Women Leaders in Village Panchayats

I am a married woman and a mother of four children- two sons and two

daughters. My elder son is presently studying in class 10 and the younger one

is undergoing survey training, while both the girls are married. I am 45 years

old, a farmer by occupation and have studied up until Class x. In the 2005

Panchayat elections, I contested for a Panchayat member’s post from a general

seat. I had one male competitor, but ultimately the majority elected me. The

training programs conducted by The Hunger Project have helped me a lot.

With the help of the Department of Women and Child Development,

gowribidanur, I provided the physically challenged persons (with walking

difficulties) in the Panchayat with walking aids. I helped in constituting two

Women Self-Help groups in the village and told them about the savings and

internal loan system. I have served as the Chairperson in the Basic Amenities

Committee, Health, and Sanitation Committees in the Panchayat. My first

task was to get the old village pre-primary school repaired, I approached the

Block Educational Officer about it, a new building is coming up now, and

the building work is still under progress. I tried to motivate the parents of

children, especially girls who had dropped out of school, to admit their kids

back in to school. In order to better the educational condition of the children

belonging to the Dalits, I fought with the gram Panchayat Secretary for their

rights. I was successful and an amount issued for this was sanctioned out of

the 20 percent reserved fund of the Panchayat. I also ensured that monetary

help was given to others to help them pursue a technical course.

As part of the Independence Day celebration, we distributed books (free

of cost) to the poor students of the village, by taking financial help from

individuals and civil society organizations. I visit the village schools on a

regular basis to check the proper distribution and implementation of the mid-

day meals under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. Along with the Aanganwadi

teacher, I conducted a survey to find out who the dropout children were in our

village and motivated their parents to send them back to school.

I organized a free eye check-up campaign in the village and supported few

elderly people to undergo an eye operation (free of cost) in Bangalore. I also

Bayyamma
Ward Member
Panchayat: B. Bomm-
asandra
Block: gowribidanur
District: Chikkaballapur