INDIA: Women Beat the Odds to Leave a Mark as Village Leaders

When Kusum Lata, 40, decided to run for election in her village, she felt frightened. "I was extremely nervous as everything was new to me," says the mother of four. But the support of her family and friends inspired her.

She has not looked back since becoming a ‘sarpanch' (head of village-level government) of Gairsain village in Chamoli district in the picturesque mountain state of Uttarakhand.
"After winning the election, I felt very good, but at the same time was I tense about entering a new arena," she said. "The villagers have supported me and made me what I am today, but they have a lot of expectations from me."

Beena Sajwan had an entirely different experience running for a political post in her village. "I faced opposition not only from my family but from men in the village," said the 36-year-old, who ran for the same elective post as Lata in Bhilangana in Tehri district in west Uttarakhand.
Sajwan recounts that "some men even suggested that the seat was reserved for men to dissuade me from filing my nomination." But assured of the staunch support of the women in her village, she won the election. Today she is an active and vocal functionary of the ‘Panchayat' (which literally means ‘assembly'), and has emerged as an inspirational figure for other women.
The 1993 amendment to the South Asian state's Constitution, popularly known as the 73rd amendment, was a watershed in the history of modern India, because it bestowed constitutional status upon the institutions of local self-governance, popularly known as "Panchayati Raj Institutions."

The most striking feature of this amendment was the mandated reservation of at least 33 percent seats at the local government level for women. However, mere reservation has not led to effective participation, and the visibility of the elected women representatives remains confined to official records.

Women elected representatives face a number of handicaps such as low levels of literacy, burden of reproductive and productive roles, lack of financial independence and deeply entrenched cultural and religious values that are biased against women, all of which hinder their effective participation in the local government.

Kusum and Beena have tried to beat the odds and become shining examples of women's political empowerment.

Realising that an enabling environment was vital for women elected representatives, Sri Bhuvaneshwari Mahila Ashram (SBMA), a local non-government organisation based in the capital Dehradun, initiated a unique programme for capacity development of women elected representatives by focusing on door-to-door campaigns, training through a cadre of dedicated women peer trainers and establishing networks of women elected representatives.
"The need for building their capacities became paramount to make them aware of their duties, responsibilities and guide them towards actual and active involvement in local governance," said SBMA secretary Gyan Singh Rawat.

"The strategy was to make training interactive to build the functional capacity of elected women representatives by instilling self-confidence, promoting self-esteem, practical learning through real-life action, experience sharing for peer-to-peer learning and exposure to participatory group activities," he said.

To start the programme, SBMA recruited local volunteers to conduct door-to-door campaigns, enrolling female ‘panchayat' members into the project. These women then formed block-level Mahila Panchayat Forums (or women ‘panchayat' leader's forums) through a series of village panchayat and development administration-level meetings and trainings in which they discussed issues important to them as well as their role in helping to govern the community.
"In these meetings, women drafted a constitution to formalise their group and created an action plan for the Mahila Panchayat Forum," said Shashi Bhushan Uniyal, SBMA coordinator. The experience so far shows that needs-based training and information dissemination is the most reliable vehicle for promoting gender equality and equitable partnership of all in the decision making process of the community, he added.

Beena Kala, 45, one of the key resource persons along with other women, recruited local volunteers to conduct door-to-door campaigns and enroll female ‘panchayat' members into the project.

"These women then created a cadre of peer trainers who belonged to the same community and were always accessible given the difficult geographical conditions and difficulties faced by women to stay away overnight for trainings," said Kala.

The strategies of empowering women dramatically turned the tide.

In Dyuli village of Tehri District, the Uppradhan (deputy head of ‘panchayat'), who happened to be a man, persuaded members of his village ‘panchayat' to pass a no-confidence motion against the ‘pradhan' (head), Hemlata Pokhriyal. The female official brought this up in one of the Women's Forum meetings, prompting the group's members to go to the village to investigate the situation.

"It was found that there was no basis for the no-confidence motion. The findings were sent to the District Panchayat Raj Officer, who decided in my favour," said a triumphant Pokhriyal.
For men like Prem Singh, 50, a farmer in Bhilangana village, there is a visible change in male outlook since women assumed leadership roles in his community. "I was dubious at first. I thought that women should tend to the family and children. But now I see they raise relevant issues like health and education, which are key issues for the well-being of the community," he said.

The programme is rapidly gathering momentum and has reached a stage where it has achieved certain indicators such as a demonstrably increased level of self-confidence among the women as well as a greater level of activity and participation in the governance of their communities.
"We propose to bring more stakeholders into the process by increasing the networking and interaction of the forums with local government officials, NGOs, the media and the community," said Shashi, believing this will promote a "sense of ownership of the Forum."

"In addition," she said, "the women are being encouraged to recruit other women who have demonstrated an interest in participating in the forum even if they do not presently serve in the ‘panchayat' as elected members, as this will help broaden the pool of active women and future leaders."

Lata believes the programme has given women like her the tools they need to actively participate in governance, and leave their own distinct mark.

"Previously ‘panchayati raj' institutions focused mainly on issues of construction of roads, water tanks, canals and buildings. But today women leaders like me have focused more on issues of social justice such as woman and child development," says Lata.