership: 1) not less than one- third of the seats for women; 2) for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in proportion to their share in the total population of the area; 3) one-third of the SC and ST members will be women - this will be a part of the total reservation for women members and; 4) similarly not less than one-third of the total chairpersons at the three tiers of PRIs will be women. These representations will be ensured by reserving territorial constituencies for the concerned groups. The reserved constituencies in turn will be rotated in different divisions of a panchayat or different panchayats of the Samitis. In the case of the SCs and STs such a reservation will cease on the expiry of the period specified in Article 334 of the Constitution. By implication the reservation of seats for women both as members and chairpersons of all three tiers will continue indefinitely. Elections Elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions will be conducted by the state Election Commissions, and the Governors of the states will appoint State Election Commissioners. The Amendment also ensures the security and independence of the Commissioners. 4

9 Financial Powers The states are to constitute a Finance Commission to review the financial position of the panchayats and to make recommendations to the Governor on measures to improve the financial position of the panchayats. Special Features Within the above parameters, however, there were areas which the Seventy-third Amendment left to the states to decide in their respective legislation. These included some important areas such as: a) Powers, functions and organisation of the Gram Sabha (village committee); b) The decision on to the need for reservation of the OBCs (Other Backward Communities), the level and extent of such reservation, if need be; c) The method of electing the chairperson at the village level; d) The representation of MLCs, MLAs, MPs, at the Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad levels as well as of chairpersons at various levels into the next higher tier of the PRIs; e) Powers and functions under the devolution of responsibilities, regarding developmental plans and schemes, levying taxes and other ways of raising resources; f) The composition of the Finance Commission, qualification and manner of selection of its members, and their functions; provision for maintenance and auditing of accounts. The states were allowed one year to make the necessary amendments to their panchayat legislation to bring them in line with the new provisions. The Seventy-third Amendment also required that the states where elections were due may hold the same after the necessary changes. In those states where elections were not due, the states may hold it after the expiry of the present term, or earlier if the State Assemblies chose to dissolve their panchayats. State Legislation Since 24 th April 1993, when the Amendment was ratified and enforced, the states have been making changes in their existing Panchayat Acts, to bring them into consonance with the Amendment. Though the State Chief Ministers and Panchayat Ministers in a conference held at New Delhi in July 1993 committed themselves to bringing about the new Amendments to their legislation by December 1993, only by 24th April 1994, could all the states incorporate the changes. In most cases, however, the legislation came about hurridely, so as to be within the one year limit. Consequently, many states have made the changes in letter, not spirit of the Amendment. 5

10 The legislation had, in the main, four core aspects of the Seventy-third Amendment. Thus there is a lot of commonality in the various Acts, though many have also provided for certain extra details by way of : a) categories for reservation; b) nature, organisation and functions of the Gram Sabhas; c) constitution of nyaya panchayats; d) formation of standing committees and their composition; e) partywise or non-party basis of the candidates and electoral campaigning. Women in Panchayati Raj Institutions As mentioned before, the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee set up in 1957 for thefirsttime recommended the inclusion of women representatives in the panchayats by co-option. The Committee recommended that Panchayat Samitis must co-opt two women members who have some experience or are interested in working among women and children. Following this, a few states made provisions for women representation. With the Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) in 1975, a demand for the representation of women in Panchayati Raj by reservation rather than by nomination was voiced and reiterated. In 1978, the Committee on Panchayati Raj Institutions recommended the reservation of two seats for women in each panchayat and co-option of women to these. But this did not bring about any significant change because co-option by its very nature makes for wrong selection and inhibits effective participation. The National Perspective Plan for Women (1988) recommended that 30 percent of the executive-head positions from the village to the district level, should be reserved for women. Thus, the concern, from 1957 to 1989, has been one of how to encourage women to participate actively, and in large numbers, in the PRIs at various levels. With the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, not less than one-third of the seats were reserved for women, with proportional representation of SC and ST women. In addition, a third of the Chairpersons of the Panchayats at all levels are to be women. Maharashtra was the first state to have provided for nominations for two women in Subsequently, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh gave reservation to women in panchayats in 1985 and 1986 respectively. In elections held in the last few years after the law came into being, several hundreds of women (about 800,000) have been elected as panchayat members and as chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of panchayats. 6

11 Training needs of elected women members After the 73rd Amendment, when the several thousand women came to power, several observations, regarding their presence in these elected bodies, were made. In Madhya Pradesh (MP), it was pointed out (Rashmi Arun, 1997) that women are housewives andfirsttime entrants in politics, most of whom are illiterate or educated up to the primary level only. The election led to the concept and presence of "sarpanch-pati" (sarpanch-husband) or "adhyaksha-pati" (chairpersonhusband) in the state. In some cases, women have come forward, but not proved very effective. Often illiteracy or lack of adequate education is the impediment, with most women sounding vague about their role. Besides education and ignorance, social pressures also prevent women from being effective. They have to struggle to establish their presence. Caste also plays a role. For a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe woman functioning as sarpanch is even more difficult. In a study carried out by Susheela Kaushik, women, even those who had not attended any training programmes, believed in the need for training to enable them to play their roles in Panchayats more effectively. In the sample of 100, only eight did not show interest. Four women wanted to know about their rights, duties and powers, while seventeen were eager to learn about the working of the panchayats. Some wanted to be literate, others to be trained for employment. The Government recognizes that equipping the elected functionaries estimated to be about 3 million (including 1 million women) with the necessary knowledge and skill in the management of panchayat's affairs is imperative. "Since the PR institutions have been entrusted with the specific responsibility for preparing plans and implementing various schemes for economic development and social justice, including the 29 subjects mentioned in the 11 th Schedule, elected representatives will have to play a major role in development administration. This Ministry, therefore attaches the highest importance to awareness generation and dissemination of information to elected representatives. Moreover, officials dealing with programmes and subjects now contemplated to be entrusted with the Panchayati Raj Institutions also require substantial reorientation. Thus, training and dissemination of information are high priority items for this Ministry." (From Annual Report of Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment.) Data collected by Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) from the states of Gujarat, Haryana, MP, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh (UP) reveal that the majority of women gram panchayat members belong to the age group of years. A very high percentage (90-95%) of elected women have no prior political experience and have been 7

12 elected for thefirsttime. In MP and UP, women representatives belong to relatively richer families than their male counterparts from the same caste. With the exception of Kerala, literacy levels of elected women representatives is very low. In UP and MP, though more than 60% of the elected women representatives are either illiterate or neoliterate, their literacy levels are higher than the state literacy average. Many of the women, 80-85% received support during and post-election panchayat work. Sometimes, this support may mean control of the family over women representatives. Analysis from case studies from the states of MP, Haryana, Kerala, Gujarat, UP, and Himachal Pradesh (HP), reveal that effective or ineffective leadership is the result of a combination of socio-economic and political factors. Lack of education, social and family barriers, and pre-occupation with family duties prevent women from participating in the political process. To determine the training needs of women in PRIs, SUTRA, an organisation based in HP has analysed the various roles the elected member is expected to perform. These roles are domestic head, as the typical elected woman member's husband is away on a posting; elected representative; assistant to government machinery; chief executive; and conflict resolver. As domestic head, women have to fulfil sociocultural responsibilities towards the family, carry out domestic chores, take care of agriculture, animals. In addition, they are financially dependent on the earning member. As the chief assistant to state level machinery, they have to ensure the proper functioning of the antipoverty programmes; report to and seek help from higher authorities for proper functioning of the social sector programmes like Integrated Child Development Schemes (ICDS), education, Public Distribution System (PDS) etc.; ensure the implementation of the target-oriented programmes like immunization, social forestry, and provide leadership to ensure a healthy environment, counter vested interests and demand government facilities. As elected representatives, they have to develop strategies for welfare, social justice - elimination of caste and gender hierarchy, development; plan development activities, for which data on resources must be collected, make appropriate plans, prepare mechanisms for resource mobilisation and prepare and submit proposals. In addition, voters must be entertained and opponents must be kept at bay. The higher level politicians have to be kept in good humour. As chief executives, they have to run around for release of funds, oversee the work ensuring good quality work and timely completion, for which raw material, labour and proper expenditure must be ensured. Records must be maintained by the chief executive, which includes maintaining muster rolls, cash book, ledger, bank accounts. After that the work must be approved by the Junior Engineer and accounts approved by the Accounts Officer, for which they have to be kept in good humour. S

