Universal Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research ISSN: Vol.1, Issue-1, July-September,

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1 Participation of Women at Grass-Root Level Institutions Prof. D. Venkateswara Rao, Professor in Public Administration, PG Centre, Sri Y.N.College, Narsapur, AP Mr. Allu Radha Krishna, Ph.D. Scholar, Dept. of Public Admin., PG Centre, Sri Y.N.College, Narsapur Abstract: The 73rd Constitution Amendment Act in India focused on political structures and processes of rural India and vulnerable populations. Earlier, participation of women in Panchayati Raj Institutions was questioned in terms of the substance and effectiveness of representation. There are several challenges still that the women are facing in the local governance system. Rural women were particularly vulnerable as a group because of strong traditional values maintained in rural areas, patriarchal families, lack of women's education and access to information, poor exposure to the "outside" world and lack of power. Key words: Rural, women, vulnerable, democracy Introduction A democratic polity involves the decentralization or de-concentration of power in a way that the affairs of the local people are managed by means of their positive participation. It implies the extension of democracy at the grass-root level in view of the fact that the people s participation signifies the constitution of a democratic government not merely at the top but also at the foundation level of the political system. Thus, democratic decentralization or Panchayati Raj aims at making democracy real by bringing the million into the functioning of their representative government at the lowest level. 1 In any society the women constitute nearly half of the population but their involvement in politics is insignificant when compared to men. Many psychological, social and physical factors hold women back from active political involvement. When we see the state and national level politics women are not active in their participation and they backward. A democratic country cannot progress if energies of its half population are concerned in the kitchen only. After attaining independence Indian constitution ensured gender equality through various provisions and regulations. It was presumed that these rights would automatically get translated into political development of the women in the country. The issue of women s participation in politics cannot be viewed in isolation from the general position of women in a society but despite their vast strength, women occupy a marginalized position in the political system. 2 There can be no true democracy or no true people s participation in governance and development without equal participation of women in all spheres of life and at different levels of decision-making in a country. Political status of women implies a degree of equality and freedom enjoyed by women in sharing of power and importance given by the society to the role of women in the political system. The equality and active political participation are inseparable. 43

2 Participation of women in political arena is integral to the advancement of women. Their political participation means not only using the right to vote, but also power-sharing, co-decision-making, and co-policy-making at all levels of governance of the State. Women s equal status in every sphere is inextricably linked to country s progress and development. 3 Women in Panchayat Raj Institutions: Panchayati Raj is not a new phenomenon in the country. Its illustration in history goes back to more than a 1000 years. It has its roots in Ancient Indian Institutions when the villages were little republics governed by their Panchayats. During this period, it was not that women could not join politics, but the fact was that they did not take interest in it due to a patriarchal set up. The British through their ruthless method of revenue collection and the introduction of Zamindari land tenure system almost destroyed these ancient republics and as well the involvement of women in politics. The British were of the view that Vote of Women would be premature in the Indian Society and continued to enforce purdah and prohibition against women s education. 4 After Independence, despite having a constitution, which embodies lofty, ideals like equity and equality, social justice, could not be achieved so far. Even when India had a woman Prime Minister for quite a number of years, the situation of women at large did not change for the better. Women s participation in politics remained quite insignificant in India even after 68 years of self-rule. From October 2nd 1959 when the first Panchayati Raj was inaugurated, on April 24, 1993 after the 73rd Amendment Act came into force it has been an uncertain and undulating journey for Panchayats. In establishing Panchayats most state government apprehend the provision of co-option of two women in case no women could come through direct elections. Prevalent practice during 1960 s and 1970 s was the co-option of two women at best for each Panchayat Raj body, as women could not come through direct elections, even though the requirement of co-option of women was not followed uniformly for all Panchayat Raj bodies and in every state, for instance Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, did not follow the scheme. Co-option of few women was the only available option for women to participate and it was a travesty for it could not produce the desired and verify no results at all. The co-option method, of course provided one convenient scope for the dominant caste/class leaders to install their family women such as wife; mother as their yoke and the very purpose of the policy was led to fall flat. 5 It took 43 years to realize and recognize that women are yet another disadvantaged group and they also require a solution to their discrimination. Women have received a preferential consideration and that too only in the sphere of political representation and that again in local governments. The structure and process of Panchayats are equally pivotal as they bring to bear and entitle role member therein to perform. If the overall scenario of Panchayats was largely despairing, another disquieting aspect is that almost 44

