Less corrupt, more committed than male members
By Asha P Nair
23rd September 2010 02:14 AM
KERALA: There is a large section in society which believes that administration and corruption go handing love, but they also believe that women can make a change. For the simple reason that a sizeable number of women are out there for their panchayats and not for politics.
If anyone was skeptical at anytime about the administrative prowess of women, it was corrected after the first fiveyear term itself, as early as 2000.
"During our interaction with women leaders during the People's Plan campaign, we found women display an inclination to learn things, to get trained and do things meticulously. There are exceptions, as in all cases, but a majority of them took pains to understand things and think about the larger interests of their panchayats," T N Seema MP said. It could be used to exploit women, too, as J Devika, Associate Professor at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), put it.
"At the panchayat level, there are a lot of norms and rules to be studied. Parties find it safe in the hands of women. They would be engaged in learning the trade while men can go on with their practical politics."
It is another thing that a few women panchayat heads could actually see to it that women component projects are implemented. "Take, for instance, the setting up of jagratha samitis in local bodies. There are only 35 active panchayats run by women where samitis have been set up for them. Which means, they have shed their initial inhibition and gained confidence, but that is yet to reflect itself as projects for the women population," says Eliyamma Vijayan, director of Sakhi Women's Resource Centre, who was actively involved in the work of the People's Plan cell.
Many women are aware that if they fall behind in grasping the administrative lessons, they will be exploited by bureaucrats and the male members alike. It is also a fact that, by the time they learn to rule, they are out of power. Unlike men, only if they prove themselves do they get a second chance, woman members say.
However, there is a brighter side to this. "There is a huge difference in the way men and women approach projects. A woman would stand for common issues like tackling alcoholism or use of drugs or domestic violence, instead of thinking of the distribution of funds among the wards," Eliyamma says.
The growth of the Kudumbashree has contributed a lot to developing the administrative skills of women. It is to be recalled that it was the 'Gramasree,' a womenparticipatory model implemented in Madikai panchayat as early as 1996, that inspired the formation of the Kudumbasree later.
Baby Balakrishnan, who was thethen president of the Madikai panchayat says that the Kudumbasree has opened the doors to women to get a feel of public life. "At least five community development scheme members from every panchayat now have the capacity to contest in the elections," says Baby, who is also the Kudumbashree state governing body member. True, there have been allegations of corruption against women in many panchayats. Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram is a glaring example, but that does not take faith away from the larger numbers ready to flow in.
(Tomorrow: The struggle to blend family with politics)
If anyone was skeptical at anytime about the administrative prowess of women, it was corrected after the first fiveyear term itself, as early as 2000.
"During our interaction with women leaders during the People's Plan campaign, we found women display an inclination to learn things, to get trained and do things meticulously. There are exceptions, as in all cases, but a majority of them took pains to understand things and think about the larger interests of their panchayats," T N Seema MP said. It could be used to exploit women, too, as J Devika, Associate Professor at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), put it.
"At the panchayat level, there are a lot of norms and rules to be studied. Parties find it safe in the hands of women. They would be engaged in learning the trade while men can go on with their practical politics."
It is another thing that a few women panchayat heads could actually see to it that women component projects are implemented. "Take, for instance, the setting up of jagratha samitis in local bodies. There are only 35 active panchayats run by women where samitis have been set up for them. Which means, they have shed their initial inhibition and gained confidence, but that is yet to reflect itself as projects for the women population," says Eliyamma Vijayan, director of Sakhi Women's Resource Centre, who was actively involved in the work of the People's Plan cell.
Many women are aware that if they fall behind in grasping the administrative lessons, they will be exploited by bureaucrats and the male members alike. It is also a fact that, by the time they learn to rule, they are out of power. Unlike men, only if they prove themselves do they get a second chance, woman members say.
However, there is a brighter side to this. "There is a huge difference in the way men and women approach projects. A woman would stand for common issues like tackling alcoholism or use of drugs or domestic violence, instead of thinking of the distribution of funds among the wards," Eliyamma says.
The growth of the Kudumbashree has contributed a lot to developing the administrative skills of women. It is to be recalled that it was the 'Gramasree,' a womenparticipatory model implemented in Madikai panchayat as early as 1996, that inspired the formation of the Kudumbasree later.
Baby Balakrishnan, who was thethen president of the Madikai panchayat says that the Kudumbasree has opened the doors to women to get a feel of public life. "At least five community development scheme members from every panchayat now have the capacity to contest in the elections," says Baby, who is also the Kudumbashree state governing body member. True, there have been allegations of corruption against women in many panchayats. Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram is a glaring example, but that does not take faith away from the larger numbers ready to flow in.
(Tomorrow: The struggle to blend family with politics)
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