How Sarpanch Pati Practice Killing Women's Reservation In Panchayats? (image: screen grab from X)
Kawardha, Chattisgarh: On Monday, March 4, the husbands of six newly elected women panchayat representatives (panches) allegedly took the oath instead of their wives in the Paraswara village panchayat in the Pandariya development block. Located in Chhattisgarh’s Kabirdham district, the swearing-in of the panchayat representatives has prompted the authorities to launch investigation.
The controversy surfaced when video of the oath-taking ceremony circulated on social media on Tuesday. In the video, all male members can be seen taking oaths.
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In the recently held three-tier panchayat polls, the 11 ward panches were elected in the Parasrwara village panchayat. Among them, six were women, while the sarpanch was a man, the official said. The husbands of these six women panches and the other elected representatives were sworn in by the panchayat secretary during their first meeting in their respective areas on Monday.
Locals and women’s rights activists raised serious objection over the incident, stating it as jeopardising women’s empowerment in the region and demanded stern action against the guilty.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Pandariya Janpad Panchayat demanded investigation into the matter. Ajay Tripathi, CEO of Kabirdham Zilla Panchayat said that action will be taken based on the probe report.
Sarpanch Pati Phenomenon And Women’s Reservation
The ‘Sarpanch Pati’ phenomenon, where male relatives, usually husbands of elected women representatives run office instead of them, is not a new practice in the panchayat system. When the men exercises political and decision-making power in place of elected women, it undermines the purpose of women’s reservation in panchayats.
As a significant change in the framework of the panchayat system, the 73rd Constitutional Amendment in 1992 has brought a reservation of not less than one-third for women at the grassroot level. As per the amendment, “one-third of the total number of seats reserved under clause (1) shall be reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes”.
Adding further it said that “no less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a panchayat.”
In 2009, the 110th Constitutional Amendment Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha which aimed to advance reservation for women from 33 per cent to 50 per cent of the total seats in panchayats. However, the bill never passed.
But, twenty states in India have passed 50% reservations for women at the panchayat level, and Chhattisgarh is one among them.
Centre Launches Programme
Recently, the Central government has launched a first-of-its-kind capacity building programme for women elected representatives in the Panchayat level in order to stop the ‘Sarpanch Pati’ phenomenon. Organised with International Women’s Day (March 8) in purview, the initiative intended to emphasis on sharpening their leadership abilities and enhance decision-making acumen.
The campaign was launched in the background of recommendations of an advisory committee set up by the ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR). The committee in its report suggested enforcement of “exemplary penalties” in the proven cases of proxy leadership by husbands or other male relatives in place of elected women representatives. It has also further pointed out a detailed roadmap on future course of directions which includes interventions ranging from behavioural change through capacity-building and mentorship, and a monitoring framework from the grassroot level to the top.
More than 1,200 women Panchayat leaders were present at the launch of the campaign at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Tuesday (March 4). During inauguration of the programme, Union minister for Panchayati Raj, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Union minister for women and child development Annapurna Devi and minister of state for Panchayati Raj S P Singh Baghel strongly criticised the proxy leadership in panchayats operated under the garb of Mukhiya Pati), Sarpanch Pati and Pradhan Pati.
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As per the report, India has about 2.63 lakh panchayats in all three tiers – Gram Panchayat (at village level), Panchayat Samiti (at block level) and Zila Parishad (at district level) – comprising 32.29 lakh elected representatives, of which 15.03 lakh (46.6 per cent) are women. Although proportion of women elected representatives in the panchayat level has shown significant rise, their effective participation in the decision-making process is still low. The Sarpanch Pati, Mukhiya Pati, or Pradhan Pati practices are more prevalent in northern states.
In the campaign, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Raksha Nikhil Khadse, who started her political career as sarpanch of a gram panchayat, in her talk advocated women leaders to lead with confidence to counter patriarchy.
