When I married, I never thought that I had a future with the Panchayat. I knew
that my father-in-law was a Panchayat Member and that people respected
him, but I did not consider it for myself.However, when I was selected to stand for the post, people said that I was the
most educated out of all the women. The old President, who had ruled for the
last 15 years, however, did not want to give up power. He used to keep people in
the dark and was very corrupt. He would ask villagers to donate their labour for
public works, but then he would keep all their wages for himself. The villagers
never realized that the wages were their own. Even though people knew the
extent of his corruption, no one challenged him, because he was dominating
and powerful. He pitted another woman against me during the election, but all
the women campaigned for me and I won the election by 70 votes.After my victory, however, I was not able to do any work in the Panchayat,
because I did not understand a thing. Everything was completely new. At
first, my husband looked after matters and when people came to my house to
ask questions about the Panchayat, they would ask for my father-in-law, even
when I was home. Then with time, I learned new things through trainings
and workshops, organized by many organizations. My husband withdrew his
supporting hand and encouraged me to take charge and even my father-in-
law would direct people to me saying, “She is your President go to her.” With
the full support from the woman BDO, who went beyond her official role
and the support from all the other women’s groups and from my family, I
was effectively guided into the functioning of the Panchayat and the village.
I persuaded other women to participate in the affairs of the village by visiting
and speaking to them personally there are more women than there are men in
the Panchayat.Earlier, women understanding of how a Panchayat worked. People had a
limited understanding of budgets and programmes. But after I have joined, I
have made sure that people not only know where the money goes but also have
a say in how we use that money. I put up the entire budget before the people.
Now people take decisions on how to manage the Panchayat’s money.Kamala Rawat
President
Panchayat: Patharkot
Block: Hawalbagh
District: Almora