 
|
|
|
FROM OPPRESSION TO ASSERTION: WOMEN AND PANCHAYATS
IN INDIA
by Nirmala Buch
[available with Routledge, 2010]
The book examines the experiences, impact and
responses of rural women who entered the panchayats
in India after the Constitutional Amendment in 1992
which introduced reservation of one-third seats for
them.
Based on
interviews of 1,200 panchayat representatives and
community
members in nine districts of Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, this book explores two
dimensions of this reservation: its effectiveness in
bringing women into the public sphere and their
participation, and its empowering impact on them. It
interrogates the myths of rural women's disinterest
in politics, of the reservation benefitting only
affluent women and relatives of politicians, and the
widespread belief that women are proxies for their
menfolk in panchayats. The book argues against
patriarchal and unfair nature of these myths
vis-a-vis women entrants who have shown leadership
skills, increased participation level and changes in
attitudes and social practices. The recent debate on
reserving one-third seats for women in the
Parliament and the policy announcement increasing
reservations for women in panchayats to one-half
makes this book topical and relevant.
Nirmala Buch is Chairperson, Mahila Chetna Manch,
Bhopal; Centre for Woemn's Development Studies, New
Delhi; and Child Rights Observatory, Bhopal.
|
|