13 As conflict resolver, they have to resolve conflicts between panchayat members; domestic conflict between brothers, husband and wife, son and parent; group conflict based on caste and sharing of common resources; and provide assistance to the police in dealing with antisocial elements and to forest and mine officials in dealing with culprits. In view of these multifarious demands on the elected representative, SUTRA has identified the training needs and broadly classified them into three categories: Attitudinal Framing policy with social justice; in conflict resolution, being able to see the hierarchies of caste, gender, class; and towards people have an attitude of accountability, transparency, ability to ensure people's participation. Skill Forming In dealing with bureaucracy, higher level politicians; dealing with vested interests, political opponents; in manipulation and lobbying; in mobilising people and labour; in record and account keeping. Knowledge and information Of three kinds: legal - human rights, Panchayati Raj act, Indian Penal Code; government schemes - developmental and social security; and sustainable development - resource planning and resource mobilisation. According to the Utsahi Mahila Abhyudaya (UMA) project of the Institute of Social Studies Trust, training of elected women members should be located in the larger context of women's empowerment. Given the type of participants and the objectives to be realised, training need obviously concerns both women and the panchayati raj institutions. All the issues and areas on which panchayats can exercise power and have control and basic procedure concerning meetings, functions and powers of members, adhyakshya (chairperson), upadhyakshya (vice-chairperson), panchayat funds and mobilisation of resources, become part of the content. The issues and areas to be covered by the panchayats are quite wide ranging from agricultural development to women and child welfare, welfare of weaker sections, minor irrigation, provision of civic amenities, identification of beneficiaries for income generation programmes, etc. Being members of panchayat, women need to know the details and intricacies involved in exercising the powers and functions of the gram panchayat concerning these subjects. It is equally important to focus on the position and status of women, the opportunities provided and available for them to participate in decision making processes in a patriarchal and male dominated society. Therefore, the training needs would include issues like gender 9

14 sensitisation, forces preventing women from taking active part in various activities, personality development, improving communication skills, confidence building and leadership qualities. While conducting its training programme, the UMA project came across various other felt needs of the women. Being harassed and exploited by various persons like in-laws, employers, on issues related to dowry, wages, control overfinances,choices regarding the family size, the women considered legal issues, and procedures related to their problems important. Being conscious of the need of the village, the members considered equally important, information pertaining to state government programmes, like the schemes available, procedures involved in making applications, details on eligible beneficiaries, officials to be contacted, procedures involved in follow-up and actual sanctioning. Basic functions of the gram panchayat, responsibilities of members, office-bearers, standing committees, panchayat funds, resource mobilisation, and passing of no-confidence motion were also considered important. Other researches too have pointed to the stumbling blocks to women's political participation. The experience of women elected to PRIs during Karnataka's earlier, path breaking experience with decentralised governance as well as those elected under the new legislation, suggests at least four categories of obstacles. All are rooted in the low status and relative powerlessness of women in society, which are clearly perceptible at the village level. One set of impediments has to do with the practical realities of poor rural women's lives. Having to shoulder complete responsibility for housework and child care in addition to paid employment, lacking access to education, and often facing social and familial opposition to their involvement in public life, many female elected representatives are unable to fully participate in the activities of their gram panchayats. Another set of obstructions is created by the poor self-image and lack of self-confidence of women socially conditioned to consider themselves less than equal to men. The situation is made worse by the disapproval often experienced by women who dare to cross the boundaries drawn by family or society. Since their wishes are rarely taken seriously, many women do not publicly express them, considering it more prudent to submit to the wishes of thefiguresof authority like the husband or in-laws. Some women stand for election only because they are told to do so by husbands or local leaders who wish to wield power through them. Thirdly, most women are handicapped by their ignorance about the political system into which they are inducted. Few, if any, are acquainted with the relevant legislation, the structure of the system, the rules and regulations that govern PRIs, or even their own rights and duties as members. 10

15 Finally, many women are actively prevented from participating in panchayat activities by male family members as well as other members of the panchayats. The male members insist on attending meetings in their place, while the male panchayat members take advantage of their illiteracy, ignorance, powerlessness, and neglect to send them notices for meetings, take decisions in their absence, cheat them of posts to which they are legally entitled. Several organisations have pointed to the fact that understanding the concept of "power" is a pre-requisite to any training. Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE), a Delhi-based NGO is of the opinion that démystification of power is a primary training need. Reservation has brought in people, both women and men, who have been disempowered for centuries. They cannot be suddenly placed in positions of power and expected to perform. UMA has also discovered that one of the basic problems of democratic institutions is the unbridled and unabashed use of power by the representatives who feel little or no accountability to the people who elected them. If women representatives are to usher in a new political culture where accountability is a prime concern, they must exercise their power as people's representatives in a very different way. For a humane, just and meaningful exercise of their power, they must be able to evaluate the reasons for their own disempowerment as women and as persons. The research study of PRIs in Haryana, "They Call Me Member Saab", published by MARG, states that a long history of female subordination, lack of women's awareness on social, political and economic issues, has resulted in very little involvement on their part in the political and other decision-making platforms, especially in the rural areas. Their training must include the following: Instil confidence and equip them with leadership skills; Their constitutional rights and duties; Legal literacy programmes about their own and the community's rights and entitlements; Knowledge about the government's developmental and welfare schemes and the procedures involved in the implementation of these schemes; Communication skills; Knowledge of the panchayat's role, function and powers and their own as elected representatives; Gender sensitization programmes; Resource mobilisation. Besides the content other needs related to training, which would enable women to attend the training, as brought out by the MARG study was based on women's socio-cultural and economic aspects of 11

16 their lives. To the question of duration, most said one day. The most preferred venue for training was their own village. If they had to travel, they would like an escort with them; and expenses would have to be borne of the escort and the member. There were two kinds of views as regards common or separate programmes for women and men. It is obvious that reservation and election alone cannot ensure women's active participation in the political process. Women voters, contestants and elected representatives need to be empowered and informed if they are to perform their new, public role as people's true representatives. 12

