Women's quota works in rural India

It is midday in Wadgaon Peer, a small village in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. A slim, petite woman squats on the floor of her sparsely-furnished one-storey home. Clad in a simple cotton sari, her hair pulled back into a bun, she shells peanuts for the afternoon meal.

At first glance, one might not think this woman has much of a say in the key decisions to do with her household, let alone the entire village of over 2,000 people. Yet as sarpanch, or leader of the village panchayat, Jaydabi Mujavar has held the reins to administration for over 12 years.

Support from villagers right from the start

A one-third quota was introduced in village councils in 1994. Women now make up 36 percent of 2.8 million elected representatives.

The beginning was far from smooth, says Jaydabi, who was an uneducated housewife at the time. "At first my mother-in-law was skeptical about whether I could manage the work. But then later she relented and supported me. When I first started out, I had no experience, and I often had to leave my home and housework to do my sarpanch duties. But with time I learned everything. The villagers also supported me, and didn’t oppose me at any point."

Like many female sarpanches in India, Jaydabi was nominated by her husband, who continues to play an active role in guiding her work. Yet the villagers say she has also carved a niche for herself through her unique approach of taking all those involved into confidence.

For example, she spearheaded a government initiative to construct toilets in every home to improve general health and hygiene. For this, she worked late hours for two years, visiting homes and explaining to the residents the benefits of clean toilets as against open defecation in the fields.

Today, Panchayat officials in Wadgaon Peer claim, illness has decreased by nearly 70 percent. This has won Jaydabi popularity among the villagers as well as accolades at the state and national level.

"Women are more self-motivated"

This attitude towards her work sets Jaydabi apart from her predecessors, says Kamble A.S, secretary for the Panchayat at Wadgaon Peer. "Compared to male council leaders, women who are given the responsibility of a village are usually more self-motivated and take active part in implementing their duties or initiatives.

"During Jaydabi's tenure, all government schemes introduced have been implemented very successfully. Our village ranks among the highest in the state in the implementation of these schemes."

Thanks to Jaydabi’s drive, initiatives to build roads, provide drinking water, clean the village and fight alcoholism have also been more successful than before.

Strengthened sense of communal harmony

Jaydabi's unopposed tenure for three consecutive terms is also significant because she belongs to the minority Muslim community. Jaydabi says this has never stood in the way of her work, however. In fact, the sense of communal harmony has strengthened, she believes.

She is convinced that women can make an important contribution to politics "because a woman has experience in running a home, and managing various people. She runs the village in the same way. Even at the parliament level, she can use the same skills."

Finding a balance between home and politics can be a challenge, adds Jaydabi, but she is determined to stand her own in the largely male-dominated political domain.

Author: Pia Chandavarkar
Editor: Anne Thomas