3 one half of rural population was virtually kept out of Panchayat arena. In the traditional Caste Panchayats, Village Panchayats and in the British Scheme of local governments women remained entirely excluded. 6 Women Reservations A boon to empowerment: Women are changing the governance in India. They are being elected to local councils in an unprecedented numbers as a result of amendments to the constitution that mandate the reservation of seats for women in local governments. In India, we call this new system the Panchayati Raj Institution System (PRI). The women whom PRI has brought into politics are now governing, be it in one village, or a larger area such as 100 villages or a district. This process of restructuring the national political and administrative system started from January The sheer number of women that PRI has brought into the political system has made a difference. The percentages of women at various levels of political activity have shifted dramatically as a result of the constitutional change, from 4-5% before to 25-50% after. But the difference is also qualitative, because these women are bringing their experience in the governance of civic society. In this way they are making the state sensitive to the issues of poverty, inequality and gender injustice. Palanithurai in a case study New Panchayati Raj System at Work: An Evaluation of Tamil Nadu reported that they were not informed or invited to the meetings in male headed Gram Panchayat. Women members have always projected the issues relating to women. 7 It is common that the husbands of the members used to accompany them (women) when they come to attend the meetings. The reservations provided by the Government had forced them to contest elections; provision of reservation has not led them to participate in decision-making in local bodies. In another study it is observed that majority of women reported that they were not informed or invited to the meetings of Gram Sabha. While other were hesitant in participating in meetings in the presence of a large number of elder members. 8 However, they have to forego their day s wages or household duties just to identify beneficiaries as to convey what the gram Panchayat would do in future. In this context, it important to focus our decision on (i) the obstacles for women in Panchayat and role performance in Panchayat. (ii) the factors which responsible for prevent women members from performing their roles. (iii) the nature and extent of participation and role performance in decision- making women. The Political Status of Women: The issues of status of women in the society has been a matter of intense debate all over the world. This is equally true of India, an essentially patriarchal society, where equality of men and women is constitutionally guaranteed. Despite this, there remains a great deal to be done to secure women s equal status in the Indian society. The concept that woman is as much as man and thus entitled to the same freedom, rights and responsibilities is yet to find universal acceptance in the spire of the unequivocal assertion that women have complete and 45

4 equal rights with men in every respect under international law of human rights. The National Perspective Plan for Women created a number of administrative agencies for implementing programmes for women s development. After independence till date, women in India have never held more than 10% of the seats in the Lok Sabha. This 10% comes out of nearly 50 per cent of the women population. In the first fourteen parliamentary elections the percentage of women MPs has remained a single digit in Lok Sabha. In the case of women s average representation in them is just four per cent. This is the picture of representation of women parliamentarians has changed in 15 th & 16 th Lok Sabha Elections, because the number reached from single digit to double digits. 9 Women Representation A sign for development: Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have today the basic commitment towards rural development. Panchayati Raj, as a system of governance, has had its ebbs and flows in the Indian polity ever since Indian attained independence. Since 1950 s various committees headed by Balwant Rai Mehta, Ashok Mehta, V.P. Naik, P.B. Patil, G.V.R. Rao, L.N. Singhvi etc., overhauled these institutions which gave necessary impetus to the 73 rd Constitutional Amendment Act. The Panchayati Raj, an enigmatic and elusive concept, has undergone topsy-turvy changes in its role, shape and function after the 73 rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 which came into effect from April 24, With the passage of the 73 rd Amendment, India is at a crucial juncture in the evolution of PRIs the Indian brand of rural local self-government. It has envisioned people s participation in the process of planning, decision-making, implementation and delivery system. Gender equality and gender equity are emerging as major challenges in the global development debate. Social scientists and development activists are giving increasing emphasis to these fields in their agenda for research and development. 10 As Noble Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has pointed out, Democracy is not only the goal of development, it is the primary means of development. 11 Women s participation in political processes is important for strengthening democracy and for their struggle against marginalisation, trivialisation and oppression. Emergence of women as a strong group would change the prevailing political practices, the nature and content of debates in the legislature and women s issues can be taken care of from the feminist perspective both in policy formulation and implementation. While women have made considerable progress in some areas such as education and employment, they continue to be subjected to the influence of the existing patriarchical attitudes in Indian society. The dilemma for Indian women today is that despite the liberal provisions of the Constitution and various laws, serious inequalities remain. 12 In fact, right from the days of the freedom struggle the Indian women have been consistently encouraged to 46

