The Panchayati Raj isn¡¯t only the smallest cog in the wheel called ¡®The State¡¯; it ought to be the biggest harbinger of change in the lives of people. Whether its women empowerment or the Dalit upliftment, the Panchayati Raj has to be medium of change if the state seeks the permanent change in lives of people.
While rural India has come a long way and gram panchayats have played their part well in bringing this change, women sarpanches across India have shown great promise as most of them have risen to the top by elbowing the patriarchal structures.
Today, we have scores of women sarpanches across villages in India,? and most of them have done wonders to change the face of their villages. But, there are a few special ones, who not only overcame the deep-seated cultural resistance but also became the catalyst of change.
Here are eight such women sarpanch (village council head) who proved that if one wants to change the lives of people, gender doesn¡¯t matter at all.
She is known face as stories have been done on her. She is perhaps one of the very few, who set precedent and rose to claim what belonged to her. A sarpanch of Soda village near Jaipur has been an inspiration as she¡¯s only highly educated, but she also gave up her highly lucrative profession to change the face of her village.? The address at UN¡¯s Info-Poverty World Conference in 2011 made her a figure of women empowerment.?
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Haryana is a state with lowest sex ratio and being a woman, it¡¯s quite tough out her to lead.? But Seema turned the odds in her side. In 2010, she was elected as the sarpanch of three villages Dhani Miyan Khan, her own village and Salam Khera and Chablamori. The first front of the battle of the veiling practice for her she fought well that it should be a mandate. Later, she ensured that women and girls get the education and therefore she arranged for a training centre in the village and ensured that every girl child goes to school. It was her dedication that her villages have been given recognition for having best sex ratio, no open defecation and zero dropout rates in schools.?
Meena Bahan (in pink) panchayatgyan.gov.in
Meena Behen is the first woman sarpanch from her village in district Vyara as she heads all women panchayat board. Meena lived in a village where women weren¡¯t allowed to get out of their residences and talk to other men. But she changed all that and raised a self-help group where other women came and formed a united front against customs that don¡¯t allow women to come out and prove themselves. Meena with her associate women worked hard to bring roads, hospitals and schools to her small village.
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Her work was featured in the UN calendar 2013. Vandana Bahadur Maida first faced family¡¯s objection, then villagers, but her resilience was unbreakable. She not only fought panchayat polls in Khankhandvi village in MP but elected as the first female head of the panchayat. She has become a face of the development of not only the villages but also became a messenger for women who have been living under patriarchal hegemony.
A former investment banker, Arati Devi is certainly a woman who shows us the way. Devi left her plush and well-paying job to do her bit for her village in Dhunkapara in Odisha. One of India¡¯s youngest heads of the village, Arati is seen as the most active person around. She not only worked to revive the lost folk art of her village but also ensures that panchayat becomes accountable to every single penny came for the development of village.?
Arati work was also hailed internationally as she was selected to be a part of International Visitors Leadership Program by the US Consulate to speak on? the importance? transparency and accountability in the government.?
Her story is an enigma as tribal lady Atram Padma Bai heads the council of eight tribal villages in Telangana . Padma herself was once a Girijan farmer growing cotton, oilseeds and pulse on her 3 acre land. But she wanted to do something for 2000 odd farmers of her villages.?
In 2013, she took Rs 30,000 as the loan from an NGO and launched a hiring centre for farming tools such pick-axes, sickle, spades and wheelbarrows.? Her idea was to help the farmers who can¡¯t afford these tools for their crops and provided these at the marginal rental. With the income of this centre, she builds the roads and she also used to funds from the government for rainwater harvesting and to install water pump that make clean water available for the school in the village.
In 2016, Bhakti Sharma, a US return education woman ran for the village council elections and won. The sarpanch of Barkhedi Abdulla village in Bhopal was once included in 100 most influential women in the country.?
A graduate in political science, Bhakti had shifted to the US with her uncle¡¯s family after completing her studies. But later she decided to serve the society and her native place.? She refused job in the US and got involved in the social work in the US.?
She returned to India and contested to the polls and won. Ever since, she is here working in her village. Bhakti wants to make her village, a model panchayat.
Radha Devi (in the yellow sari), WSF
Radha Devi,? Bhadsiya village sarpanch is someone who ensures that none of the girls in the village remain at home not attending the school. Education till 5th, Devi herself knows the value of education and therefore she keeps a watch over the school in her village where the children otherwise do chores like collecting water from a distance for the mid-day meal.
Her work has reduced the dropout rate? in three educational institutes under panchayat and ensured that more and more children especially girl child get the?education.?