A just and progressive society is identified by participation of all categories of people who live in the society. Since women constitute half of the population, their participation in the process of development is a must. The 73rd Amendment brought in both perceptual as well as physical change in women representation at Panchayati Raj level. It changed the perception that women have limited capacity for public office. At physical level women now had access to power, control over resources, and contact with officials which helped them to affirm their identity. Reservation of 1/3rd positions of Sarpanchas in Panchayats for women, provided an access to the corridors of power and to shoulder responsibilities.
But the real question is ‘have the women after taking positions of Sarpanchas worked towards the uplift of women from their areas?’ Has it led to more gendered analysis of the issues confronting the local government? More importantly has it led to the elected women taking up issues affecting women in the villages? In fact the purpose of 73rd amendment was not merely to bring more women at the helm of power but also to ensure that they represent their gender and consequently tackle issues affecting women. It was expected that they would initiate, formulate and implement policies and programmes which would benefit women. They would change the focus of rural administration towards important facets of life like health, nutrition, children’s welfare, family care, drinking water, girl education, movement against alcoholism and domestic violence etc. They would motivate women from their village to actively participate in Gram Sabhas, and take initiative to start Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs). Women oriented schemes would be introduced and all this would enhance the status of women in the village. The elected women would act as an intermediary between the government and the women in rural areas. Their accessibility to other women in the village, their contacts at the grassroots, and their awareness of the needs and interests of women would improve the condition of women.
Various studies conducted to understand role of women sarpanchas post 73rd Amendment reflected mixed results. While some studies concluded that women were used only as proxies, others reflected that women were able to make a difference. Success stories such as, one woman sarpanch removing a wine shop from her area, another sarpanch stopping the employers from hiring labour for less than the minimum wages from outside their village thereby depriving the women of their work and wages, another woman sarpanch ensuring that each and every girl child attended the school in her village etc. are noteworthy.
A study was conducted in Goa by the author, to gauge the performance of women representatives towards empowerment of women. Fifteen women sarpanchas were interviewed to know what work they had carried out towards empowerment of women.
Also hundred women voters were interviewed to know their perception of their woman sarpanch and the work they had undertaken. It was observed that presence of women leaders at Gram Sabha meetings did motivate couple of women from village to attend Gram Sabhas, but these women were not vocal and occupied back seats. Women from villages knew that they were led by a woman sarpanch, they knew her either by her name or as ‘XYZ’s wife’. This political awareness, which is one of the motivators for political participation, was appreciable. However it is also true that since the size of villages in Goa is small, people are likely to know each other. So inference could not be drawn that the sarpanch is popular in village or that she visited her locality often.
Women sarpanchas did take up infrastructure issues such as availability of public transport, water facilities, and drainage system, and spoke about them in Gram Sabha meetings. They visited panchayat office once or twice a week. They were regular for the meetings, both of panchayat as well as Gram Sabhas. They also organised various activities for women in the village like health camps, courses in tailoring, cooking, soft toy making, flower making, candle making, sanitation programmes, blood donation camps, free eye check up, breast cancer awareness programme, etc. Women from the villages were motivated to come forward and take benefit of these programmes and at some panchayats they were given participation certificates as well as some stipend. However, some women sarpanchas lamented that women were not keen on attending these programmes and as a result they had to shelve some of these courses.
One very striking feature that came out was that women sarpanchas were very enthusiastic about starting or supporting WSHGs in the villages. A good symbiosis between panchayat and WSHGs can go a long way in empowering women at grassroots. However, there were no cases of women discussing about alcoholism, probably this could be because many panchayat representatives in Goa themselves are directly or indirectly depended on alcohol industry for their living.
There is no record of any ‘only women Gram Sabha’ held in Goa. Though there is women empowerment happening at Panchayat level, there is a need of much more efforts and commitment from these promising women leaders for actual benefits to trickle down to the women at grassroots. With the kind of congenial atmosphere that exists in Goa, its progressive culture and satisfactory education levels, one expects that women sarpanchas will understand their role better, and work more towards uplift and empowerment of women at grassroots in the years to come.
(Dr Seema P. Salgaonkar, Associate Professor in Political Science, Government College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Khandola, Marcela – Goa)