17 Training of elected women representatives Many women's organisations and government agencies have set about mobilising women, raising their level of awareness, giving them political education, and encouraging them to stand as candidates when elections were announced. The Department of Rural Development under the Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment, Government of India "has identified three national institutions of eminence namely, National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad (NIRD); Lai Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie; and the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi", which plan and organise training of trainers programmes (TOT). Trainers identified in the states, mainly from the 25 State Institutes of Rural Development (SIRDs) are trained at one of these three institutes, and they in turn provide training within the state to elected and non-elected functionaries of the PRIs. In addition, there are 87 Extension Training Centre under the state government, which are supposed to provide training to the elected representatives. There appears to be no regular training specially for women planned by the Central Government. When asked about training particularly for women, the response was either "We are opposed to segregated training for women" or "We are not against women; they are most welcome if they want to come". Again, on enquiring if any special effort is made to include women in either the TOTs or in the training, the response is that they will come if they are there or if they can! Another opinion from the Central government is that training is not the problem; the issue is devolution of power, which is not happening. Once real power is handed to the PRIs, they will manage to function effectively. Besides the institutes and centres designated by the Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment, several other departments in the state government conduct trainings. However, most of these are geared towards proper implementation of their department's schemes, and do not address the wider role envisaged for them by the spirit of the 73 rd Constitutional Amendment. The intention of the Amendment is that the panchayats should function as institutions of self-governance, with power and authority and accountability to the local electorate rather than to the bureaucratic system of the state government. 13

18 The Ministry provides some "financial assistance to the states in their effort to train and create awareness and reorient the Panchayati raj functionaries towards the new arrangement. The Ministry has also been providingfinancialassistance through Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) to the Non- Governmental Organisations with proven track record for conducting training and awareness generation programmes on Panchayati raj for target groups consisting of persons drawn from the weaker sections of the society, particularly Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, and women, considering the important role envisaged for these segments in the new panchayati raj set up." Besides the government, almost every other non-governmental organisation has climbed on to the bandwagon and is providing training for Panchayati Raj. Here are some examples of training being provided by governmental and non-governmental organisations. The information given here has been provided by the organisations themselves. National Institute of Rural Development The National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad, is the national apex organisation for training, research and consultancy in rural development. NIRD is an autonomous body registered under the Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment. There is a large training infrastructure spread over a 42 hectare campus in Hyderabad and a regional centre at Guwahati. The Centre for Panchayati Raj at NIRD has prepared training modules, "in order to facilitate the action plan of training of panchayati Raj functionaries in a systematic manner and with certain amount of uniformity" for Chairman and Vice-Chairman, Zilla Parishad Pramukh and Up-Pramukh, Panchayat Samiti Sarpanch and Panch, Village Panchayat Panchayat Samiti level functionaries Training of Trainers of Panchayati Raj functionaries. The training modules have been prepared keeping in view a wider applicability across the states. However, there is scope within the modules to add on state specific aspects. Although it is mentioned that periodic reviews will be done to keep evolving the modules, the modules prepared in May 1994 is still in use. The objective of these trainings ( except the TOT) is "to acquaint the elected representatives with the structure of Panchayati Raj bodies in the light of constitutional provisions - State Government Acts, 14

19 Rules and Executive orders; and to help the participant in acquiring knowledge and necessary skills in planning and implementation of rural development programmes". The training is residential, to be held at NIRD or the SIRDs or ETCs or Panchayati Raj Training Centres or any other centre as the case may be, for both women and men, 35 in number and of 3 to 5 days each. The methodology for training is lectures, group discussions, and field visits. The subjects cover a wide range of topics starting from plan processes in the country to concept, salient features and functions of panchayati raj, to roles, responsibilities of elected members, officials, to 29 items of work entrusted to the panchayats under the 11 th Schedule to the Constitution, to management, decentralized planning, budgets... the list is endless. In addition, the Centre for Women's Development at NIRD carries out training programmes of 6 days which are based on the Sussex model, evolved during the Gender Planning Training Project between the Government of India, Department of Personnel and Training and ODA. These programmes are "more interactive, and include field visits and panel discussions". However, the number of women or persons trained is not known. Kerala Institute of Local Administration Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), Thrissur, is an autonomous body set up by the Government of Kerala in 1990 and registered as a charitable society. It is the only institute of its kind focusing exclusively on training and research of local government institutions. The objectives of the institute among others are to: organise training and study courses, workshops, conferences, seminars for elected and non-elected functionaries of PRIs and other local bodies; to act as advisory agency to the state government in the areas of Panchayati Raj and local administration to analyse and propose solutions for problems encountered in the implementation of panchayats and other local bodies. Training is one of the most important functions of the Institute. Besides general training for women and men in panchayat budgets, finance and taxation; management development programme for secretaries of gram panchayats; orientation courses for members of gram panchayats; there is a special training programme for women leaders. According to KILA, "the programme is organised in such a manner as to develop leadership skills of the elected women representatives of the local government institutions in Kerala. The course covers areas like role of women in economic development, 15

20 laws related to atrocities against women, gender issues and recent developments in the area of women's empowerment, Women's Development Corporations, legislations, women's commissions etc. The course also aims to develop decision making and public speaking skills among the participants. This is a programme designed in collaboration with the Department of Social Work, Vimala College, Thrissur." This is a 5-day residential programme, where the focus is more on capacity building rather than information on panchayati raj. The methodology is lectures, discussions andfieldvisits. Role models are also brought in as guest faculty. The course was developed by action research and continues to evolve, based on end of programme evaluation, where the faculty is also rated. However, it has not been able to do follow-up training, and programme remains a one time input. No evaluation of the course has been done. All the training is centralised, that is at KILA itself. However, they are now thinking of having district level training and are currently working on a model for that. KILA has also been collaborating with some NGOs, and bringing them in as resource persons to get their specialised input into the course. However, there appear to be other initiatives regarding Panchayati Raj training - by the Institute of Management in Government (IMG) institute, the Planning Board, etc. None of them appear to be interested in what the others are doing, as there seems to be lack of coordination between them. However, the Director of KILA did mention that the government is now looking for co-ordination and will have a co-ordinated approach to the training being provided for the elected representatives. As regards the number of women trained, in 1997, 6 batches of specialised training programme for women leaders were conducted in which a total of 163 participated. The number of women who participated in the general courses since the Institute's inception was not available. Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA), Ahmedabad is the apex training institute of the Government of Gujarat. The Institute has its own campus, buildings, with lecture halls and a hostel accommodating 144 persons. A Centre for Panchayat Training has been set up in 1997, with Ms. Amrapali Merchant as the Honorary Deputy Director. She has studied at IDS, Sussex under the Government of India's Gender Planning 16

21 Training Project. According to her, about 3000 women have been trained up till now. The content of this training consists of three modules: The Panchayat Act; Developmental Schemes and Programmes; Behavioural Skills and Science, including leadership training, skill of adjustment, people's participation. The training is residential at SPIPA, and is of 3 days, with no followup. The group is of 30 women. Methodologies used are lectures and discussions. A Women's cell has also been set up in SPIPA, with Ms. Merchant in charge. In this cell, several training programmes focusing on women's issues are conducted. Members of voluntary organisations working on women's issues and women's organisations are trained, but not on the issue of Panchayati Raj. Under SPIPA, there are 55 training institutes of the Government of Gujarat; and 10 training institutes for panchayat under the Development Commissioner. Possibly training for PRI members is also conducted here. But, information was not available. However, it is clear that there is no co-ordination on training for PRIs. UNNATI UNNATI: Organisation for Development Education, Ahmedabad is a support organisation, operational in Rajasthan and Gujarat, to promote basic rights, self-governance and livelihood issues through its intensive interaction with small groups as well as strategic alliance with larger groups. The work on Panchayati Raj began in July 1994, with 40 NGO representatives coming together. In February 1995, a meeting was organised to look at dalit and women's active involvement in the elections. Many NGOs organised village level meetings to motivate women to stand for elections, and support provided to women to help them canvass for the election. UNNATI also prepared a motivational videofilmin Hindi and Gujarati "Raj Karenge" (We will Rule) to create an enabling environment to accept women as leaders. NGOs acquired voter lists, took up the issue of the process of nomination which is unsuitable for illiterate women, made street theatres. UNNATI is of the opinion that there is need to make interventions at three levels: At the Governmental level to seek support for making changes in the Act and rules and strengthen PRIs; At the NGO level to build a common understanding about the 17

