A very interesting and at times intriguing process is going on in the field of politics in India. It’s an attempt to usher in social justice and equality by providing greater political representation to the under-privileged groups. The argument is that through such political empowerment far reaching changes can be implemented in the society. An example is the 33 per cent reservation for women in the gram panchayat system. This provision is in keeping with the politically correct stand of empowering women so that gender inequalities can also be reduced. While the argument itself is very sound, there seem to have been a number of distortions, creeping in the implementation part. The fundamental question is whether a political step through representation alone can be effective against strongly entrenched male dominant customs, practices and beliefs. To find answer of this question we have to go in depth studies carried out by the researchers in different parts of India.

A study was conducted by Jos Chathukulam and M. S. John at Centre for Rural Management, Kottayam (Kerala) reflects that most of the women who had elected to the panchayats as members were wary of contesting subsequent elections on their own. They alleged that domination and the allocation of resources by the party, especially on the basis of patronage to party cadres and the privately sexist attitudes of male members, prevented women from functioning effectively. None of the members who had held responsible leadership positions in the panchayat showed any enthusiasm to contest elections another time. This is indeed revealing and shows that women found the sphere of politics too intimidating and antithetical to their expectations and style of functioning. All the respondents said they would prefer a less partisan style of politics, unlike the male representatives who generally adopted an approach of distributing patronage to those faithful to the party.

The study also shows that domestic work and the bearing of and caring for children take away much of the women’s time and they find their political role too taxing. It may be noted that the domestic and child care work of women takes long hours to meet, given the locally acceptable standards. Hence the opportunity costs of involvement in politics for women are great. Instances of proxy rule and back-seat driving by male family members of female representatives, common in some parts of Northern India, were not found in the area of the study (Mathew and Nayak, 1996; Pai, 1998; Pal, 1998). Those who provide a stable support base to these women members are mainly drawn from the emerging women’s self- help groups. Women members have been working in close liaison with these self-help groups focused on thrift and credit. Furthermore, they have shown greater receptivity and willingness to work with non-party, voluntary, and people’s organizations, unlike their male colleagues.

Another study was conducted in Amreli District, Gujarat by Alexandra Geertz. Amreli District is situated in the southeastern section of the state. The district has a sex ratio of 986 females to every 1,000 males. The data was collected through a series of twelve interviews with women in nearby villages and towns, who are presently, or who have in the past, held positions on the panchayats at the district, taluka or village level. By examining the different areas in society where women face limitations, the importance of the various relationships and the way in which they affect one another become evident.The women’s movement provided an example of a decentralized effort to empower women in Indian society. Centralized approaches to creating change for women are limited because they generally do not affect the moral and cultural values that have forwarded women’s disempowerment.

The study further analyses that Family, caste and class provide some of the most influential power relationships between men and women. As displayed above, the husband can not only affect women’s decisions in politics, but also he can control her political position altogether. Likewise, women of higher castes are subjected to higher standards of purity and tradition within the private realm and as a result are unable to exercise other forms of power freely.

Aparna Thomas in her dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy, “Women's Participation in the Panchayati Raj (Local Government Councils): A Case Study of Sangli District, in Western Maharashtra” analyses that institutional mechanisms such as quotas are a necessary step, women's participation, while successful in some cases, is hindered by the influence of other variables such as caste, party politics and the lack of support from the family. The study concluded that successful participation by women in panchayat politics is a result of a combination of various factors. Successful formal institutional design must consider the role of informal institutions. Reservations for women in India are the first and necessary step, however, not a sufficient condition for women's empowerment.

There are lots more studies are available, on the basis of most of the studies we can conclude at macro level that the situation is changing for the rural women, both in the thinking and activities. Of course, for full change it will take some more time. It is obvious in country like India, where too many diversifications occurred in all respect. The most positive aspect of the constitutional amendments is that the panchayats are now firmly rooted. Elections to these local government bodies are more or less regularly held – an objective that could not be achieved in the earlier experiments with local democracy. And if we conclude at micro level then the over all experience of the last ten years shows that women's entry in politics and acceptance of the same by the male dominated rural society has not been smooth and devoid of problems. Women face innumerable problems ranging from proxy presence to outright violence. Higher educational attainment, prior exposure to the outside world, and knowledge and understanding of one’s roles and responsibilities in panchayats are important enabling factors at the individual level, while at the social level such factors include support from the family, support of the male panchayat members and government officials, and support from voluntary community groups or organizations.

Lokendra Singh Kot