PATNA: When Bihar in 2006 provided for 50% reservation to women in panchayat bodies, it was touted as a silent revolution by chief minister Nitish Kumar. The silent revolution that saw the fair sex capturing half of the 2.6 lakh seats in states panchayat bodies, is deafening now.
While it was a dream come true for the lakh and odd women, it was empowerment of a new kind for half of the states 10.38 crore population, desperate to have a say in the governance. The result was a pleasant surprise: women outnumbered men when it came to voting in 2010 assembly elections; 54.85% women voted as against 50.7% men. The turnout of women was as high as 60% in nine of the states 38 districts.
A record 34 women made it to the 243-strong state legislative assembly. Among them was Jyoti Devi, an unschooled Musahar (the poorest community among dalits). “It was the result of the process of empowerment at the panchayat level that a poor woman like me was fielded by ruling JD-U from Gaya’s Barachatti,” she said.
Beena Devi of Nawada’s Loharpura panchayat feels panchayats are serving as nurseries for women leaders in new Bihar. “Women are as competent as men,” the Loharpura mukhiya told TOI and proudly added she was adjudged one of the best mukhiyas in the country by the Union panchayati raj ministry.
Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi agrees with Beena. `Its a common perception that women are more capable and less corrupt than men,” he said and added the reservation policy has completely changed the profile of rural society as women are now helming the village administration.
But throwing off male dominance was not a smooth affair for many. Take, for instance, the case of Uma Devi who paid a heavy price for refusing to withdraw from the contest in the 2006 election in Jamui district’s Islampur panchayat. Goons of a criminal don tore open her one-year-old daughters belly and took away the two other kids and slaughtered them.
In many panchayats, men have adopted a somewhat novel method to stick to power. They fielded wives in the election, and are now content with calling the shots as an MP or SP; that is `Mukhiya Pati’ or `Sarpanch Pati’.
CM Kumar has also heard of such MPs and SPs who forcibly sit in official meetings and dictate orders on behalf of their spouses. The administration has been directed to keep these de facto functionaries away from panchayat meetings. “It will take some time for this kind of democracy to mature in Bihar,” said Modi