22 Act, rules and procedures, provide NGO staff knowledge and skill to work on this issue, and structure information exchange systems to share experiences with each other; At thefieldlevel, intensify interaction with panchayats and understand their functioning and constraints. UNNATI works with 17 NGOs in the state to work on these issues. It conducts training programmes to prepare NGO staff members to develop their understanding and skills. It prepares educational material and takes up advocacy in partnership with other NGOs to make changes in the Act and rules that can promote real self governance. A research has been conducted to find out the profile of the panchayat functionaries, in 79 panchayat in 6 districts, where initiatives were taken by local NGOs. Another research on the skills of NGOs involved in PR intervention has been done. In order to inform NGO staff, panchayat functionaries, periodic thematic bulletins are published, on various issues of Panchayati Raj. Booklets, posters and a manual has been prepared on training. Video films have also been prepared. UNNATI is part of several networks all over the country and is accepted by both government and NGOs. An interesting innovation being used by UNNATI for panchayat planning and training is the Future Search Technique, developed by Case Western University, Ohio, where all stakeholders work in simulated situations to arrive at a particular agenda, highlighting different interests. Feedback is received, discussion carries on, until everybody reaches a consensus. Although UNNATI has been interfacing with SPIPA, it finds differences. The government training is mechanical, and always in Ahmedabad. Women with children are not invited. Ahmedabad Study Action Group Ahmedabad Study Action Group (ASAG) was started 25 years ago on the issue of low cost housing. They soon realised that housing was not the only priority nor was it high on people's agendas. By the 1980's, ASAG had moved to income generation and other traditional skills; but also realised its inherent limitations for poverty alleviation. By 1990, they had moved to multi-sectoral approaches, and started training for income-generation, legal support, environment/settlement improvement. As part of different kind of training, one aspect was leadership training - others were skill training, para-professional training (para-health, para-vet, para-legal), preparing a cadre of people to look after assets. During leadership training, while discussing in 1993, regarding the 18

23 scope of the Act, the women said that if there was scope for them to participate, then why shouldn't they? ASAG was almost forced into taking this direction. Elections were announced. During the pre-election phase, training was directly related to elections. Three or four sessions were held. The women were trained tofillpanchayat election forms. For the election, women were taught to present issues. Election manifesto for each woman was prepared. To make identities of each of these women, small rallies were organised. Once elections were over, there were 4 components to the PRI intervention: training, support, making linkages and awareness building in a larger universe. The women were individually asked as to who they thought would block them from being effective. The response would range from brother to husband to the mother-in-law. Orientation programmes were then held for these family members. The nitty-gritties of panchayati functioning was taught to them - issue of power, authority, knowledge, courage. There were exposure visits to good panchayats. There was training on rights and responsibilities of the sarpanch, the members, the talathi; importance of the gram sabha; accountability to the gram sabha. In the training on budgets, women were shown blank forms; budgets were simplified; grants, earmarked incomes, local contributions. A list of all such items was prepared which could generate income for the panchayat, such as melas, taxes, house rents. For the training on schemes, the Commissioner and everybody down the line was called as resource person, so that the women would know who they had to get in touch with. For the microplanning session, with village as the unit, composition of village, resource mapping, income, prioritisation of issues, problem analysis was taken up. ASAG always provided strategies and tips. In one instance, it was noticed that the panchayat was not active. It was always the talathi, who came and opened the door. This was changed, as the powers were with the panchayat. It was their office. Also, members would not be present all the time. A scheme was started. Of the seven members, at least one had to be present every day. In the panchayats where ASAG works, they gave an incentive of providing 3 magazine subscription to the panchayat which did this regularly. Networking and advocacy is another area where ASAG is active. They have joined with other organisations in the region to make their intervention more effective. ASAG is also the convenor of Western India Forum for Panchayati Raj (WIFPR), a network of organisations in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Rajasthan. ASAG has selected 10 pilot panchayats and 35 women to keep a close watch and provide constant follow up. 19

24 Indira Gandhi National Open University When the Panchayati Raj Act was passed in 1993, the government realised the need for awareness and knowledge building, and providing the skills necessary to the elected representatives. It also realised that the training institutes of the government were inadequately staffed, and lacked the infrastructure required to do so. Any national institute could only train about a 1000 persons in a year. It was decided to use the distance education approach to reach the elected representatives as this approach was cost-effective,flexible-could address any issue, reach large numbers simultaneously, and move according to the learners pace, lifestyle etc. Accordingly, the "Panchayati Raj Project", managed by M. Aslam, Professor Rural Development at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), was started, supported by the Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment, Government of India. The main objective of the programme is "empowerment of rural masses through elected members of the panchayats for effective participation in the process of self-governance". For the course, a multi-media approach has been adopted, comprising self-learning print material; audio-video programmes; face to face interaction through counselling. The self-learning print material covers a wide range of subjects ranging from the basic features of the Indian Constitution to development. The material consists of 23 booklets/units covering Panchayati Raj - the context Panchayati Raj and decentralised planning; Self-employment programmes; Wage-employment programmes; Area-based and other development programmes; Development with social justice. The print material is extensively illustrated, and the language is meant for a person studying in class 7 or 8. The audio-video programmes supplement the print material and "also help those deficient in study skills to optimise learning from the self learning print material". There are six video programmes, at the moment in Hindi and English, addressing: Panchayati Raj - a new vision; Self-employment is the best employment; 20

25 Wage employment programmes; Fight against drought; Dream for clean water; Panchayati Raj and social justice. Twelve audio programmes covering various aspects of Panchayati Raj and anti-poverty programmes are also available in Hindi. It is planned to telecast/broadcast these programmes from the local kendras of Doordarshan and All India Radio, as well as through mobile vans. It is presumed that after going through the print material and the audio-video material, there would be need for clarifications. For this purpose, a cadre of counsellors will be trained for face to face interaction. These counsellors will be drawn from the local population of the villages. This course material will be translated into 8-9 regional languages. The programme has been introduced in August 1997 in 4 districts in Madhya Pradesh (MP) - Bastar, Raigarh, Guna and Dhar, reaching 58,000 persons. Twenty-four master(!) trainers, including 4 or 5 women from MP, nominated by the government have been trained, who in turn have trained 350 counsellors in the districts. These counsellors go to each panchayat and answer questions. The audio-video material is being disseminated through mobile vans. Professor Aslam was aware that the literacy rate in MP is less than 50 per cent. But, he felt that even if the villagers could not read, they would look at the illustrations and understand. There was no plan to change the illustration to suit the regional language. Again, this was general course material for women and men - there was nothing specially for women. As the course material was priced, but the price was not yet decided, I was unable to purchase a set. Institute of Social Studies Trust - Project Uma Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST), a private non-profit organisation is a leading institute on issues related to gender and poverty. ISST concentrates on women's studies, documenting and analysing the multifarious roles of women. It has conducted several pioneering research studies to initiate alternate development strategies which recognise the role and contribution of women. In May 1993, it took up a project called "Strengthening the Participation of Women in Local Governance" to set up Resource Centre for Women in Panchayati Raj and undertake training for 21

