Empowering Women Leaders in Indian Local Governance*

I. Introduction

As a Muslim woman in rural India’s traditionally male dominated society, Kanubano may not seem like a likely leader. Her panchayat, or governing village council, has only three women representatives. Two of them are too intimidated or embarrassed to attend council meetings, often leaving Kanubano as the only women among a somewhat suspicious group of men.

But Kanubano is undeterred, and men in her village know it. The men who serve on the panchayat with her acknowledge, although perhaps somewhat reluctantly, that she is a force in their community. "She is not afraid of anything," comments one of her male counterparts. He adds pointedly, "She doesn’t even obey her husband."

Kanubano’s election to the village panchayat is a direct result of a relatively recent Indian law, called the 73rd Amendment, which changed the face of local governments. In 1992, the Indian national government passed an amendment to their constitution mandating more inclusive local governments. In addition to earmarking a certain percentage of seats to members of underrepresented castes, the 73rd Amendment stated that 33% of seats in village councils were to be reserved for women. For the first time, women and other traditionally marginalized groups would essentially have "seats at the table."

This radical legislation meant that Kanubano and many others like her were suddenly participants in local politics. Over 800,000 women contested in the first round of panchayat elections, and some states and districts even surpassed the 33% allotment.

In thirteen years since the law’s implementation, positive change can be seen in many villages, with active, capable women representatives serving the needs of their communities. Because of her strong will, self-confidence, and supportive family women like Kanubano have been successful leaders in the community, defying stereotypes that have kept women out of the political domain

However, unfortunately a proactive, capable woman representative is not necessarily the norm. In many situations, women elected to village councils are either not performing well or not performing at all.

II. Impediments to Good Performance

Ushna is another women panchayat representative in a village not far from Kanubano’s; however, she is not an active leader. She sits quietly while her husband answers questions or discusses the needs of the village. Other villagers openly recognize that she has no power, and serves merely as the official signature. For important matters, they bypass her and go directly to her husband. Most likely, Ushna also knows that her role is powerless. She does not know the names of the government officials who service her village, and she defers to her husband when asked a question. Essentially, all of her responsibilities are assumed by him. This phenomenon, a common criticism of the 73rd amendment, is known as the "sarpanch pati," a husband who is acts as the de factovillage president on his wife’s behalf.

Based on the social norms of rural India, Ushna’s story should not be that uncommon. Rural India is a largely male-dominated society with a legacy of strict, traditional gender roles. In the local political context, this legacy has meant that women were unlikely to hold positions of power. This legacy still affects the local political domain today, and women, particularly of lower castes are much more likely to encounter difficulties in their role as representatives. Empirical analysis for a World Bank study, Inclusion and Local Elected Governments: the Panchayat Raj System in India,finds that a person most likely to be excluded from active participation is "an illiterate scheduled tribe woman, who is relatively poorly informed and not well acquainted with public representatives of her village."

Thus, for reasons of cultural norms, historical bias, and unfamiliarity with local politics, there are a number of factors which hold women back from successfully serving in village councils after they have been elected. These reasons, as discussed below, range from issues of self esteem to family burden to lack of education.

One major problem engrained through tradition and social norms is that women are historically not viewed as independent actors. They are perceived as incapable of making autonomous decisions. For example, when a business occasion calls for women to travel outside her village, she is often accompanied my male relatives, who then may or may not intervene in the business matter. This mistrust in women’s abilities can shut them out of networks with male colleagues, as well as affect their self-confidence. Many women, particularly younger women, do not even traditionally speak in public, especially when family members are present. This type of gender stereotyping highly impedes their likelihood for success.

Another impediment to good performance is the amount of family pressure and responsibility imposed on women. As women are primarily responsible for household chores and childrearing, they often do not have time to devote to their other roles. Attending a meeting can mean giving up a day’s wage, which many women are hesitant to do.

Additionally, many women do not choose independently to run for election. Some are coerced into running by husbands or family members, and there may simply be a lack of interest or will on the part of the participant. One elected representative named Phoolbati referred to her role as a "big headache." In addition to women being persuaded or coerced to contest elections by their families, other women are persuaded to run due to perceived malleability by higher caste members. These elected representatives are often not able to exercise their right as representative once they are elected. In some more severe cases they are harassed, refused entrance into meetings or are asked to perform menial tasks such as serving tea.

