Panchayat is the backbone of many Indian villages since the beginning. Mahatma Gandhi was always in the support of Panchayat Raj and his dream came into reality with the 73rd amendment act, also known as the Panchayati Raj Act. This act provides a total of one-third of seats to the women including the reserved seats for the SC’s and ST’s. It also gave one-third of the total number of offices of chairperson reserved for the women.
The role of women in the panchayat are:
- Participation in election
- Participation in rural development
- Participation in decision-making
- Agent of social revolution
- Reducing corruption
- Reducing violence against women
- Practising participatory democracy
- Reduction of violence against Dalits
Difficulties faced by women to represent in Panchayat Raj institutions are-
- Political intervention present in the panchayats
- Women are made to act as proxies for men
- Husband takes the intervention of the elected women and operates on her behalf
- Women in rural areas lack the awareness of the political; rights they possess
- All the negative public opinions
- Lack of education of women in the rural areas
- Lack of training courses for the women
- Violence against women to suppress them from acting their rights
So, under the 73rd amendment act, one-third of the seat is reserved for general, scheduled, backward caste women in the village panchayat. People have to volunteer to accept this reservation made for women and respect the status of women in society which is no lesser than that of the males. New policies should be made to further our conquest to equality between males and females and participation in activities in mutual understandings.
Clause (3) of article 243D ensures women’s participation in Panchayat Raj institution by compulsory one-third reservations of women. As of now, 20 states in India have made the reservations for women to 50% ( the 20 states are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal).
Initiatives that have been taken for active participation of women in Panchayat Raj institution are-
- Steps have been taken to enhance the participation of women in higher numbers.
- All the elected leaders should have a minimum of literacy to carry out guidelines and to educate the villagers about the PR-Act.
- Literacy is a very major part to educate women about governance and increasing the higher participation of women in these sectors.
- To develop women’s leadership and communication skills for enhancing travelling.
- Train them to speak up and find means to interface with the local self-governance to claim panchayat entitlements.
- To educate women on the facilities and programs of the state and central government have done for them.
- To empower and motivate them to achieve big things by breaking all cultural barriers.
After the establishment of the Panchayat Raj institution, women have been getting better opportunities and also living up to the responsibilities given to them. This act has been a great opportunity for women to come out and participate in the administration in the field of politics. It gives them a platform to raise their voices and be heard.
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