Key Challenges for Women’s Leadership in Local Government

1. Key Challenges for Women’s Leadership in Local Government Ratna M. Sudarshan Director, Institute of Social Studies Trust, New Delhi

2. Regional perspective: women’s presence • Decentralisation present across South Asia • Different systems and levels – three tier structures in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka; two tier in Bhutan, Nepal • Reservation/ quota found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan; no quota in Bhutan, Sri Lanka

3. Regional systems of decentralisation

4. Regional systems of decentralisation

5. How should we understand women’s ‘empowerment’ in political spaces?- numbers?- ‘equal to men’ – ability to do what is required? - bringing about change?

6. Key challenges facing women leaders in local government Essential: • Getting elected – information, ‘fair play’ and resources • Capacity building – knowledge of the system, rights and duties

7. Key challenges facing women leaders in local government Desirable? • Bringing new issues on to the agenda – the specificity of women’s experience • Influencing allocations in response to these issues – tangible impact of women’s presence • Introducing processes and systems that address care responsibilities and allow more effective participation of women – sensitivity to women’s roles

8. Structure and agency: is anyone empowered? Indian experience Panchayati Raj Minister - priority areas for action are • devolution of functions, finances and functionaries. • Functions: active measures to synchronise development works with panchayat bodies. • Finances: budget head for each department, so that it could be linked to the Panchayati Raj Institutions • Functionaries - greater stress on district level planning in each state

9. Approach in India • Affirmative action through reservations (one third of seats in Panchayati Raj Institutions) • India: reservation is 33.3 per cent, actual representation is 37 per cent (ranging from 33 in Andhra Pradesh to 54 in Bihar). Women have been elected both in reserved and unreserved constituencies. • System of rotation – EWR doesn’t have the same reserved seat available at the next election (except in Tamil Nadu where reservation is for 10 years)

10. Ensuring inclusion • Innovation – example from Himachal Pradesh: ‘Mahila Gram Sabha’ held prior to regular Gram Sabha to pull together women’s issues.

11. Observations from the field ‘Whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true.’ Joan Robinson • Frequently observed ‘sarpanch patis’ - de facto governance by male members of the family • but also examples of empowered women leaders

12. Enabling factors: organising and voice • Women with experience of being part of a women’s group prior to getting elected to panchayat had the opportunity of • developing qualities of leadership • working in a group • negotiating with men of the village, articulating needs and issues

13. Constraining factors: can we overcome these? • Constraining factors: • limited decentralization of powers • little scope to decide use of funds • established arrangements (often with stated percentage payments) – • women toe the line, allow sarpanch patis to decide, do not extend the boundaries of the discourse