ELECTED WOMEN REPRESENTATIVES IN
LOCAL SELF GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
India has got thousands of years of experience in
informal Panchayat Raj system all over the country. It has roots in ancient
Indian history where it was known as little republics. During this period women
were not allowed to participate in the activities of Village Panchayats due to
patriarchal system. In the traditional Caste Panchayats, Village Panchayats and
in the British scheme of local governments women remained entirely excluded (Nagendra,
2004). Women’s participation in politics in India remains quite insignificant
even after 65 years of independence and even we had women Prime Ministers and
Presidents too (ibid). When the first Panchayat Raj system launched in India on
April 24, 1993 when the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act(CAA) came
in to force the women reservation was 33% which laid a strong foundation for
their participation in decision making at the local level. India has also
ratified various international conventions and human rights instruments
committed to secure equal rights of women (Singh, 2012). The presence of more
than one million elected women representatives in the local government
institutions in rural India has rightly been termed as a ‘silent revolution’
with in the process of decentralization (Bill, 2009). Out of the 28.18 lakh
Elected Representatives, around 36.87% are estimated to be women . (Govt. of India, 2011).
It was assumed that the participation of women can be
enhanced in the decision making process for inclusive social development and
equity can be achieved through the increased reservation. The issues of women
and children can be brought forward if the participation of women enhanced. And
Kerala government took a leap in that area of concern and raised the women
reservation to the local Self Government Institutions to 50%. It is applicable
not only to the post of elected Representatives but also to the posts of
Presidents and Standing Committee Chair Persons (KILA, 2010). In a study of
Village Panchayats in Orissa, found that women entered in to politics due to
the mandatory provision of reservation. (Panda, 1996). In this juncture,
whether the involvement of women in local administration positively helped to
attain gender equity? Is the participation created problem in their social and
family life? How is this process capacitating them to attain life goals? are
the serious concerns.
1.
Backdrop
Being the nodal institute of Kerala State Government in
the field of Capacity Building of Local Self Government Institutions, KILA has
the responsibility of capacitating the Elected Representatives as well as
officials. Before the hike in the women reservation to 50%,
majority of the Elected Representatives especially Women Elected
Representatives (WERs) had strong experience and much knowledge in the field of
local governance through their involvement in political parties or allied
organizations or Kudumbasree. But last
time there were 81.5% WERs were new to this local level decision making
process. So there is an apprehension that the performance gap of the Newly
Elected Representatives is wider than their male counter parts. So the training
need will be much challenging and different. So KILA decided to conduct a
Training Need Analysis (TNA) for the effective implementation of the trainings.
KILA has developed a common induction training module for all the Elected
Representatives concerned and provided three days training within completion of
three months of their tenure as Elected Representatives. It was the result of
TNA that the WERs to be given special attention because many of them are new to
this field and were and to address the issues, challenges and constraints of
the Elected Representatives.
2.
Methodology
This study is a descriptive analysis based, i.e. the
profile of respondents, issues and challenges faced by the women elected
representatives are identified and explained. Almost 50% of the total Women
Elected Representatives were covered in this study and incidental sampling
method is used (participants of a programme/incident is chosen for the study).
KILA conducted induction training to the newly elected representatives, those
whoever participated in the training were distributed questionnaires and collected
primary data, with the objective of sorting out the issues and challenges faced
by the WERs of LSGIs in Kerala. The questionnaire included details for finding
out the profile, issues, challenges and constraints of the Elected
Representatives at work and home. It was developed after a series of
consultation with stake holders and also with the target group. Some
literatures and books were referred as part of the secondary data collection.
Other than this, Focused Group Discussion was conducted with the Women Elected
Representatives. The data collection was completed in three months.
3. Findings
India probably became the first country to
reserve 50% seats for women at local self-government (LSG) level after the
Union cabinet approved a proposal for a constitutional amendment bill for
increasing quota for women in panchayats at all tiers. This means that about 14
lakh women will occupy 2,52,000 panchayat seats in future. The government
believes that this move will facilitate the entry of more women into public
sphere and thereby, lead to their empowerment. The step will also make
panchayats more inclusive institutions working towering better governance. The
data collected from the WERs of LSGIs in Kerala reveals the following
3.1. Composition
As taking into consideration of composition of gender
and age of WERs, 51.7% of total Elected Representatives of LSGIs in Kerala are
women, out of them 0.56% belongs to Scheduled Tribe Category and 5.63% belongs
to Scheduled Caste category. Out of them 603 (50%) are the heads of different
Local Self Government Institutions.
A great majority (40.2%) of the Women Elected
Representatives are belonging to the age group of 31 to 40. 75% Women
Representatives belong to the group 31 to 50. Only 12.9% are belonging to the
age above 60. But in the case of heads of the Local self Government
Institutions, it comes to the age group of 41 to 50 that is 39.4% come under
this group. These figures show that majority of the Women Elected
Representatives are youngsters. Only a 10% are less than the age of 30.
3.2.
Qualification.