Finally, illiteracy as well as low levels of education deter a women representative’s success. According to the World Bank’s Overview of Rural Decentralization in India,education is one of the main factors affecting participation in panchayats. Throughout India, men tend to be far more literate than women, with the Census of India reporting 75.85% of men as literate and 54.16% of women literate. Without education or literacy, women are often perceived as incompetent and incapable. According to one male villager, "I would never support my wife for a panchayat seat, because without education or literacy she would be ineffective."

IV. What are the Counter Measures?

So what does it take to turn a representative like Ushna into a Kanubano?

Ushna and Kanubano have realized different outcomes of their situation based on two factors: the qualities of their individual characters and the nature of the environments in which they live, or in the terms of the World Bank empowerment framework, their agencyand their opportunity structure.

This interplay has created a strong, confident women leader in one case, and a weak, deferential women leader in the other case.

Although there are no guarantees for creating strong leaders, there are a number of resources and activities, sponsored by both the government of India and various NGOs, which are dedicated to evening the playing field for women panchayat representatives. A number of World Bank funded projects such as the various District Poverty Initiatives Projects are also dedicated to both strengthening panchayats and promoting gender equality.

One of the most important venues for a newly elected women representative to become comfortable with their new position is in trainings. Trainings give women a chance to ask questions, acquire new information, make networking connections, and learn how to speak in public and assert themselves. For example, the government of Rajasthan provides training for all new representatives, as do many NGOs. Many of these trainings are separated by gender, so that women will feel more comfortable and are to express themselves more freely. Refresher courses are also useful, based on the large amount of information which a representative needs.

Additionally, information about panchayat rules and activities should be distributed in a manner that all representatives, including illiterate representatives can understand. This can mean using posters with vivid pictures or showing films about women panchayat representatives, a number of which are already used in trainings. Information dissemination should also be oriented to the needs of both genders. For example, if women and men are known to frequent different parts of the village, posters should be hung in both areas.

Another effective way to support women representatives is to encourage the organization of women’s groups such as Self Help Groups. Self Help Groups, which generate support around a common cause such as savings and loans, can provide a platform for women to gather together, discuss the issues facing their villages, and to support one another. These groups can serve as an instant network and open up opportunities for information sharing. Recent research in India demonstrated that membership of women’s Self-Help Groups under the Swashakti project, positively and significantly associated with participation in local panchayat meetings.

Men should also be targeted in order to disabuse reigning stereotypes about women and their capabilities. Very often the women who were most successful in their roles as representatives had a supportive and nurturing environment from their families, in particular from their husbands or male relatives.For this reason it is critical that men are encouraged to see the value of female representation in local governance. This can include providing men with information about the 73rd amendment, explaining why seats are being reserved for women or allaying concerns about women attending training seminars out of the village. Additionally, men should not be completely forgotten in development assistance efforts, as often they are also in need of supplementary training and information.

Attention to literacy training and education is also needed to give women the skills and confidence to be effective leaders. Literacy not only opens up entirely new avenues of information for women representatives, it boosts their confidence, their ability to perform effectively, and the likelihood that they can resist potential tactics of manipulation.

Additionally, placing emphasis on girls’ education is still a critical piece of the puzzle. Educated girls (as well as boys) can aid their mother representatives with reading materials. Moreover, educated girls will serve as future women elected representatives in their communities. Education and literacy not only increase the actual likelihood of good performance, they break down social barriers. Ultimately with more literacy and education, women’s performance is improved which assists in altering reigning stereotypes, but also the capacity of the panachayat is improved, increasing development effectiveness.

Finally, as society is made up of many entities, other actors should be considered. For example, gender sensitization is not only needed for men in the villages, but also for the bureaucrats who interact with women panchayat representatives. Additionally, as many NGOs work with panchayats, providing them with training and capacity building is an indirect way to encourage gender equality at the village level.

V. Conclusion

Unfortunately, gender parity in panchayats is not on the immediate horizon. Consensus among NGO workers and women representatives is that if seats were not reserved, women would not be elected. Although this may be true at present, in time, as women become stronger and more capable leaders, and these women leaders pass on their skills and experiences to their children, it is hopeful that the current situation will evolve into one of respected female leadership with merit outweighing gender as a consideration for election.

Kanubano is a pioneer in this process. She already plans to run in her village’s next election and she is not worried about the impression she is making on the men in her village, despite currently being the only active female representative. She says that she is confident that she is capable and an asset to her village. When asked if she thinks the rest of the villagers perceive her the same way, she says with assurance, "yes, the sensible ones, they do."

*This is the last article by Abigail Somma.