Caste and Patriarchy in Panchayats

Pal, Mahi. 2004. “Caste and Patriarchy in Panchayats.” Economic and Political Weekly 39(32): 3581-3583

This paper is based on the deliberations in a workshop where 188 Dalit representatives from 19 districts in Haryana participated. This state level workshop was held to understand the problems faced by Dalit women in performing their duties as elected women representatives.

The following issues emerged:

1. Illiteracy and lack of awareness about powers and functions and development schemes.
2. Encroachment of common land: The women representatives said that people from dominant castes were often encroaching into their common land and they did not receive much support from authorities in dealing with this issue.
3. Poverty and resourcelessness : Women representatives were themselves poor and often had to fund their travel from their own meager incomes.
4. Social inequality and casteism: The higher caste members of the Panchayats sometimes refused to work with the Dalit women, conducted separate meetings and expected these women to sign papers without reading them.

The author suggest that special adult education programs, capacity building programs and economic improvement are critical to ensure that women can participate equally in the Panchayat