WUNRN
The panchayat
raj is a South Asian political system mainly in India,
Pakistan, and Nepal.
"Panchayat" literally means assembly (yat) of five (panch)
wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the village community. Traditionally, these
assemblies settled disputes between individuals and villages. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchayati_raj
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INDIA - HARYANA - ALL-WOMEN
PANCHAYAT
An all-woman panchayat in Haryana is breaking stereotypes to carve its way into the system, showing men their place.
By Neha Dixit - March 15, 2010
|
Determined
Ashubi Khan, 47, decided to include only women in her panchayat |
THE
PANCHAYAT Ghar in Neemkheda village in Haryana’s Mewat district is right in its
middle. Adorned with a kitchen garden on the campus, ducks and dogs make a
perfect domestic set-up. Symbols of machismo embellish the wall with four
rifles, eight bullet belts and deerskin. Ashubi Khan, 47, the sarpanch, and the
nine panchayat members drop in within a minute of each other. They shake hands,
giggle and settle down like excitable schoolgirls. When we introduce ourselves
to Ashubi, she holds the business card upside down. Even the police officer on
the way sounded skeptical: “An all-woman panchayat? This is Mewat. Not
possible.”
Another
panchayat member, 60-yearold Sakina, notices our discomfiture. “We are all anguthateks (illiterate),”
she says, smiling. “We have memorised the panchayat policies and our children
read and write whatever is required.”
After
the 73rd Constitutional amendment of 1992 mandated that one-third of all
panchayat seats across
Apart
from illiteracy, gender was also generously used against them. “The men
ridiculed us saying women are meant only to dance inside the house,” says 56-
year-old Salma. “We said why are we then made to work in the fields, fetch
water, fetch wood? They said the panchayat is different. We said just wait and
see.”
POWER PUNCH Connected Neemkheda village to the
inter-state Ujina canal. Tap water to reach the village soon Primary school upgraded to
secondary school. Enrolment shot up from 97 to 800 Built a pucca road, primary health centre,
girls’ junior school and 72 toilets |
All
the panchayat members are above 40 years of age. They say their age helps them
get rid of unnecessary baggage. “Becoming a panchayat member is educating,”
says Mohammeddi, 54. “Before this I didn’t know that even for simple things
like water the panchayat has to implement policy.” The panchayat’s greatest
achievement is that it has managed to connect their village to the inter-state
Ujina canal that flows from Delhi to Rajasthan. Before this, 79-year-old Asini
had seen women fetch water twice a day from a pond 2 km away for 50 years. “On
top of it,” she says, “these insane men insisted that we wear a burqa in the
evenings.”
Mewat
suffers from water scarcity, has negligible irrigation and is entirely
dependent on rainfall. Even though the village has been connected, the pipeline
is still to be laid. “The bureaucrats treat us with contempt,” says Ashubi. “We
don’t understand their khadi
boli (Hindi). Because we are illiterate, they think that we are
good for nothing.” Yet, these women have managed to push the irrigation
department to open the sluices. They hope to see tap water in the village soon.
THE
PANCHAYAT set new standards in assertiveness when it forced the local block
development officer to grant permission to start a girls’ junior high school.
“Once, the school opens, a lot of girls who otherwise could not go to school
earlier will now be able to study,” says Bakhtiar, 45. Mewat has one of the
lowest sex ratios of 893 females per 1,000 males in India, lower than the
national average of 927 per 1,000 males. The district also has one of India’s
highest incidence of child marriages and teenage mothers; a maternal mortality
rate as high as 166 per 1,000 births; 98 percent female malnourishment; and an
average family of eight members.
Among
others, a primary school has been upgraded to the secondary level. Enrolment
has shot up from 97 to 800. A primary health centre, a pucca road and proper
regulation of government ration shops are other feathers in the panchayat’s
cap. The panchayat has also built 72 toilets. “Not having toilets was good
because that was our only time out with the friends,” says Firdaus, 48, with a
chuckle. “But not if you had a running stomach.”
The
adult literacy programme is also a big hit. Says Sarpanch Ashuba: “We may be
able to read what you have written about us when you come next year, so don’t
compare us to Rabri Devi.”
‘Men Misruled For 17 Years’ |
Why did you ask for an all-woman panchayat in your village? Male panchayts did not punish alcoholics. But now, no drunkard
gets home-cooked food
WRITER’S EMAIL |
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