26 elected Gram Panchayat members in eight select areas of the state. The project was popularly called UMA, an acronym for Utsahi Mahila Abhyudaya (Sanskrit for "a progressive movement of women eager for change"), to appeal to the women and encapsulate the intentions of the project. This project was based on the felt needs of women panchayat members. Asfirsttime politicians (elected in 1987 when Karnataka provided 25% reservation for women in the panchayats), they needed information from government policies to everyday issues confronting women. They needed a forum to learn from each other and the women's movement. They wanted to enhance their self-esteem and confidence to equip themselves for their new role. Training was located in the context of women's empowerment and adopted participatory, people friendly methodologies. The content covered general subjects relating to the position and condition of women as well as specific knowledge and information needs as representatives of people. A combination of project and process approach was used. Organisational assistance was sought from government and NGOs. The two wings of the project are organically linked. The collection of material and contacts built through the networking activities of the resource centre have helped in developing material for the training programme. The resource centre collects literature, documents research workshops, disseminates workshop reports, exchanges information, produces and lends workshop reports, has films and video modules on panchayati raj. The project also has a quarterly newsletter called UMA Prachar, in English and Kannada, with a circulation of about 600, reaching individuals and organisations working on Panchayati Raj. A major part of the UMA project is the design and development of training modules for women representatives elected to gram panchayats. Training and exposure visits are organised on a regular basis at select districts by the UMA team. The training unit has developed and produced a wide range of training material for use in field level programmes. These include games, songs, resource books, puppets, charts and posters. The specific objectives of the training carried out by UMA were: To make the members aware about the role and importance of local governance system; To make the members aware of the statutory provisions concerning local governance; To make the members conscious of the oppressive forces - both patriarchal and others operating on them; 22

27 To build communication skills and self-confidence among the members; To build leadership qualities among the members; To provide information on laws concerning women's issues and problems. At the moment, UMA does not conduct training, but continues with interactive workshops in two districts and is concentrating on building up the resource centre. SUTRA SUTRA, an NGO in Himachal Pradesh (HP) has been working with gram panchayats since mid It began with legal literacy camps, when it was found that many issues related to domestic violence could be dealt with by the Nyaya panchayats. Women were encouraged to contest elections for these bodies so that justice could be delivered to them. With the 73 rd Amendment, elections were held :n HP in The SUTRA staff contested the elections. Surprisingly, or actually not so surprising, the more active, vocal women lost the elections, while the milder ones were elected. During the course of pre- and post- election training, SUTRA closely studied the different roles a woman panchayat member is expected to play. The training needs, obviously has to take these into account. The different roles, in HP, as observed by SUTRA are: - Elected representative - Chief executive - Conflict resolver - Assistant to Government machinery - Domestic head. (The typical panchayat member is generally married to a man who has a job outside his village.) These different roles need different kinds of skills, knowledge, understanding (of issues), time, resources, etc. It was also important that the members understood that they were supposed to represent the larger interests of their constituency. SUTRA discovered that most women who were elected after reservation were not the ones who were vocal and asserted their rights, but the ones who were mild and would not "interfere". These women had deliberately been put up as candidates, so that they would fulfil the requirement of reservation - a typical example of fulfilling the law in letter, not spirit. 23

28 The elected women panchayat members feel that when there is one nominated member (before the reservations) it is very lonely. The men in the panchayat do not take them seriously, and they would be sent outside when decisions were being taken. At times, they would be made to sign on blank sheets of paper. After training with SUTRA, the women in panchayats started questioning many of the practices, and even opposing their husbands. They derived their strength from the Mahila Mandais, taking a few women along with them to the meetings, since the women now knew that the gram panchayat meeting is public. This was opposed by the male pradhan. He was asked to give this in writing, which he did not. The up-pradhan of the panchayat, who is generally a man, when the pradhan is a woman, is most uncooperative. It is also apparent that plenty depends on the government functionaries. With the 73rd Amendment, there is a power struggle, with the bureaucrats not wanting to let go. It is equally important to sensitise and reorient the bureaucracy, as they felt threatened. Society for Participatory Research in Asia Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) in its last 15 years of work has carved out a niche for itself as an organisation strategically experimenting with newer methods, programmes and structures. It has also chosen for itself the role of a support organisation to voluntary agencies working for development. The Panchayati Raj Intervention unit of the Centre for Participation and Governance works towards building citizens' active participation in functioning and strengthening initiatives of local self-governance. In 1993, PRIA and the Network of Collaborating Regional Support Organisations (NCRSOs) took some pilot initiatives to intervene in this regard. The results were encouraging; and the Joint Action Programme on Panchayati Raj was initiated in mid-1995 in the states of Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The main objective of the programme is to enable the PRIs to function as institutions of self-governance and not as mere implementers of decisions taken elsewhere. It focuses on enhancing the potential for people's participation in people-centred and people controlled development. PRIA's intervention has a multiplier effect, as it targets three strata of groups - the support organisations like PRIA and the NCRSOs; local voluntary, community based organisations; and the elected PRI members, as well as the gram sabha members. The local agencies interact with the elected members and the gram sabha members regularly. The programme component includes: Orientation, training and educational support; Preparation and dissemination of educational material; Micro-planning or bottom-up planning; 24

29 Research and documentation; Influencing the government. PRIA co-ordinates the joint intervention to strengthen local governments through NCRSOs in Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala; and directly works in some parts of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Over two years, case studies on the functioning of 195 gram sabhas and about 200 gram panchayats have been prepared. More than 100 women headed panchayats have been intensively studied. One major survey was conducted in 1997 covering 908 gram panchayat members, including 325 women to study the impact of the intervention. PRIA's interventions have covered about 3,000,000 persons and more than 10,000 village panchayats of 110 districts. Several innovative experiments have been tried. For training, orientation programmes and production of learning material, participatory methodologies, using local human, material and intellectual resources are employed. To bridge information gaps among inaccessible panchayats in remote and hilly areas, Panchayat Resource Centres (PRCs) have been set up at the block or regional levels. PRCs collect, compile and disseminate region specific information through newsletters and regular meetings. The PRCs also provide a forum for PRI members to share their experiences and emphasise involvement of women and adolescent girls. In some states, groups of adolescent girls have been formed into Kishori Panchayats (adolescent girls panchayats), to create awareness amongst the adolescent girls regarding the Panchayati Raj. It is socially more acceptable for young girls to learn than for women. These young girls, in turn, prove to be effective trainers for their close relatives. Kishori Panchayats in states like Bihar are engaged in mobilising and motivating women to attend group meetings and take part in panchayat activities. Impact studies have shown that these interventions raised awareness among the people, specially among women, and other marginalised sections of the society regarding PRIs. In several places they have identified common issues for collective action. The non-functional committees have been activated. Technical and managerial skills have been developed among gram panchayat members. Non-formal gram sabha meetings are held more regularly. The members attend and initiate more meetings than those that have not been part of the intervention. In Haryana, where PRIA is working directly, the team members of the training team have acted as resource persons at the Haryana Institute of Rural Development, for a training of BDOs, DRDA and Bank officials, at the State Community Development Centre for a training of Panchayat Extension officers. SIRD has made PRIA a member of their 25

