Women Leaders in Village Panchayats

Like many of my colleagues, I was a reluctant politician. In my initial years

as President, I played a very passive role and left most of my responsibilities

to my husband and other male Ward Members to fulfill. Three years on,

much has changed. Trainings by THP have transformed me in to a capable

leader. However, the power equation between me and my husband and other

male colleagues has been relatively slower to transform. My husband

still attends Panchayat meetings and my male colleagues take most of the

crucial decisions. The importance of my experience is that it demonstrates the

positive effects that capacity-building efforts have on women’s capabilities as

Panchayat members.

As I have said at the beginning, I was a reluctant politician. I had never

interacted with Panchayats before I stood for election. I did not really know

much about politics or what was expected of a Panchayat member. When asked

if I had ever been to a gram Sabha, I giggled and said “never”. My husband,

himself a former Ward Member and minor Congress party activist, pushed

me into politics. My husband had hoped to become a President in the 2005

elections. During his term as Ward Member, he had mobilized the necessary

support to push his candidature in the President elections. Unfortunately, for

him, the President position was declared reserved under the women’s quota.

Therefore, he decided to field me. I protested strongly but he went ahead and

filed my nomination papers. The campaign was a tough one. Kathkhavdaon

is a political hot bed and many BJP and Congress hopefuls had ‘put up’

their candidates for the election. There were ten women in the fray and their

entire households campaigned ferociously. To ensure my win, my husband

hired a car the night before voting and went all the way to Jaipur to ferry

voters who had migrated out of Kathkhavdaon. His efforts paid off and I

won the election.

My first Panchayat meeting as President was a nerve-racking experience. I had

to cut the ceremonial ribbon. At first, I did not know what to do and walked

straight in to the room. Everyone laughed and pointed to the ribbon. I was so

nervous...my hands were shaking as I cut the ribbon. The former President

was a close relative who cracked a few jokes with me as he handed over the

Anokhi
President
Panchayat: Kotkhawada
Block: Chaksu
District: Jaipur