Women Leaders in Village Panchayats

Though I have been the President of my village for the last ten years, I continue

to face new challenges. I not only look after village development and Panchayat

administration but also I work as a community leader and organizer. I am

always ready to deal with all kinds of crises.

For example, in one crisis, a villager was drowning in the river. Other individuals

gathered on the banks to watch the poor woman struggling against the tide.

No one helped the woman or called for help. When I heard about this, I ran

to the spot and followed the woman from the riverside. Seeing thus, others

rushed to help and together, we saved the woman’s life.

In 1996, when my brother-in-law asked me to stand for election, I did

not know what a Panchayat was. I was the widow of an army man with six

daughters to look after. I only had a small pension, some agricultural land,

and some animals. My brother-in-law is a powerful man in the village and

I was dependent on him for support. But I soon realized that he along with

the Village Development Officer (VDO) was misusing power in my name.

Therefore, I asserted and confronted him.

I went to the VDO and questioned him about his abuse of power. My brother-

in-law protested and said that I was poor old women who knew nothing and

that he was there to help me. At this, I told him that I work hard like a donkey

to feed and raise my children. I told him that I never fall back from hard work,

and that I would never be dependent on anyone running the Panchayat, for

anything else not from now on. At this the VDO said, “She is not a woman,

she is a man,” to my brother-in-law and promised to provide me with support.

Since that day, my brother-in-law has refused to speak to me. He has been

over heard saying, “I made her, and now I will destroy her.” I took his words as

a challenge and stood for election a second time. I campaigned door to door,

alone, late into the night. The hard work was worth it. I won.

As President, I formed the first women’s group in the village called the Mahila

Mandal Dal with 110 women. This women’s group actively protested against

forest degradation. We also developed income-generating activities like

Maya Bajeli
President
Panchayat: Bajeli
Block: Takula
District: Almora