WUNRN
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Women's Feature Service
INDIA - WOMEN MUNICIPAL COUNCILLORS
- CHALLENGES & ASSERTIVE LEADERSHIP - GOAL OF 50:50
By Pushpa Achanta
Prabha T.S. (in yellow sari), Municipal Ward
Councillor,
Chamarajanagar, participating in a Council meeting.
When an empowered
Jayamma began to talk to people about how to access the benefits they were
entitled to, they requested her to represent them through an elected public
position. Over the years, her stature has only grown, with her husband, six
children and the rest of her family always by her side. She says, "I derive
great satisfaction from motivating other women. Like my colleague, Madamma, 38,
a soft-spoken, barely literate Dalit woman, who is in active public service
today. She is now able to think beyond the home; she is capable of travelling
to
Like Jayamma,
Kasturi, 33, is a self-made woman. A municipal councillor today, this pragmatic
social worker and mother-of-two began speaking out against injustice very
early. At the age of 10 she exposed a male teacher who was sexually abusing
girls in her school. Having lost her father as a child, she needed to take up a
job as soon as she was old enough in order to contribute to the family income.
"I was always interested in sports and won prizes at the local and state
level as school and junior college student. Fortunately, my family never
stopped me from pursuing my interests," she says.
A career in athletics
was what the young woman had in mind initially, but somewhere along the way she
realised that politics was her calling. "As an adolescent, I discovered
that I could empathise with people in need and even be their leader when
necessary. That's why I decided to join politics. Five years ago, when I ran
for the post of councillor, my ward was dominated by candidates from the main
opposition party. Yet, I won," she reveals.
Kasturi works in
Sagar, a town in Shimoga district, which has people from diverse religions and
is vulnerable to communal tensions. But she has proved her mettle and instilled
confidence among the people of her ward as well as the local police, by largely
maintaining communal harmony in her area. These days, in addition to assisting
people to access their entitlements, Kasturi also makes it a point to share her
experiences and knowledge with others.
Karnataka has several
politically empowered women like Jayamma and Kasturi, who are doing good work
in their communities. But their political journey has not been free of
challenges. Apart from a few lucky ones, most have had to overcome hurdles at
every step of the way - be it their lack of awareness or the social stigma they
experienced.
Coming to their aid
have been organisations like the Urban Research Centre (URC), which has been
holding awareness sessions on governance structures, politics, gender rights,
responsibilities of councillors, among other relevant topics for the last three
years. Says Prabha T.S., 37, a councillor from Chamrajnagar district, "We
found that many of our peers did not know their basic duties. We have benefited
immensely from URC's training programmes and now we encourage other women
councillors to participate in the periodic discussions and trainings that it
conducts."
While Jayamma and
Kasturi are well aware of their responsibilities, the professional and private
life of an average female councillor is still controlled by male family
members. They want to change this scenario radically.
What will help them
in this endeavour is the
Today, M. Pramila, a
former municipal councillor and graduate Kannada from Dodballapur, near
This is a problem
that most women councillors face, even if they have been members of established
political parties for many years. While parties generally accept them as
candidates, especially in the wards reserved for women, they do so only to
corner more seats, not to empower women. In fact some women councillors also
feel that men are constantly attempting to sideline them, especially if they
prove to be vocal and efficient.
With fifty per cent
reservation in local bodies, the women feel they will finally have a fair
chance at being taken seriously. It is a struggle to keep at it – there are not
many perks that come with a councillor’s post, and much of the work is
voluntary. The municipality does not even provide them with designated office
space or remuneration except for a small honorarium that varies from Rs 600 to
Rs 1,000 per month, depending on the area that comes under the jurisdiction of
the municipality. Further, the councillors are expected to contribute funds for
festivals, sports tournaments and other events organised in their area. Women
councillors sometimes even have to face gender-based harassment and
discrimination from the public, colleagues, the police and other government
officials as well.
But women like
Saroja, a councillor from Karwar district, are not daunted by the challenges,
"Like women in other situations, we have realised that we must stand up
and speak out for ourselves. For instance, we have asked for separate seating
in the council office and a designated space where we can take some rest and
enjoy some privacy."
Even Sukanya, 47,
from Chikmaglur district, is determined to continue her community work. Sukanya
has successfully fought for her independence and identity ever since she was a
young girl. After becoming the municipal councillor of her ward for the first
time around five years ago, she has ensured that the women in her ward - be
they from the community or party - are not left behind.
Information and
exposure has liberated these women who are figures of inspiration at the local
level. Their maxim, "Let us all unite as women and reach out to each
other", is extremely relevant, no matter how difficult it is to
achieve!