Educational status of the Women Elected Representatives
(Table-1) can be explained as about half of the elected representatives have
only secondary education and one thirds have only higher secondary education.
Elected Representatives having PG and professional qualification is very
low. The same trend is observed in the
case of Presidents and Standing Committee Chairman.
3.3.
Maritual status
Marriage seems to be a basic qualification for the women
to enter into political administration. As considering the complexities of
activities LSGIs need a matured group to administer. The lion’s share of WERs
are married. Only 365 (4.1%) ERs are
unmarried which is in a way, a positive knot that shows the involvement of
young women in the field of local governance. Even widow ERs are active in
politics in Kerala because 498 (5.6) belong ERs are widows.
3.4.
Experience
Out of the total 8950, WERs 7290 (81.5%) are new to this
field of decentralized power. This is a new trend in Kerala just because two
reason; the reservation hike from 33% to 50% and some political parties
provided chance to new candidates. Only 3.9% WERs are having more than 10 years
of experience in the as Elected representatives. About 42% WERs have the
history of active participation in Kudumbasree which is a synonym of Women
Neighbour Hood Groups in Kerala. And 15.6% WERs are well experienced Experts in
the field of Decentralised Governance since they have experience as a Working
Group Member.
3.5. Political affiliation
As the peculiarity of Kerala political system, majority
are political believers and members of a party. The same is reflection in the
case of WERs. Of the total, 67.4% WERs are political party members and 21.6%WERs are party followers. At the same
time almost all the WERs except 7% appeared in the election as a candidate due
to either relationship with political party or Kudumba sree/SHG membership.
4.
Major Issues and Challenges
The manor issues and
challenges faced by the WERs in Kerala are discussed in three different levels
viz. Personal role, Role in Family and society. The support, as a beginner,
from family and society is also enlisted here under.
4.1.Challenges as Women Elected Representatives
The Women Elected Representatives have many issues when
they are compared with the Men Elected Representatives. Some of the major issue
and challenges were identified and prioritized as part of the study are (Table-
2);
As it is already mentioned that many of the WERs are new
to this position so they lack experience as Elected Representatives and don’t
know much about the roles and functions of the Elected Representatives. They
have only a limited knowledge in Panchayat Administration and many of them even
haven’t heard about the Kerala Panchayat Raj Acts and Rules which is the basic
document of an Elected Representative. They feel that lack of Efficiency in
Administration is another problem. Kerala is a male dominant state even in
families it can be observed. So the females have generally limited knowledge in
administration. So they are facing difficulty in controlling and managing the
administration power that is entrusted on them. When they become Elected
Representative, they have many roles as Ward Member, Grama Sabha Convener,
Standing Committee Chair Person/ Member etc. So they possess different powers
and responsibilities. Many of the WERs have limited knowledge and skill
required for their roles and fails to do these roles. They have to undertake
long journeys as part of their duty it is a constraint to them.
Dominance of Male Elected Representatives and interfere
of the Political Parties are another major issue to them. Both these categories
are influencing negatively their performance. The dominant nature of males even
has a nickname in the colloquial administration that back seat driving. Also
lack of cooperation from officials makes the WERs to perform their task
effectively. Many beginners have been affected this problem very seriously. Lack
of freedom to take decisions is a crisis among the WERs because decision making
is a major responsibility of them. At the same time the society’s ill feel
about status of women that the females posses only low status which reduce the
capacity of the WERs. Even in the 21st century a few WERs face humiliations
on the basis of caste and religion. Even in Kerala where the Human Development
Status is high and still the Women Elected Representatives face difficulty in
working at odd hours.
4.2.Challenges and Constraints from the Family to Fulfill their Duties
Kerala has a system in the family that the females
mainly take care of the home and the males are the bread winners. So the Female
elected Representatives have only limited time to provide proper care of
children and elderly people in the family. They have dual responsibility that means
they are a family care taker and an Elected Representative simultaneously. The
family members are generally orthodox in nature and make complaints when the
Women Elected Representative comes home late. Because of limited time they do
not get space and time for open discussions and opinion sharing with family
members.
Many family members generally Mother in law and Father
In law do not permit them for long distance travelling which reduce the working
capacity. Lack of cooperation from family members is one of the major
challenges to them. After winning the election the Elected Representatives are
not provided support and cooperation from the family. Some of the WERs have bedridden
and diseased persons at home. They even face lack of understanding and mutual
respect by other family members.
Economic Crisis is a major challenge to the WERs. The
Government of Kerala provides only a limited honorarium for the ERs. It is not
enough even for their travelling all over their wards. So, financial problems
are a major constraint. (Table- 3)
4.3.Support Expected from the Family and Society
As we have seen so many issues and challenges faced by
the Women Elected Representatives, they expect support from their family to
fulfill their duties and responsibilities.
They expect the duties and responsibilities at home may shared by their
family members, emotional support from the family members, and their problems
and difficulties must be understood by the family. They expect any of the
family members may accompany them during odd hours of work.
