Women’s Political Empowerment Through Panchayati Raj Institution: A Study of Rural India

Abstract

A recent but continuing experiment of the inclusive form of grassroots democracy, women political empowerment in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in rural India is a radical change. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 was a historic move based on the Gandhian philosophy of decentralization, which required that one-third reservation of women become mandatory in PRIs, eventually increased to 50 percent in some states. Such intervention by the constitution transformed the political visibility of women to an unprecedented extent, with women representatives being represented by more than 1.45 million elected women representatives, a figure of almost 46 percent of the entire members of PRI in the country. The paper notes that women have transcended numerical inclusion and have been able to bring better outcomes in governance by paying more attention to social welfare sectors, including health, education, sanitation, nutrition, and drinking water. Panchayats headed by women have been found to have better use of funds, less corruption and have also been associated with bringing social change in the society through breaking traditions that are practiced such as child marriage and gender discrimination. The unequal character of empowerment is, however, also highlighted in the abstract. Deep-rooted problems including proxy politics (Pradhan Pati) syndrome, lack of educational and administrative capacity, socio-cultural and patriarchal values, poverty, and political fear still prevent the autonomy of choices taken by women. These obstacles notwithstanding, PRIs continue to be an important training field of leadership, which over time allow women to become more confident, politically conscious and legit in the eyes of the populace. The paper contends that, as much as constitutional reservation has worked in securing descriptive representation, creating capacity-building, and institutional support, and socio-cultural change are necessary in enabling full capitalization of the democratic potential of women-led local governance in rural India.