30 academic committee. PRIA has helped the panchayats plan their gram sabha meetings, where women were encouraged to participate by asking questions and giving suggestions. In Himachal Pradesh, PRIA has facilitated a bottoms up participatory planning process in Kehar panchayat with the active involvement of local voluntary organisations, Rural Technology and Development Centre, women, local youth. This is part of a case study to see how effectively male and female headed panchayats are functioning. PRIA training team is helping the community to analyse problems, identify development priorities, prepare a plan and discuss with the district and block officials. State governments have recognised the NCRSO members as a resource support organisation, working on the issue of self-governance in their states. A direct network of about 500 voluntary organisations in 10 states have been established. They in turn work with 20,000 elected members and reach another 30,000 through dissemination of educational material. A cadre of people are being trained who act as facilitators to spread the concept of self-governance and its operationalisation at the micro level. Through research, training and information dissemination, voluntary agencies, gram panchayat members and the government staff are giving importance to women's issues. Asha Ramesh Ms. Asha Ramesh is carrying out a study "Profiling women members of panchayats" in Karnataka and Gujarat. The objective of this research is to study the socio-economic background of women panchayat members, analyse the constraints in their participation, the impact their election has had on panchayats, the villagers in general and on other women, and provide insights to formulate strategies to enhance capabilities of women members to be effective in their functioning in panchayats. Identification of their strengths and weaknesses, and also the various impediments they have and may have to encounter, along with suggested strategies to overcome them would be useful in designing training programmes to enhance capabilities of prospective candidates. It is a one year study with the results made available by end of July The research study is being conducted in three phases: The first phase of the study involves collection of statistical data on the two States for a socio-economic scenario. This phase will also include study of the legislation - the Panchayat Act and the Nagar Palika Act along with the rules framed by the States. The second phase involves the identification of the areas in the target states and collection of random samples for the study, before the detailed case studies arc undertaken. 26

31 Thefinalphase includes workshops with the women panchayat members and the writing of the report. The impact of the newly structured PRIs on women's empowerment is the focal point of the study. The study investigates the background of women panchayat members, criteria for their nomination, as well as the caste and class dynamics that influence women's participation. The research looks at the qualitative difference women members have made to panchayats, if any, and the barriers to their fuller participation in the working of panchayats. The role and place of the women panchayat members is examined through an evaluation of the functioning of the PRIs established after the 73rd Constitution Amendment in two states, Karnataka and Gujarat. A case-study approach is followed by a random selection of one hundred women panchayat members from each of the States. Women panchayat members of different districts share experiences, discuss issues and build solidarity and a common platform. At least two meetings in each State is held with about participants. This exercise is necessary to: i) build solidarity amongst the women panchayat members; ii) exchange and share experiences; and iii) evolve strategies to address common concerns. The project looks at the challenge of local governance: to be able to ensure that critical gender concerns and women's issues are included in the developmental agenda. The insights provided through this project will make women more effective in setting the agenda for development, from their perspective and encourage grassroots women to demand for social equity and equal access to scarce resources. The research will be a base for further trainings which will make a significant contribution to the self-image of possible panchayati raj women members and women candidates. This will result in enhancing women's social status and will make their contribution more effective. Working Group for Women's Issues - Gujarat Working Group for Women's Issues - Gujarat (WGWI-G) is a collective of 60 organisations, working with poor women in the urban and rural areas of Gujarat, formed after the Beijing Conference. One of the key issues identified by this collective is women and political participation. WGWI -G organised a 3-day "Panchayat Beheno Nu Milan" (Meet for women panchayat members) in November in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The objective was to provide a forum for women panchayat members to share experiences and build collective strength; and set in motion a process of extensive interaction, share a platform, and build capacities of these women, enabling the development of women at large and women panchayats members in particular. The interaction would 27

32 develop channels of increased communication, information sharing, exchange of ideas, thoughts, concerns and action plans between these women panchayat members. About 1000 elected panchayat representatives from 16 districts participated. Of these about 250 were sarpanch.es. The forum made visible, positive role models of active and strong women sarpanches, who have used various strategies and struggled to meet the basic needs of drinking water, conservation, education, protection and justice for victims of violence, in their communities and villages. These women shared their experiences with the elected members and forged new alliances to bring rural women's concern into development. These elected women panchayat members had never before shared with each other the common concerns and strategies of coping and overcoming their problems. They had not seen themselves as parts cf a shared common identity. The Milan was also designed as an information fair to acquaint women with panchayat procedures and potential initiatives towards selfgovernance and swaraj. There was a multimedia theatre presentation, videofilms, games, quiz shows, songs, debates, discussions - all highly interactive. Since women have multiple ways of expression/ communication, through stories, songs, apart from the conventional methods, the Milan used all these forms. One of the most effective ways for women to learn is by sharing information and knowledge in an informal setting, where the environment is open, relaxed and nonthreatening and the design of the Milan ensured these aspects. In order to elicit maximum participation within districts, sub-regional meets of elected members, were organised by the local organisation, before the Milan, to bring out the issues, ideas and suggestions from the regions to the process. For this, the organisations drew upon their own experiences, knowledge and also consulted the local district governments. The meeting forms a base for other organisations to initiate work on this issue, hold regular meetings at the district level, aiming to make a significant contribution to the self-image of possible panchayati raj women members and women candidates, resulting in enhanced social status of women, making their roles and positions effective. Young Women's Christian Association Young Women's Christian Association of India (YWCA) has been organising training programmes for elected women representatives under their programme "Training of women members for Panchayati Raj". The objective of this programme is to build awareness about the Panchayati Raj system and their rights, sensitise them about their roles, powers, decision-making abilities, provide orientation and 28

33 necessary educational inputs, train them in group dynamics, participatory skills, and build their confidence and equip them with decision-making abilities. The YWCA of India has a network of branches at local level with a vice president and a general secretary who are usually professionals, educated with a training in social work extended by the YWCA. It is well organised and has national as well as international linkages. These training programmes have been held in several states of the country. To begin with Training of trainers programmes are held, to equip them with knowledge of PRIs, role of panchayats, election procedures, role and responsibilities of women panchayat members in the decision making process, taking up leadership roles, group dynamics, and skills required in the organisation of training workshops. These trainers then take up the training, which is of either one or three day duration. The content consisted of the following: role of panchayat in the development process Constitution, functions and powers; role and responsibilities of elected representatives with respect to the gram sabha, the block panchayat, the zilla panchayat; development programs in the area related to education, health, recreation, income generation, water, sanitation, agriculture; information about developmental schemes e.g. IRDP, ICDS, JRY, Indira Aw as Yojna; ways of income generation for the panchayat revenue and tax, rent, sale and purchase of panchayat property etc.; financial management, i.e. preparation of Budget in relation to activities, location of resources, maintenance of books and records; administrative skills, i.e. routine correspondence, staff interaction, circulars and minutes for meetings, maintenance of records; ability to conduct meetings, community involvement in decisionmaking, PR management, interaction with government officials and other organizations in the district; role of government departments, NGOs, Mahila Mandais and Youth Clubs in the Panchayati Raj. The methodology of training was participatory. Small group discussions, dialogues, panel discussions, role plays, learning through innovative games, folk media, slogans, drama, and audio-visuals were some of the methods used. 29

