Dr Priyanka Saurabh
Women leaders are more likely to be influenced by family members after running for election and winning; Most of the work is handled by the male members of the family. Seemingly the women won the election but are being indirectly controlled by male members. The male members handled the matter and answered the questions of the people, while the women continued with their household chores. Despite being leaders, women face many barriers that make them vulnerable to discrimination and abuse, resulting in the denial of equality of status and opportunities in the social, economic, and political spheres. Women constitute almost half of the population of India. Women have been an integral part of the social structure not only because of their importance in sustaining the human race but also because of their significant contribution to socio-economic progress. Despite this, women have been subjected to discrimination due to gender bias in social attitudes and social practices, resulting in the denial of equality of status and opportunities in socioeconomic and political spheres.
In April 1993, India took a historic step towards development with the implementation of the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution, which provided for reservation for weaker sections of the population in Panchayat Raj institutions. Through this amendment, one-third of the seats as members and chairpersons of these institutions are reserved for women. By 1995, the number of women in Panchayats increased rapidly, with the highest representation in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh where women filled 38 per cent of seats (Ahmed et al., 2008). Of the 3 million representatives, 1.3 million are women who are now actively participating in Panchayats (Bhatnagar, 2019). Currently, 20 states in India have made provisions in their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts and increased the reservation for women to 50 per cent. Additionally, states such as Odisha have made it mandatory that if the chairman in a village is a man, the vice-chairman must be a woman (Mohanty, 1995). The provisions of reservation for women have transformed the grassroots democracy and empowered the rural women to exercise their rights and get involved in the village administration. Women’s participation in grassroots politics has been low because of the patriarchal mindset that women belong at home, where their responsibilities are limited to household chores and child-rearing. Women are thus actively discriminated against and since they have limited decision-making powers in the household, it is unrealistic to assume that they have many opportunities to make decisions for the community. With the 73rd Amendment laying the foundation for change, the political landscape has changed and women are becoming more active. Elected women representatives have transformed local governance by strengthening the position of marginalized sections of society and empowering those who have no voice. Furthermore, they inspire other women in society to break gender stereotypes and involve themselves in the decision-making process. Another important role that the elected women representatives play is to bring about rural development. They have been able to overcome various political hurdles and bring about paramount change for the betterment of their communities. Women are known to be effective leaders and bring transparency and efficiency to their daily duties and administration. They understand the needs of their community and work well to bring awareness and solve the issues faced by the community. Therefore, in many cases, women leaders drive rural development faster than their male predecessors, despite dealing with various obstacles such as lobbying hard for additional funds and resources. Furthermore, women are considered to be true agents of social revolution against socially regressive practices such as child marriage, the Pardah system, and the dowry system to create a society free from oppression and discrimination. With the entry of women into the political arena, the face of democracy has changed from a representative democracy to a participatory one. With women taking leadership roles in the villages, she is known to take action against caste-based or gender violence of any kind. From seeing women as recipients of welfare benefits to involving them as successful agents of revolution, the debate on women’s empowerment has progressed. However, despite being leaders, women face many barriers that make them vulnerable to discrimination and abuse.
The establishment of Panchayati Raj Institutions in our country gives a woman an opportunity to prove her worth as a good administrator, decision-maker, or a good leader. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, of 1992 is a milestone in this regard. This gives women a chance to come forward. This experiment is proving to be a big success, especially by giving women an opportunity to step out of their homes and participate in the administrative and political fields. It has to be considered that the inclusion of qualified women in Gram Panchayati at the initial stage of inter-linkage of Panchayati Raj Institutions in rural areas will be an important auxiliary measure in planning for the improvement of social status and empowerment of women. Women are half the population of our country. We must encourage women in such a big democracy of the world. Government, non-governmental organizations, and universities have to play an important role in this field to give proper status to women. This group of women, if provided with representation at the Gram Panchayat level, can rise strongly and handle issues related to the betterment of women, play a major role in the decision-making process and the status of women in the meeting may make suitable recommendations for improvement. This creates opportunities for women to have greater control over the provision of services and the management of the resources they benefit from. A good number of women competing with men in local politics are seen to advance gender agendas toward gender equality.
