Political Empowerment of Women at the Grassroots

Today one of the issues of concern is the level of womens participation in political life. In this context reservation seats is one of the instrument of political empowerment for women. Karnataka has been the first state to introduce the policy of reservation in the Panchayati Raj institutions. It is in this context that the study had been taken up and it intended to touch upon various aspects of women’s functioning in the Panchayati Raj institutions and its impacts on the overall development of women especially in the rural areas. The study also examined pertinent questions like role of Panchayati Raj institutions in the cause of women’s development and effective participation of women in the decision-making process, their influence in the behaviour of attitude of rural women after their entry into these institutions. It is the first comprehensive empirical research work on the theme and has disclosed many social, economic, institutional and functional constraints that impair the functioning of women in the Panchayati Raj institutions. An overview on the role of position of women in these institutions indicate that the women have entered these institutions for the first time by introduction of policy of reservation and they have to go a long way to prove that they are equally capable as men. The policy of reservation provided for women is important not as an end in itself but a step forward in promoting women’s participation in the grassroots of democracy.