They expect healthy criticism from the family as well as
society. They need proper guidance from the Senior Elected representatives.
They also require moral support from the society to work during odd hours. And
they must be given freedom to express their views and to work independently. They
also expect the Government may revise the existing honorarium rate and TA
provisions to have a smooth work. They may be given some financial assistance
to carry their duties.
CONCLUSION
A study on Elected Women Representatives has concluded that the
earlier notions of women being more proxies for male relatives have gradually
ceded space to the recognition that given the opportunity to participate in the
political system, women are capable as their male counterparts (Govt. of India,
2008). Though there are so many criticisms for raising the reservation to 50%,
we should respect the knowledge, skill and will power of the Women Elected
Representatives. This decision was taken not in a morning and it is not an easy
task to equip the WERs to perform well. But it is the duty of our Government,
Panchayat and family to provide enough support for them. The WERs may be
empowered through providing adequate trainings to improve their knowledge and
skills, family and society support to improve their will power. Any way not
today or tomorrow, we expect a better administration from them in future. A recent study conducted by the panchayati raj ministry
shows that reservation played a significant role in bringing women into
mainstream. About four-fifth of all women representatives in panchayat
elections got elected from reserved seats and about 83% of them entered
politics through quota. We hope these words of people will becomes true and the
WERs surely be show their commitment and caliber to enrich the LSGIs and the
further studies may prove the entrance of women in political administration not
due to reservation but due to skill and enthusiasm.
REFERENCES
Periodicals:
1.
Panda (1996),’Emerging Pattern
of Leadership among Rural Women in Orissa’, Indian Journal of Public
Administration, Vol 42, No3-4.
2.
Singh, K (2012), ‘Elected Women
Representatives in Panchayati Raj’, Social actionVol.62.,45-61
Books:
1.
Nagendra, S (2004), ‘Role of
Women in Panchayati Raj’, Jaipur, ABD Publishers.
2.
Remakantan, N.
(2010),’Panchayat Barana Sahayi’, 1st Edition, KILA, Thrissur
Reports:
1.
14th Report of the
Standing Committee on Rural Development on the Constitution Amendment Bill
(2009)
2.
Govt. of India (2011),’Road map
for Panchayati Raj 2011-16: An all India Perspective’, Ministry of Panchayati
Raj, New Delhi.
3.
Govt. of India (2008),’Study on
ERs in Panchayati Raj Institutions’, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, New Delhi.
|
Table No. 1: Educational
Status
|
|||
|
Sl.
No.
|
Education
Status
|
Number
of Representatives
|
%
|
|
1
|
Not mentioned
|
311
|
3.5
|
|
2
|
Secondary
|
4383
|
49.0
|
|
3
|
|
2302
|
25.7
|
|
4
|
Graduation
|
1290
|
14.4
|
|
5
|
Post Graduation
|
328
|
3.7
|
|
6
|
Professional
|
336
|
3.8
|
|
|
Total
|
8950
|
100.0
|
Source: Primary data collected (during 2010
November to January)
|
Table No. 2: Major
Challenges Expected as Women Elected Representatives
|
||
|
Sl.No.
|
Major Challenges
|
Total
|
|
1
|
Lack of Efficiency in Administration
|
295
(30.8%)
|
|
2
|
Issues related to traveling
|
208
(21.7%)
|
|
3
|
Lack of experience as Elected
representatives
|
314
(32.8%)
|
|
4
|
Burden of multiple roles
|
246
(25.7%)
|
|
5
|
Low status of women in society
|
206
(21.5%)
|
|
6
|
Dominance of male elected representatives
|
85
(8.9%)
|
|
7
|
lack of freedom to take decisions
|
120
(12.5%)
|
|
8
|
Humiliations on the basis of caste
|
22
(2.3%)
|
|
9
|
Interventions from political parties
|
67
(7%)
|
|
10
|
Lack of cooperation from officials
|
48
(5%)
|
|
11
|
Difficulty in working at odd ours
|
116
(12.1%)
|
Source: Primary data collected (during 2010 November to
January)
|
Table No. 3: Challenges
from the family to fulfill the duties
|
||
|
Sl.No
|
Challenges
|
Total
|
|
1
|
Lack of time to provide proper care of
children and elderly people
|
407
(42.5%)
|
|
2
|
Dual responsibility
|
423
(44.2%)
|
|
3
|
Complaints while reaching home late
|
186
(19.4%)
|
|
4
|
Lack of open discussions and opinion sharing at home
|
94
(9.8%)
|
|
5
|
Disapproval for long distance travelling
|
92
(9.6%)
|
|
6
|
Disapproval for social interactions
|
91
(9.5%)
|
|
7
|
Lack of cooperation from family members
|
97(10.1%)
|
|
8
|
Bedridden and diseased persons at home
|
49
(5.1%)
|
|
9
|
Lack of understanding and mutual respect
|
70
(7.3)
|
|
10
|
Economic problems
|
179
(18.7)
|
Source: Primary data collected (during 2010 November to
January)
Comments
Post a Comment