At home with civic duties
By Asha P Nair
24th September 2010 01:32 AM
In the middle of 1999, the People's Plan cell under the Planning Board compiled the experiences of woman panchayat representatives in the state.
It found that many women had ventured out of the kitchens braving physical violence, mental harassment and family restraints. There were discords in the family, divorces were many and women were despised for their adventure. Fifty or sixty, reservation or not, society cradles a hypocrisy that is hard to deal with, women say.
"No changes have come in the family equations. What is the ultimate objective if it fails to raise women as the decisionmaker within the family? The irony in gender relations is an obstacle to women to shed their traditional roles. It, in turn, is reflected in parties and governments. There is a reluctance to women's leadership which is yet to be done away with completely," says T N Seema MP, who was a member of the People's Plan cell.
Umpteen woman panchayat members disclose that they still bear the burden of family expectations. Whenever their child fails in an examination, husband falls ill or a sudden crisis occurs in the family, accusing fingers naturally point to the woman. "There are a couple of woman members who told they were quitting because it was only adding to their burden, not bringing in a change in their status," says O Sudhadevi, Vizhinjam grama panchayat president.
Women themselves are their biggest enemies, says Baby Balakrishnan, who is the block panchayat president at Madikai. "We set up a gender resource centre in our panchayat and took classes for women where we found they were willing to improve their abilities at any cost but not willing to assert their identity and rights. They are willing to fight the injustice outside, but not within their homes," she says.
And, that exactly is the biggest concern of woman representatives in the state. That women come out of their homes for five years and return to their old spaces without complaints. There is no upward mobility for women in politics. "In the past 15 years, how many women have come to the limelight and shared political spaces with prominence? They limit themselves to the panchayats and are satisfied with it," says Eliamma Vijayan of Sakhi. Margaret Thomas, former block panchayat president of Mananthavadi reasons why.
"Most of the women lack a political perspective, except those who have a political background. They are fielded by a party, they learn the norms, take up their duties and impress people. After one or two terms they are neglected for fresh faces. It is time women developed a political outlook, or they will remain mere puppets in the hands of parties ," she points out.
Experience in public life, participation in social issues and a genuine interest in people's issues are a must to a step back to square one.
In 1999 and again in 2001, Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac, the architect of decentralisation, had done a panel study on the impact of decentralisation on woman leaders. It found that women acquired the knowledge easily by learning the norms and rules, and had the capacity to organise public rallies and prepare reports.
"It saw the emergence of a new generation of grassrootslevel woman leaders. It would not have happened otherwise," says Isaac. True, but it is also true that they remain grassrootslevel leaders. "That points to the need for democratic decentralisation. The need is heightened by the Kerala experience," Isaac says.
The entry of thousands of women into a socialbuilding process that was until now handled by a few hundreds is a matter of concern to some.
"When you are in a minority, you have the urge to prove and make worthy of the opportunity, but when you are in a majority, it may lead to taking things lightly," says Mukkam panchayat president Kalyanikutty.
When spouses become dummy candidates, the objective is thwarted, she says. There are others who brush aside the argument and see it only as the biggest opportunity ever that has come to them. It is only a matter of time before either of the arguments win or die.
(Concluded)
It found that many women had ventured out of the kitchens braving physical violence, mental harassment and family restraints. There were discords in the family, divorces were many and women were despised for their adventure. Fifty or sixty, reservation or not, society cradles a hypocrisy that is hard to deal with, women say.
"No changes have come in the family equations. What is the ultimate objective if it fails to raise women as the decisionmaker within the family? The irony in gender relations is an obstacle to women to shed their traditional roles. It, in turn, is reflected in parties and governments. There is a reluctance to women's leadership which is yet to be done away with completely," says T N Seema MP, who was a member of the People's Plan cell.
Umpteen woman panchayat members disclose that they still bear the burden of family expectations. Whenever their child fails in an examination, husband falls ill or a sudden crisis occurs in the family, accusing fingers naturally point to the woman. "There are a couple of woman members who told they were quitting because it was only adding to their burden, not bringing in a change in their status," says O Sudhadevi, Vizhinjam grama panchayat president.
Women themselves are their biggest enemies, says Baby Balakrishnan, who is the block panchayat president at Madikai. "We set up a gender resource centre in our panchayat and took classes for women where we found they were willing to improve their abilities at any cost but not willing to assert their identity and rights. They are willing to fight the injustice outside, but not within their homes," she says.
And, that exactly is the biggest concern of woman representatives in the state. That women come out of their homes for five years and return to their old spaces without complaints. There is no upward mobility for women in politics. "In the past 15 years, how many women have come to the limelight and shared political spaces with prominence? They limit themselves to the panchayats and are satisfied with it," says Eliamma Vijayan of Sakhi. Margaret Thomas, former block panchayat president of Mananthavadi reasons why.
"Most of the women lack a political perspective, except those who have a political background. They are fielded by a party, they learn the norms, take up their duties and impress people. After one or two terms they are neglected for fresh faces. It is time women developed a political outlook, or they will remain mere puppets in the hands of parties ," she points out.
Experience in public life, participation in social issues and a genuine interest in people's issues are a must to a step back to square one.
In 1999 and again in 2001, Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac, the architect of decentralisation, had done a panel study on the impact of decentralisation on woman leaders. It found that women acquired the knowledge easily by learning the norms and rules, and had the capacity to organise public rallies and prepare reports.
"It saw the emergence of a new generation of grassrootslevel woman leaders. It would not have happened otherwise," says Isaac. True, but it is also true that they remain grassrootslevel leaders. "That points to the need for democratic decentralisation. The need is heightened by the Kerala experience," Isaac says.
The entry of thousands of women into a socialbuilding process that was until now handled by a few hundreds is a matter of concern to some.
"When you are in a minority, you have the urge to prove and make worthy of the opportunity, but when you are in a majority, it may lead to taking things lightly," says Mukkam panchayat president Kalyanikutty.
When spouses become dummy candidates, the objective is thwarted, she says. There are others who brush aside the argument and see it only as the biggest opportunity ever that has come to them. It is only a matter of time before either of the arguments win or die.
(Concluded)
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