by Shriya Mohan
SRINAGAR, INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR – “People don’t trust women,” says Syed Arif Hussain.
His wife, Shabnam Begum, intends to run for a seat on the local village council, a political structure known as Panchayat.
“[We] don’t encourage their participation as contestants,” he says.
Panchayat, the common structure of local politics throughout South Asia, literally translates to “assembly of five.”
But Begum craves the opportunity. “Given a chance, I would love to contest [in] Panchayat elections. But I know, no one is going to support me,” she says.
A resident of Noorkah–Uri, a small village about 100 kilometers from Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir, Begum says, “More women might be interested in contesting such elections, but lack of family and societal support makes it difficult for them.”
A health care provider in her village, Begum also set-up the first cosmetic shop in her village after acquiring financial assistance from a national nongovernment organization.
Initially, Begum says she was widely criticized for her cosmetics venture, but says people soon realized the importance. “Women were shy to purchase certain things from male shopkeepers and there was no such shop, here. So I picked up the idea and it clicked,” she says. Even though she established the shop and runs the day to day operations, she admits the business was registered in her husband’s name.
After the empowering experience of opening the shop, Begum, a mother of three, says running in the local election would be another step to advance women’s participation and the overall development of her village. “It would send a message across the village that women, too, can manage political affairs,” she says. “If women can contribute in other fields, why not politics?”
Hussain, her husband, says he is ready to support his wife’s candidacy for panch, one of the five members of the village committee, but not as sarpanch, the leader of the committee.
“As a sarpanch, she would have to attend many meetings outside [the] valley, which is not possible. I will definitely assist her in her work [if] she gets elected as panch,” he says.
Syed Rafiq, the current sarpanch of Noorkah-Uri, says it is important that women run for Panchayat, as long as they are qualified. “Whosoever will come forward, we will support. Women as candidates should come forward, but education is must,” he says.
Rafiq believes women, like men, should have at least passed their secondary school examinations as a minimum qualification for a seat on the local council. “The women candidate should have some experience in social work, as well,” he adds.
As for the background needed to be sarpanch, Rafiq says, “The candidate should have sound financial background. Otherwise there are chances of him falling into [the] clutches of corruption.” Rafiq adds that the sarpanch also needs to have money, as he often spends personal money on village affairs.
Although the education of women is becoming more widely recognized as important for village communities in Kashmir, the number of women serving in local politics has remained unchanged for the last 20 years.
Village Governance Standards
In 1993, the Indian government created Panchayati Raj, a three-tier system that was to be used in states with a population of more than two million people. The tiered system reserves seats on local village councils for members of different castes, tribes and women. While the population of Jammu and Kashmir is more than 10 million, the three-tiered system is not in place here.
One Panchayat officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that reserving a third of the local Panchayat seats has brought some progress in other states in India. “Since the system is not in place [in Kashmir], nothing is visible on ground.”
Rural women say they’ve not yet seen the level of participation and empowerment they anticipated through the Panchayat system. With the next Panchayat elections expected in May, many local women and village council members say that a general ambivalence to women as candidates is still prominent.
“Panchayat is just a nominal body these days as the system is not in place. Common masses are no longer interested in it,” says Fayaz Ahmad Baig, 20, a social activist and a resident of Ganasthan-Sumbal, a village 35 kilometers from Srinagar city. He admits that there has been no woman sarpanch or panch in his village but says hopes to see one in the future.
A few kilometers from Fayaz’s village, Ali Mohammad Mir, a resident of Nowgam-B in Sumbal district Bandipora says that during last Panchayat election there three women and four men contested for Panchayat seats. “We supported a woman in that Panchayat election and she won,” he says.
Mir says he intends to contest in the upcoming Panchayat elections. When asked if he would support his wife’s candidacy if she wanted to run, he replied, “She can’t contest as it [requires] an experienced person, who can speak and has practical knowledge of things and certain level of exposure in field. A voter thinks many times before he casts a vote.”
The 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Indian Constitution ensure women the right to participate in rural and urban local governing bodies. Despite these provisions, the representation of women on village councils has seen little increase since the amendments were enacted in 1992.
A recent study, Women’s Representation in Panchayati Raj – A Study of Halqa Panchayat, Jammu Region, conducted by the University of Jammu states female candidates in Panchayat elections are often selected based on their personal affiliations, like their caste and village of residence.
“Seventy percent vote [based] on gender,” the report concluded. “Political clout and educational background plays a dominant role in the choice of candidates.”
According to the study, 80 percent of people said they would vote for female candidates for a panch position if she was qualified, but the study found that a woman had never been selected for the post of sarpanch anywhere in India.
Political Instability Means Infrequent Panchayat Elections
Due to political uncertainty in the state since 1989, Panchayat elections have occurred inconsistently.
The state of Jammu and Kashmir is divided in three regions — Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh. Srinagar is the summer capital and Jammu the winter capital. The state has remained polemic since Pakistan emerged in 1947. India and Pakistan have fought two official wars over Kashmir, in 1947 and 1965, with an additional conflict in 1999.
In 2001, Panchayat elections were conducted in the state of Jammu and Kashmir for the first time in 23 years. Due to security concerns, the elections across the state were carried out in eight phases and completed during a six month period.
“Though Panchayat Raj is [supposed] to be ‘democracy at the grassroots [level]’ what is surprising that the Panchayat elections were held here after a lapse of 23 years (1978-2001),” says Dr. Ashish Saxena, professor of sociology at the University of Jammu. He authored the study Women’s Representation in Panchayati Raj – A Study of Halqa Panchayat, Jammu Region.
Many local women say they are hopeful that the three-tier system will be enforced here so that they may have the opportunity to participate in local leadership.
“Based on the performance of women in the village, it is possible that one of its members [will] be supported for upcoming Panchayat elections,” says Misra Bhanu, resident of Gounchipora in Bandipora district, 30 kilometers from Srinagar.
“Women are poorly informed about the functioning of Panchayat and its meetings. Mere political will and articulation of policies will not translate into benefits for women,” says Nageena Bano, a young local activist from Baramulla.
Although representation remains limited, many women in local villages say they are motivated and determined to not only run for local posts, but also win.
Begum says she yearns for the day when she, together with other women in area, will be supported by their families and society to not only run in the election for a post of sarpanch, but also for state legislative assembly and parliament. She believes that education is the key to the political participation of women at the grassroots level.
