Women and Political Leadership -Grass Roots Empowerment

 Women and Political Leadership -Grass Roots Empowerment

DKK

The GoI seems to have realised now only the fact that as regards the empowerment of women in politics, specially at the grass roots, it’s notional across many states. Pati Sarpanch - the words used to describe the foundation of the rural empowerment structure - the village panchayat - is well known. It roughly translates as the Husband of the Sarpanch but is deeper in context - the husband is the Sarpanch. He wields the power behind the scenes and at times blatantly, she sits and nods and signs and agrees. Submissively. Patriarchy is a reality. The women may vote quietly as per their inclination in major elections where anonymity is there but otherwise it’s even now a one way street.

What I saw years ago as a District Development Manager in Punjab for my institution left me wondering how much distance we had to travel for actual empowerment. It was a Zila Parishad (District Level Elected Fora) Meeting where I was also invited to associate. The lady elected as the Chairperson was chosen deliberately so. For her meekness. The lady who was sharp, vocal and spoke her mind, well she was sidelined. The Deputy Commissioner was the Deputy Chairperson, I felt sad for the lady, at the meeting her hands trembled, she could only whisper and her husband sat behind her and started contributing. I only objected but got only angry glares and later my friend, the District Project Officer, told me this is how it is. The post was reserved for women and they - the officers and politicians were both ok with this arrangement. Similar was the situation at another district, the lady who chaired sat silently and only nodded.

The limit was a Government run school, away from the district headquarters, we had financed the construction, so it was a sort of evaluation. The School Principal, a lady, said her husband would explain as she was not technically savvy !! An excuse without any meaning but I realised after a couple of more visits to schools that it was the male teachers who were a sort of authority. It just carries on.

This was so common a phenomenon that on certain aspects I got used to it. Visiting a Drinking Water Scheme, the Sarpanch, if a lady, would stand aside and let her husband explain. In Haryana, a couple of times, I asked the husband to stand aside and he said dismissively, what does she know. I am the aware person. And people listen to me. She is there because of the Government mandated quota.

Self Help Groups and the like, there the men have grudgingly accepted the status quo, let the women run it and hold meetings and gossip (their words). But as regards political power, how so ever insignificant, it’s a struggle for most ladies unless backed by their families. The SHGs have in a way, not known or understood by the men even now, contributed in a way to empowerment, the meetings, training and emphasis on formal documents etc has made enhanced awareness a reality and brought in self confidence. The checks come in the political arena. Inclusive of at times comments even on their character.

Exceptions are there and certainly and the situation has improved, but not to the extent we could call satisfactory. We need more empowerment and genuine empowerment. Many men now understand the change of the times and the need for education of women, but the graduation to political power is up against firmly entrenched minds.

Hope lies in the leaders and animators of NGOs and volunteer based organisations. They are aware, gain confidence over time, know how to subtly deflect male reinforced barriers and make their point. They are seeding the pathway for the future.

I find even now, whenever I have ventured out, we have to seek out the women and tell the men to kindly call them over and sit with us. There are informal and formal leaders emerging among the women, they are the women running small businesses or helping out at the farm and knowing the rates and costs too. As one vocal and active lady recently told me, do not under rate my contribution at the farm, it’s not labour, it’s a business and I am closely associated, I have harvested with my husband, my brother in law and his wife, 700 crates of tomatoes and each crate has 25 kgs. And I know the rates we got too. And the costing. But most ladies sat silently. Vocal only when the men were at a distance. The difference now is, they know and understand better, they can articulate when in a group or alone, but not when the men are there. This is progress, earlier it took time to open up. And awareness was what the men advised them. It’s been a very gradual evolution, I wish it was faster but maybe as it progresses, it will gather momentum.