UPSC MAINS :- "The reservation of seats for women in the institutions of local self-government has had a limited impact onthe patriarchal character of the Indian Political process." Comment. (250 words)

ANSWER :-
One third reservation foe women in both rural and urban local bodies were provided by the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendment. Further not less than one-third of the total no. of offices of chairpersons inthe panchayats at each level shall be reserved for women . Representation of women at local government levels varies froom state to state. However , there are 13.72 lakhs elected women representatives (EWRs) in PRIs (Panchayati Raj Institutions) which constitute 44.2 percent of total elected representatives (ERs) as on December 2017.
    This reservation has benifitted women as it has enhanced respect for women, reduced prejudice against female leaders , improved their quality of life, allowed women to participate in decision making process , made women as agents of social revolution and raised confidence of women.
  The reservation has little impact on patriarchial character which is highlighted by :

(1) Elected women representatives work as a dummy candidate for the male members of their family . Sometimes they are called as 'Pati Panchayat'.

(2) They also work as proxies for rural elites hence restricting their autonomy.

(3) Burden of household responsibilities ; purdah system ; etc. affects their performance. 

(4) The women from SC and ST categories have to face double burden of caste and gender discrimination due to which they are pushed outside the mainstream Indian politics . The women from minorities also face the ill effects of patriarchy.

 But all this has not prevented women from taking up  development works. For example , women sarpanch of Dhani Miyan Gram Panchayat in Haryana built a training centre for women and ensured that every village child went to school.Further , a lot of women political representatives have been part of mother committees to effectively implement Mid Day Meals scheme , Anganwadi programs and have been part of sanitation drives and prohibitation campaigns.

Government initiatives and schemes such as Mahila Sashaktikaran Abhiyan should be implemented in letter and spirit . Article 243D can be amended to increase the percentage of women in Panchayat . Innovative initiatives like Mahila gram sabhas can also be organised to focus on women specific issues. These all initiatives would dilute the patriarchal character of Indian political process.

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