Documents
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papers, case studies, situationers and other documents on Indian women,
their rights and their involvement in politics, governance and decision-making
This paper investigates the socio-economic profile of elected women
members of the Panchayat. It also seeks to find out the outcome in
terms of development whether women Panchayat leaders are successful
and satisfied with their role in decision-making, and specific rural
policies. BACK TO TOP
Late eighty's and early ninety's of last century determined the entry
of women into fields of administration with international awakenings
of women from Fourth International Conference of Women, Beijing and
Reservation for Women in Grassroots Governments of Panchayati Raj
Institutions and Municipal Institutions of India. Orissa administration
issued an order of reservation for women in Orissa Administrative
Services and in admissions into the Engineering Colleges of Orissa
in 1992. This has ushered a situation of entry of women into administration.
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In recent years there has been reports indicating that women politicians
in India are finding it difficult to participate in politics. For
instance, in 1998, "Times of India" reported that "domestic
responsibilities, lack of financial clout, rising criminalization
of politics and the threat of character assassination" are making
it increasingly difficult for women to be part of the political framework.
Moreover, women politicians point out that even within the political
parties, women are rarely found in leadership positions. This case
study examines the participation of Indian women parliamentarians
during the Tenth Parliament and focuses in three main areas: the social
profile of women parliamentarians; the routes they have taken to get
to their political position; and the public policy areas in which
they were involved. The study presents some interesting results such
as that women's representation in the Parliament, while important
on the grounds of social justice and legitimacy of the political system,
does not easily translate into improved representation of women's
various interests. BACK TO TOP
Patricia Pinto from the southeastern Indian state of Goa speaks about
her involvement in the People's Movement for Civic Action and the
Goa Environment Federation. Activities discussed range from the campaign
for a plastic-free Goa to being a female city councillor to municipal-civil
society relations. BACK
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Domestic violence is common and a serious problem.
According to a 1996 survey in Uttar Pradesh, 30 percent of married
men acknowledged physically abusing their wives. In a survey of 10,000
women released during the year, more than half of the women said that
violence was a normal part of married life. The Health Ministry released
a different survey during the year that indicated that, of 90,000
women surveyed, more than half acknowledge being battered. Literacy
rates for women are significantly lower than rates for men; the 2000
U.N. Development Program (UNDP) Report for India found that 38 percent
of women were literate, compared with 66 percent of men. Read on.
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As part of South Asia Partnership (SAP) Canada's India Linkage program,
Dr. Bidyut Mohanty lectured across Canada about the impact of a constitutional
amendment that reserves seats for women candidates on the local government
level.BACK
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Nathu Begum is one of 119 women who benefited from a 1993 constitutional
amendment reserving a third of seats in local self- government for
women and was hailed at the Beijing Women's Conference as a major
piece of affirmative legislation. This is her story and other women
leaders of India. View the document
from our server. BACK
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Nothing short of a small revolution occurred during President Bill
Clinton’s visit to India in March 2000. In the rural heartland
of Rajasthan, a dozen village women sat around on plush blue sofas,
in resplendent dress, to discuss issues of democracy and power with
the U.S. president. First they introduced themselves: all are elected
representatives of their village councils (panchayats). Together they
run a women’s dairy cooperative and have initiated several small
credit and loan schemes for poor, landless women in their communities.
They had discarded the age-old custom of hiding their veiled faces
behind home walls. Now, they explained, they had to go to the bank
to draw and desposit money, and to their district headquarters to
attend monthly meetings. View the document
from our server.
The women’s movement in India took off in the 1920s, building
on the 19th century social reform movement. The women’s movement
progressed during the period of high nationalism and the freedom struggle,
both of which shaped its contours. Among the many achievements of
the movement, the most significant were the constitutional guarantees
of equal rights for women and universal adult suffrage in independent
India. However, these guarantees did little to bring about social
and material change in the lives of most Indian women. A New Women’s
movement, articulated to mass and popular politics, emerged in the
1970s. Despite the longstanding and vigorous women’s movement,
patriarchy remains deeply entrenched in India, influencing the structure
of its political and social institutions and determining the opportunities
open to women and men. The negotiation and conflict between patriarchy
and the women’s movement are central to the constitution of the
nation-state. This paper explores these issues by examining two debates
that have rocked the women’s movement and Indian society: over
the Uniform Civil Code and the proposed reservation for women of seats
in legislative bodies. These controversies have contributed to and
bear the mark of deep cleavages within the women’s movement—cleavages
that reflect divisions of caste, class, and community among women.
To understand the full implications of these controversies and their
divisive consequences, it is essential to understand their long-term
historical roots. The discussion here draws out various positions
within the women’s movement and arguments advanced by the government,
the media, and others. The significance of a secular political constituency
of women, as represented by the women’s movement, is also considered.
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Women's
Marginal Role in Politics (1997)
The problem of women's dismal role in Indian politics is far more
complex than simply that Indian women are lagging behind due to discrimination.
Women themselves have to make politics worthy of women, tune it sensitively
to their requirements or else even with reserved seats, only those
who become like saree-wearing men will be able to survive in politics.
View the document
from our server. BACK TO TOP
Some
Problems in the Movement for the Affirmation of Indian Women (1997)
India's women's movement remains
saddled with many obstacles and diversions, and the main problems
arise from the designs of forces with power and money - generally
forces outside the women's organizations. These forces are fighting
tooth and nail to ensure that people are not empowered to create and
run their own system of economy, politics and society. Read more from
this paper
presented at a conference marking the 50th anniversary of India's
independence held at Columbia University, New York, on August 2, 1997.
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Panchayat
Raj: Women Changing Governance (1996)
Women are changing governance in
India. They are being elected to local councils in unprecedented numbers
as a result of amendments to the Constitution which mandate the reservation
of seats for women in local government. In India, the new system is
called the Panchayat Raj Institutions system (PRI). The women whom
PRI has brought into politics are now governing, be it in one village,
or a larger area such as 100 villages or a district. This process
of restructuring the national political and administrative system
started as recently as January 1994 and thus it is too early to assess
the impact of women's entry into formal structures of government.
But some evidence of women's impact can be drawn from the experiences
of PRI in the two states which have experienced a full 5-year term
of this new administrative and political regime (1987-1992). This
1996 paper
discusses the evidence from the state of Karnataka, where elections
under PRI (mandating 25% seat reservation for women) were held in
1987 and 14,000 women were elected. BACK
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India's
Women Who Stand With Mahatma Gandhi
This feature looks into
some of the women that had stood with the famous Hindu icon of non-violence
during India's independence struggle against British rulel. Among
Mahatma Gandhi's immediate followers, his "inner circle,"
as he calls them, are Miss Pettit, daughter of a well-known and very
rich Parsi family of Bombay, who left her home for Gandhi's ashram,
and usually goes about with him. There is, the famous Miss Slade --
"Mirabai." "Mirabai" was the name of Shri Krishma's
most ardent devotee who, refusing food or drink, spent all her time
in his temple at the foot of his statue, until she died, literally
of love. Miss Slade's ardent devotion to Mr. Gandhi has won her this
name. View the document
from our server. BACK
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