5 take part in active politics. But due to the vitiated political milieu, resulting from increasing politicization and criminalisation of politics, the level of political participation of women has been adversely affected despite the fact that there has been a marked increase in the level of literacy and political awareness among women. Women still faces enormous pressure to conform to social mores conforming to traditional roles within families poses as much a of a banner to business women in Inida as the still-too-thick glass ceiling at companies. 13 This kind of constitutional provision (73rd Amendment) has created a scope for accomplishing development with social justice, which is the mandate of the new Panchayati Raj system. There can be no real progress if women of a country are not made partners in this process of development. Mahatma Gandhi also believed that full and balanced development of the nation and establishment of a just society is possible only when women participate actively and fully in the political deliberations of the nation. The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee on Panchayati Raj System emphasised that rural women should not become mere beneficiaries of development but should be made equal partners in its affairs as contributors. 14 Role of Women in Grass-root Governance: Now, some general observations can be made regarding the role of women in grass-root level governance. It has come to the notice that the percentage of women at various levels of political activities has increased formally. The general trend is that those in politics are women belonging to the middle age-group between It is also revealed that women take up political career as an extension of their domestic role. While women have been active in mass movements, their presence is not felt in decision-making. The influence of the husbands and close relatives is quite palpable. This tendency is due to lack of confidence. This dependency is a stumping block in their empowerment. Another positive impact of the grass-root level experiment is the increase in the female literacy rate. They believe in a sustainable development and their emphasis is on natural resources management. Women representatives working at the grass-root level also believe that communal harmony is an important element of development and they strive to achieve this objective. Another promising fact is that they do not indulge in corrupt practices. 15 Under this system, in many parts of the country, the elected women have exhibited their leadership in solving some of the local problems and creating facilities for betterment of the rural society. Women are considered an extremely pivotal point in the process of change in the rural areas. Women s participation in panchayats provided opportunities to women to participate in the decision-making process. Women s participation proved to be the most effective instrument in bringing about a change in their way of life in terms of economic well-being and adoption of new technology. 16 Women s entry into PRIs, both as members as well as heads of Panchayats, has pushed them into the policy-making and policy-implementation process in a very big way. Whether their 47

6 husbands, fathers, brothers or other relatives compelled them to take up these roles, or whether they assumed these roles as dummy incumbents, one thing is certain: they crossed the rigid boundaries drawn through their households by the same male relatives. Barriers for Women Participation: Despite reservation for women, effective participation in PRIs have failed due to misuse and manipulation by the local power-brokers. Ignorance of women about their rights and procedures and about their potential and responsibilities has kept them far behind men in the local bodies. It is very much doubtful that mere increase in the number of reserved seats for women in local bodies is likely to increase the participation of women. Unless structural changes are brought about, a sincere effort is made to educate women and the power structures existing in rural areas are neutralized, nothing much can be achieved. Women representatives often run into barriers (especially of family and society) and are hindered from participating effectively. They feel inhibited to speak especially when they are in large male dominated assemblies. Those who muster up enough courage and strength to speak receive very little respect or attention. It has been observed that women are invited only to complete the quorum. Further, the officials also pay heed to the needs of upper class women in preference to the needs of peasant women. The rights of women thus get systematically nullified by the local bureaucracy. 17 It is clear that mere reservation is not enough because a woman representative lacks qualitative participation at all levels due to both internal and external factors. Woman s empowerment is not something which can be handed over to women only. This is a process which involves sincerity, earnestness and capacity and capability on the part of both men and women. It is a challenging task in village India as even today she cannot take any independent decision. She feels subordinate to her husband and even to her son. Initiative taken by the Government for Women Empowerment: In keeping with its past and present policy objectives, the government has launched a number of programmes focused on empowerment of rural women. In 1998, a scheme was started that aimed at empowering women in rural areas. It was called Swashakti the Rural Women Development and Empowerment Project. In 2001, the government launched Swayamsiddha the Integrated Women Empowerment Scheme that aims at holistic empowerment of women through awareness generation. In 2002, Swadhar was launched to make rural women economically strong. Under the Ninth Plan ( ), Empowerment of Women became one of the nine primary objectives of development. India has heralded the New Millennium by pronouncing the year 2001 as Women s Empowerment Year. Under the provisions of The Women (Empowerment for Equal Participation) Bill 2005, it is stated that reservation for women in local bodies like village panchayats, municipalities etc. is not enough. They should have equal participation in the governance of the nation legislative, executive and 48

