Moving tales of state's women in power
By Asha P Nair
21st September 2010 04:39 AM
KERALA: There was a time Kerala stared at the face of women empowerment like a pariah who had suddenly attained divinity. It was the mid 90s and one-third of the local bodies were to be ruled by women. Politics, which was till then a male bastion, was forced to accommodate new partners. Fifteen years down the lane, the tenants are to become the owners. But the key remains hidden.
Handling power was not a smooth affair for hundreds of women across the gram panchayats in the state.
But they have readied a stage for another hundreds to take over.
‘’Hundreds of women in Kerala have been in power for the last 10 years or more out of sheer determination and perseverance. They have been going through mental and physical harassment. But the urge to do something useful for society and themselves has kept them going,’’ says J Devika, associate professor, Centre for Development Studies (CDS).
Devika is currently doing research on ‘Women in Politics and Governance in Contemporary Kerala.’ She has interviewed one-fifth of the women heads. ‘’Easy acceptance is often proportional to caste, creed, political background and financial status,’’ she says.
To be the first is always to be the sinner. So, when retired teachers and housewives became panchayat presidents and members, they made errors. ‘’It took months of patient learning to assert my power. Even after being in active local politics and being backed by a party, things were not easy. A woman at the helm irked many,’’ says P P Indira Devi, panchayat president, Thiruvegapura, Palakkad. Today, she has completed her third term and made her presence in the panchayat inevitable.
Mukkam (Kozhikode) panchayat president A Kalyanikutty, widowed at 19, entered politics in her 20s and experienced what real resistance is.
‘’One of the major issues in our panchayat was illegal sand mining.
Once I went to the spot at midnight and called the police for help.
Strangely, no help came. I was abused by the sand-miners. The male panchayat members turned a deaf ear to my plight. At one point, I had to slap one of the men. It was then that the police entered the scene,’’ she says.
Valakom (in Ernakulam) panchayat president Shanta Babu, who hails from a conservative Christian family, entered politics when she was 27. Being a fellow traveller of the Left was enough disgrace. ‘’We had ideological differences at home.
I am 49 now. The differences have subsided for now,’’ she says.
Handling power was not a smooth affair for hundreds of women across the gram panchayats in the state.
But they have readied a stage for another hundreds to take over.
‘’Hundreds of women in Kerala have been in power for the last 10 years or more out of sheer determination and perseverance. They have been going through mental and physical harassment. But the urge to do something useful for society and themselves has kept them going,’’ says J Devika, associate professor, Centre for Development Studies (CDS).
Devika is currently doing research on ‘Women in Politics and Governance in Contemporary Kerala.’ She has interviewed one-fifth of the women heads. ‘’Easy acceptance is often proportional to caste, creed, political background and financial status,’’ she says.
To be the first is always to be the sinner. So, when retired teachers and housewives became panchayat presidents and members, they made errors. ‘’It took months of patient learning to assert my power. Even after being in active local politics and being backed by a party, things were not easy. A woman at the helm irked many,’’ says P P Indira Devi, panchayat president, Thiruvegapura, Palakkad. Today, she has completed her third term and made her presence in the panchayat inevitable.
Mukkam (Kozhikode) panchayat president A Kalyanikutty, widowed at 19, entered politics in her 20s and experienced what real resistance is.
‘’One of the major issues in our panchayat was illegal sand mining.
Once I went to the spot at midnight and called the police for help.
Strangely, no help came. I was abused by the sand-miners. The male panchayat members turned a deaf ear to my plight. At one point, I had to slap one of the men. It was then that the police entered the scene,’’ she says.
Valakom (in Ernakulam) panchayat president Shanta Babu, who hails from a conservative Christian family, entered politics when she was 27. Being a fellow traveller of the Left was enough disgrace. ‘’We had ideological differences at home.
I am 49 now. The differences have subsided for now,’’ she says.
No comments:
Post a Comment