34 According to YWCA, the evaluation at the end of the workshop revealed that the participants became aware of their roles and responsibilities and were confident about discharging their duties and participation in the village development activities. The illiterate participants were motivated to acquire literacy skills. "These trainings helped in building their confidence, independence, self-esteem, capacity for decision-making, sense of initiative and capacity to communicate with others...now, with this exposure, the women leaders will perform their functions effectively." 30

35 Impact of Training Ever since the 73 rd Constitutional Amendment came into force, several governmental and voluntary organisations have been undertaking training programmes. These programmes have been voter awareness camps, awareness for elected members and political training particularly for women. However, very few evaluations of impact of these trainings have been conducted. Most of the government officials I met said that the subject was so new, that no thought had gone into evaluating the training programmes. Of course, most of the training programmes have a builtin evaluation by the participants themselves, which does not really reveal the long term impact. One study, conducted by Susheela Kaushik, titled "A Study of Panchayati Raj in Haryana", among other things, looks at the impact of training carried out in Haryana. It is not a study of any particular training programme, but the situation in general, after women panches have been in position for a year and a half. The research was done in two phases: May-July 1995 and May-July The sample size was 100 women from 12 blocks of four districts of Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Rewari and Gurgaon. These women were representative of all the three tiers of Panchayati Raj, with some Chairpersons. Several camps and training programmes by governmental and non-governmental organisations had been held and some of these women had attended some programmes. Comparison between the women who had participated in the camps and those who had not would clearly bring out the impact the training has had. From the sample 26 women had attended such training camps conducted by NGOs. When asked about their experiences, seven women said they learnt about the functions of panchayats, their rights, duties and powers; six women found them generally stimulating; four found them enjoyable and entertaining; twenty found it taught them new things and was informative. However, eight also said they learnt nothing, and did not want to attend such programmes in future. How many of those who attended training showed greater interest in the functioning of the panchayat? Fourteen of them had not attended any meeting so far. Five did not know how many times they had attended. Two SC women said they felt socially distanced. On their views about the panchayat's role, 10 had no clue, while 16 prioritised drinking water. The 84 per cent who did not participate in panchayat activities, did so either because of lack of interest or lack of political 31

36 power - it was not. clear. Tt was expected that those who had been trained would take on some responsibilities in the functioning of the panchayat; but 14 did not have any such responsibilities, while seven said they took some interest in developmental work. About the powers and role of panchayats on the issue of law and order, and to decide judicial cases or dispense justice, many did not know much. The training had not made them more confident or close to the bureaucracy. Sixteen said no woman interacted with the officials; only six had some interaction with them. Despite the training, the women had no idea about the panchayat structures and their interrelationship. None of them knew anything about the gram sabha or whether the gram sabha could influence the gram panchayats. Similar was the case between the panchayat samiti and the gram panchayats. Regarding thefinancialstructures within the panchayats, 16 women said the resources came from the government. In the impact study carried out by PRIA of its Joint Action Programme on Panchayati Raj,findingssuggest that intervention measures like short training courses and learning material are very effective in creating motivation and awareness. From UP and MP, 483 male gram panchayat members (314 intervened and 169 non-intervened) and 264 female members (172 intervened and 92 non-intervened) were interviewed to assess their awareness about the PR Act. It was found that the relative change in awareness level of women after receiving training was 72% as against 33% in the case of males. This showed that women learnt better and in a short period. The community members see women as more sensitive to their problems and more likely to encourage discussions for conflict resolutions in the community in contrast to male leaders. It has been found that gram sabha and gram panchayat meetings in panchayats headed by women are convened regularly. In such meetings, the participation of marginalised sections is higher. The focus on social issues in such meetings is relatively higher. Women members have gradually begun to assert themselves. MARG evaluated the TOT training programme conducted by PRIA in Haryana. In Karnal, where thefield work for this study was done, PRIA had conducted one such course in June Many of the persons trained by PRIA are young women health workers from the villages, as they were identified by a local organisation carrying out programmes on health, called Arpana Trust. Through interaction, the MARG team learnt that the trained girls and the panch of the village Garhi Khajur were not clear on the term of gram panchayats. The trained girls had been provided material on Panchayati Raj, but did not remember much of what they had learnt. 32

37 As a post training exercise, UMA tried to analyse the impact of its training by discussing the changes in the participation of women with secretaries and women members infiveof their eight project areas. The women themselves felt more confident and said they had started participating in the meetings and interacting with the government officials. Some others attempted to generate resources for the panchayats, and undertake repair of school buildings and construction of toilets for women. Some others managed to get ration cards, loans sanctioned and electricity. UMA concludes that training had strengthened the position of women and equipped them with information. This had enabled them to perform political roles as well as any other role being played by them. Institute of Social Studies has just conducted an evaluation of the training carried out by UNICEF in Bhopal. The results are expected soon. ' 1 O

38 Conclusion As is evident, despite the amendment and the entry of about one million women to positions of power, a lot still needs to be done to facilitate women to play their political roles effectively. There clearly remains a large gap between women's needs and the support being provided to them. Till now PRIs have functioned as state funded delivery mechanisms of the state government, controlled by the bureaucracy. The Amendment has given them the status of local self government institutions, bringing with it the responsibilities of mobilising resources, planning and implementation of development activities. However, as can be seen from the so-called "training" provided by the government structures, it is evident that not much thinking has gone into this aspect. The approach to the training provided by the government is commensurate with the attitude, that panchayats are not decision-making bodies, but implementing agencies for all developmental and welfare activities. The training is woefully inadequate, unimaginative and probably only fulfil a formality. Looking at the course content of the training, at best it can be called an awareness generation activity; at worst, one wonders how anyone could take in and retain all that in 5 days time. This is the project approach, which allows the training to be conducted for a specific period of time at one go, without any scope for follow up and continuity. Unfortunately, most of the training programmes being conducted by the government departments and various nongovernmental agencies fall under this category. PRIs have to see themselves as self-governance institutions; and develop an understanding of their roles and responsibilities, their powers. They must feel confident in exercising these powers and taking leadership in developmental activities. To function effectively the organisational structure of PRIs, its rules and regulations must be clear. The functionaries have to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to plan for the 29 activities listed in the 11 th Schedule, that the panchayats are supposed to take up. The skills required for implementation should be acquired. And most importantly, the negative influences of bureaucracy, patriarchy has to be strongly resisted. Only technical or information based training cannot help. The Distance Education method being tried by IGNOU will probably work in a highly literate and empowered society, but not here, and not for women and the marginalised sections of the society. For them, to participate in any learning activity, time and space have to be created. Self-learning presupposes an enabling atmosphere. To those totally