7 judiciary on the basis of their numerical strnegth. One of the admirable steps of the government is that now girls are entitled to equal property rights along with their brothers. Recently, with the efforts of the Ministry of Women and Child development, the Domestic Violence Act, 2006 has been passed and come into force from October 26, The Act covers abuse or threat of abuse, whether physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic and it also covers both houses and work places. This Domestic Violence Act will certainly help the rural women representatives who suffer from physical or psychological threats/ violence from male members of PRIs. 18 In the end, it can be said that 33 per cent reservation for women in PRIs is a good step but it should be supplemented with effective measures that ensure the qualitative aspect of women s participation. As the India Panchayati Raj Report 2001 reveals: Women s expectations and hopes for a greener, cleaner, responsive and representative politics have gone up. They will send out more clearly and energetically the message of women s empowerment and social development. For that reservation needs to be accompanied by considerable amount of affirmative action programme. To influence and lead effectively, women representatives must develop and use legitimate power (authority). To empower is giving women the capacity to influence the decision-making process by integrating them into our political system. Hence empowerment of rural women can be made possible not only through reservations but it also requires removal of the causes of disempowerment whether social, political or psychological. Suggestions for enhancing Women Participation: 1. It is evident that men s attitude towards women s entry into politics has begun to change from that of total rejection to limited encouragement and in some cases even to active encouragement. This trend needs to be strengthened through orientation courses and training programmes for officials and elected representatives, both men and women. 2. Another important effort required for real empowerment of rural women is to bring about an attitudinal change in both men and women. To inculcate this they should be imparted education for bringing about social and political awareness among both. 3. Studies on women in politics have emphasized that contact with outside world makes women more alert and also active in the political process. There could be two ways of doing it. Firstly, interaction between enlightened rural women and illiterate elected one s should be encouraged. Secondly, these women could be taken out to the urban areas and their interaction with educated urban elected women representatives be arranged. 49

8 4. The women should also be encouraged to organize themselves. The Mahila Mandals in the village can be effectively used as instruments to mobilize them for this purpose. 5. Incentives play a vital role in ensuring the participation of elected representatives in decision-making. It will certainly encourage other women representatives and their success stories and good practices will get replicated. 6. The media both print as well as electronic can play an important role in creating awareness in the rural society. It can act as an agent of political socialization for inculcating the values of gender equality and gender justice. Conclusion: The 73rd Constitution Amendment Act in India focused on political structures and processes of rural India and vulnerable populations. Earlier, participation of women in Panchayati Raj Institutions was questioned in terms of the substance and effectiveness of representation. Local committees insufficiently represented women. Women were rarely heads of Panchayats and needed the lower positions to advance within the system. Thus, the act has been passed to assure women's representation in Indian Panchayati Raj System. However, women members of Panchayats needed to be educated and informed about politics: their rights, the nature of Indian democracy, policies and programmes for women and the underprivileged and voting rights. Women's centres and other organisations can serve as catalysts to mobilise women and help solve political dilemmas. There are several challenges still that the women are facing in the local governance system. Rural women were particularly vulnerable as a group because of strong traditional values maintained in rural areas, patriarchal families, lack of women's education and access to information, poor exposure to the "outside" world and lack of power. A combination of constitutional provisions, government policies, social action and self-awareness among rural women will eventually result in Indian women becoming part of the mainstream political power sharing and decision-making. References: 1. J.C. Johari (2001), Indian Government and Politics, Jalandhar: Vishal, p Rashmi Arun - Role of Women in Panchayati Raj, The Administrator, , Venkata Ravi R. and Sunder Raj D., Grass Roots Governance: Women Empowerment through Panchayati Raj Institutions as in M.R. Birju (Ed.), Decentralisation: An Indian Experience, National Publishing House, Jaipur, , Bhagat N - Women in Grass root Democracy. New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House, Nanda BR - Indian Women from Purdah to Modernity, New Delhi: Mittal Publishers,

9 6. Nagendra S - Role of Women in Panchayat Raj, Jaipur: ABD Publishers, Palanithurai G - Empowering People for Prosperity: A Study in New Panchayati Raj System. New Delhi: Kanishka Publishers, Pai S - Social Capital Panchayat and Grass root democracy : Politics of Dalit Assertion in Uttar Pradesh. Economic and Political Weekly, 35(8): 649, Gopal Sharma The Role of NGOs in Women Development article published in Journal of Politics, Vol.44(3), September, S.S. Sree Kumar - Representation of Women in Legislature: A Sociological Perspective in the Indian Context, in Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. LXVII, No. 3, 2006, Meerut: Indian Political Science Association, p at.htm Venkateswara Rao, D Globalization Effects on Women, article published in Udbhav Journal, Vol.1 & 2, November, Ashok Kumar Jha et al. (eds.), Women In Panchayati Raj Institutions, New Delhi: Anmol, pp. 198,199, S.S. Sree Kumar, Representation of Women in Legislature: A Sociological Perspective in the Indian Context, in Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. LXVII, No. 3, Meerut: Indian Political Science Association, p. 621., A. Rajeshwari - PRIs and Women, in G. Palanithurai (ed.) (1996), Empowering People Issues and Solutions, New Delhi: Kanishka, p Ashok Kumar Jha et al. (eds.), Women In Panchayati Raj Institutions, Delhi: Anmol, pp. 198,201, Mainstream, Vol XLVII No 12, March 7,