FORUM DEBIKA GOSWAMI BEYOND ELECTORAL POLITICS: Women in Local Governance in Haryana Encouraging women to stand for elections to the local bodies is one step forward; empowering them with knowledge and skills in planning and decision-making must necessarily follow if women need to be active creators of their own future and not figure-heads and proxy figures for the men in their families N 2016, THE FIFTH GENERAL candidates, who secured seats in the elections, Panchayat Elections of Haryana witnessed fulfilled the mandatory education criterion. This, the election of a greater percentage of of course, can be considered as an achievement in a women despite the dwindling pool of state such as Haryana, where the sex ratio of women eligibility due to the introduction of new to men is 879 : 1000, and the literacy rate of women rules such as the education criterion. The is still as low as 64.94 per cent. overall representation of women across all levels of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) Despite the increase in the number of women at was 42 per cent as compared to 36 per cent in the the village-level governance in Haryana, some I of the questions worth reflecting upon are: Does previous term. the improved percentage of women in the PRIs In addition, the 2016 panchayat polls had more of Haryana also ensure their active and effective educated members in PRIs because all the women political participation? Do they have any real power 7 For the last two-and-a-half years, after the elections of 2016, have these women exercised the power bestowed upon them or have they gone back to their household cocoons after their electoral wins? to influence democratic decision- stifled and is unable to voice her Belonging to the Other Backward making? opinions freely in the presence of Castes (OBC) category, Rajbala of male community members. Khedla village, Nuh district, had To answer these questions, we to experience both electoral as started out by looking at what “A sarpanch can be a change- well as social strife. The men of happens to the elected women maker and can create linkages the opposing party in her village representatives beyond the between the government and filed a case against her in the electoral politics. For the last the villagers,” says Richa, the District Court, alleging that she two-and-a-half years, after the sarpanch of Sugh Majhri village had submitted fake educational elections of 2016, have these in Yamunanagar district. She qualifications. Besides, women exercised the power is highly qualified, with an rumours were spread to malign bestowed upon them or have they MBA degree in Finance and is her character. Despite such gone back to their household competent to handle difficult challenges, the villagers elected cocoons after their electoral wins? functions such as accounting her as the sarpanch because and audit. The residents of Sugh We interviewed 12 sarpanches of the proven transparency of Majhri, however, think that she, (village council heads) and 10 her work, her confidence and being rich, elite and educated, panches (members of the village her decisiveness. As the village does not have much connect with council) from five districts of head, she aims to work for the them and is not concerned about Haryana, namely, Faridabad, holistic village development. improvement of the impoverished Mahendergarh, Nuh, Sonepat and and weaker sections of society, Yamunanagar. Some interesting Raveena, another sarpanch, has and faces stiff resistance at every conversations and revelations a Masters degree to her credit; step because she belonged to the emerged. Let us consider a few yet, she did not know about the OBC category. case examples in this regard. mandatory education criterion An expert in martial arts, Anita Yadav, sarpanch, Sihar when her elder brother asked Heerni Sharma of Tilpat village village, Mahendergarh district, her to contest for the position in Faridabad district could not has studied up to Higher of sarpanch in Kota village, continue her studies beyond the Secondary and is not only very Nuh district. Her educational conversant with the major qualifications were used by the secondary examination. After functions of the gram panchayat men of her family, to secure being elected as panch, she has (village council) but also with power for themselves because not only been able to identify the the important government they wanted to work on her major issues such as sanitation, programmes designed for the behalf in matters of village drinking water and electricity benefit of rural citizens. Despite governance. To date, all her plans that troubled her fellow villagers having good knowledge about regarding the functioning of the but has also persuaded the her role and responsibilities as gram panchayat await the approval sarpanch to incorporate the same the sarpanch, she says she feels of her elder brother. in the Village Development Plan. 8 NEWSREACH SEP_OCT 2018 One of the foremost reasons behind this limited success of elected women representatives is their lack of awareness about the functions of the gram panchayat and the roles and responsibilities conferred upon them Heerni radiates hope when and class barriers, and displaying sponsored schemes and projects, she says, “Non-government self-esteem and agency; a and their management. They are Organizations (NGOs) or young bride, despite not being also not well-prepared to support community-based organizations highly educated, overcoming and supervise local institutions must provide training and help her lack by using her skills of in their accounting and audit in the capacity building of elected observation and reflection; a functions, or to maintain and representatives, especially newly elected woman panch, who manage their office space. because government training has no support or guidance of the Besides, the lack of computer programmes are not enough.” sarpanch or the other panches. application skills and their lack of understanding of the Right This is in striking contrast Elected women representatives to Information lead them into to the story of Mukesh, the can play a critical role in additional backwardness. panch of Nizampur village in two major tasks of the gram Mahendergarh district, who panchayat, namely, preparing Yes, structural and caste despite having the necessary development plans, and inequalities still matter. And education criterion, has no clue implementing and monitoring because of these, women are about her role and responsibilities government programmes. subjected to discrimination as an elected representative. She Unfortunately, most of the regarding access to opportunities has not received any direction elected women representatives, and resources such as education, from the sarpanch, nor does she despite having the requisite health and other services. have any insights or ideas with educational background, are Women, who are elected as regard to developing her village unable to influence decision- representatives, are also no during her tenure. making, with regard to these two exception, and as a result, are tasks. Look at the facts presented often seen lacking in confidence in these examples of elected One of the foremost reasons and agency, in skills of representatives: An aware behind this limited success of articulation and comprehension. woman paralyzed by patriarchy elected women representatives is Often, they do not believe they and the structural inequalities their lack of awareness about the can work independently and associated with it; a highly functions of the gram panchayat depend on either their male educated woman unable to stand and the roles and responsibilities relatives or influential men up for the disadvantaged due to conferred upon them. These of the village community for the diversity of interests related women, despite having the decision-making, accounting and to class and caste differences; a required educational criterion, maintaining financial records, the young, educated girl forced to be are unaware of the regulatory use of technology and for matters the mere front while her male functions of a gram panchayat, that require physical mobility relatives wield power and take the processes of participatory such as attending meetings decisions; a woman belonging to planning and budgeting, and and trainings. These factors the OBC category fighting caste the provisions of government- cumulatively restrict the elected FORUM BEYOND ELECTORAL POLITICS: WOMEN IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN HARYANA 9 Creating structured training programmes, exclusively designed for these elected women representatives, is one of the most crucial requirements for capacitating them to perform their roles and responsibilities well women from becoming dynamic of KILA include training, action- governance structures, elected leaders; in effect, they are token research, publications, seminars representatives of panchayats, representatives and do not really and workshops, consultancy, including women, who serve play an active and effective role in documentation, hand-holding as the lynchpins in all the village governance. and information services. It also development activities in the runs a one-month certificate villages, must learn and equip What can be the panacea for course on Panchayati Raj for themselves with skills to use these problems? the elected representatives for computers to manage their work- capacitating and preparing them related responsibilities. Hence, No doubt, creating structured to function well on the ground. sessions for