39 illiterate, printed matter means nothing. Again, mere translation of illustrated material will not be of any use. If neo-literate people have to identify with any communication material, the visuals have to be such that they can identify with. It is, perhaps, not quite inappropriate at this stage, to bring in the experience of two large government programmes for the empowerment of women - The Women's Development Programme (WDP) of the Government of Rajasthan, started in 1984 and the Mahila Samakhya begun a few years later. The WDP report states that "conceptually development was understood as internalised growth and, therefore, was not a matter of handing down of schemes. This growth demanded as its pre-condition, a climate of hope and confidence, generating self respect and group effort". Very clearly, there is a parallel between women's development and empowerment and those of the PRIs. More than 10 years ago, when the 73 rd Amendment was nowhere in sight, the WDP training content looked at the role of Panchayats and women and development. Capturing political power through the Panchayats was part of the Mahila Samakhya strategy as well. In Karnataka, in the 1993 gram panchayat elections, about 300 sangha women contested and won the elections. In Gujarat, Mahila Samakhya facilitated women's participation in the panchayats by providing information, organising workshops and public events, providing guidance and support to women who were standing for elections, providing training and support to elected women. Of the 295 women who stood for elections, 284 were elected. These women representatives with their strong sangha experience are articulate and strong people's representatives. These highly successful strategies and processes for women's empowerment lead to the fact that there is a proven set of methodologies that could be adopted for training of the elected women representatives. The processes of these strategies are empowering in themselves. Women are provided the forum to critically examine their lives and encouraged to articulate their ideas. Larger issues are linked through group discussions and analyses to the realities of women's lives. This can also be seen from the examples of smaller NGO projects of SUTRA and ASAG where the decision to move into the area of political participation was natural as soon as an opportunity arose. However, the training of elected women representatives does differ to some extent from training for women's empowerment per se. The elected women representatives are a far less homogenous group, in terms of caste, class, literacy skills. The other difference is that while both begin from situations of powerlessness, the elected women are suddenly placed in positions of power. (It is a different matter that they may not be able or "permitted" to articulate their demands or share in decision making). Therefore, their training has to be extremely functional as well, equipping them with the knowledge and skills 35

40 necessary to perform their duties as Panchayat members. This is where the roles of support organisations become critical, who can provide the necessary conceptual inputs, linking up with other initiatives related to the subject. This leads us to conclude that training should be located in the larger context of women's empowerment, with questions of gender, class and caste disparities along with learning about procedures and finances, but not limited to it. Training limited only to the immediate, practical needs may be seen as an attempt to reinforce patriarchal norms, which insist that the system is "given" and questioning of the system is to be avoided. Training should be conducted following a process approach. A process approach views training as a continuous one, and provides scope for follow-up or reinforcement or reorientation of important issues discussed in the training. In this approach, participants are selected such that potential trainers like school teachers, social workers, educated youth, mahila mandai members, NGO staff, and even school children are included. This is useful for women with either no literacy or low levels of literacy, lack of experience and access to resources, and a historical denial of power. Even in Kerala, where literacy levels are high, empowerment remains low. However, the impact of a well designed training will be greater than in other areas, as reading material is an additional input that can be provided. Training content should take into account larger national issues as well, such as economic reform and market economies which will definitely have an impact in some form on the working of the local bodies. mies which will definitely have an impact in some form on the working of the local bodies. Women find it easier to attend and participate effectively in all-women camps. But, in the long run, bringing women and men together should be attempted. Non-elected women should be involved as well, not only as potential members but also to create support and accountability mechanisms, mahila mandais, for example. Campaigns must be launched at the village level, to create an environment for Panchayati Raj self-governance. Educational material prepared by various organisations like UNICEF, Mahila Samakhya, and other NGOs should be widely distributed. A chapter on Panchayati Raj should be included in the school curriculum, so that not only are the future PRI members educated about this, but learning takes place from the children to the parents as well. There has to be a constantflowof information to the panchayat members. This could be through establishing resource centres, with the 36

41 local community based organisations collecting and disseminating information. Interactions with women representatives should be regular, in the form of informal discussions, workshops, observations of the panchayat proceedings, interaction with the village community and so forth. Training programmes should eventually lead to the engendering of development at the local level. Women should be able to articulate their concerns and development choices. An easy way out is to state that since the NGO sector is doing a better and more holistic training, providing support to women panchayat members should be left to the NGOs. But, this support should be in form of a partnership. The government machinery has a huge infrastructure at its disposal, withfieldofficers and communication infrastructure. The technical input should be provided by voluntary agencies and programmes such as Mahila Samakhya. In the process, the government too will be sensitized. 37

42 Glossary adhyakshya (chairperson) "adhyaksha-pati" (chairperson-husband) Ahmedabad Study Action Group (ASAG) BDOs Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) DRDA Extension Training centre (ETC) Gram Sabha (village committee) Gender Planning Training Project between the Government of India Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Institute of Management in Government (IMG) Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST) Integrated Child Development Schemes (ICDS), IRDP JRY Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) Kishori Panchayats (adolescent girls panchayats), Lai Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration MLAs MLCs MPs Multiple Action and Research group (MARG) National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad (NIRD) Network of Collaborating Regional Support Organisations (NCRSOs) Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) OBCs(Other Backward Communities) Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) Panchayat Resource Centres (PRCs) Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE) Public Distribution System (PDS) Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) "sarpanch-pati" (sarpanch-husband) Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) Scheduled Castes (SO Scheduled Tribes (ST) State Institutes of Rural Development (SIRD) Training of Trainers programmes (TOT) upadhyakshya (vice-chairperson) Utsahi Mahila Abhyudaya (UMA) Western India Forum for Panchayati Raj (WIFPR) Women's Development Programme (WDP) Working Group for Women's Issues - Gujarat (WGWI-G) Young Women's Christian Association of India (YWCA) Zilla Parishad (ZP) 38

43 Bibliography 1. Women Panches in Position. A Study of Panchayati Raj in Haryana. Susheela Kaushik, Participation and Governance. Volume 4, No. 11, Bulletin of Society for Participatory Research in Asia, November Strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions in India. A Seminar Report of Society for Participatory Research in Asia and Network of Collaborating Regional Support Organisations. August Annual Report Government of India. Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment. 5. Joint Effort on Strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions in Gujarat: A Report. UNNATI Organisation for Development Education Gram Panchayats in Gujarat. A Participatory Research Study of 79 Panchayats in 6 Districts Headed by SC, ST, OBC. UNNATI, SARATHI, UTTHAN, ANANDI, SANGATH, NYPM, GVST, ASAG, CESC, NAVSARJAN, MARAG. August National Seminar on Panchayats. Theme Paper I. Task Force on Panchayati Raj. Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. December Revitalisation of Panchayati Raj in India. Problems and Prospects. Task Force on Panchayati Raj. Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. December Panchayati Raj Information Resource Book. The Foundation for Research in Community Health People's Health in People's Hands. Dr. N.H. Antia and Kavita Bhatia. The Foundation for Research in Community Health Panchayats at Work. What it Means for the Oppressed? George Mathew and Ramesh C. Nayak. ISS Occasional Paper Series Women and Political Empowerment. Proceedings of the Women's Empowerment Day Celebrations April Edited by Bidyut Mohanty. Institute of Social Sciences. 13. Institute of Social Sciences Newsletter. January Annual Report Society for Participatory Research in Asia. 15. Panchayati Raj in Action. Challenges to Women's Role. Susheela Kaushik. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Women and Panchayati Raj. Susheela Kaushik. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Har Anand Publications, Panchayati Raj: Kuchh Vichaar (Panchayati Raj: Some Impressions) Paper by Sanjiv Singh.

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