I am also a member of the “Save the girl Child” committee. This committee
protects the rights of pregnant women against sex selective abortions. I have
requested the Panchayat to organise health camps and regular visits by doctors
to the Health Centre.
One has to struggle in elections especially when a woman is contesting against
two men. Men will make efforts to exclude women from the institution of
Panchayats and specifically when the woman gets no support from her family.
However, I have faced these challenges. People have tested me by saying, “let
us see how she wins”. I have won.
After being elected to the Panchayat, I do feel empowered. Being an elected
women Ward Member, I have established an identity for myself, in my village
and in my family. I have participated in gram Sabhas as a representative of
women and have raised issues of women’s concerns there. I am also a member
of the ‘Panchayat Mandali’ and have worked on issues of women’s health,
female foeticide, domestic violence, and the rights of single women.