Shubham KumarAIR 1 · CSE 2020 · 414 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening · a constitutional or legal provision
With 73rd & 74th constitutional Amendment Acts, it not only led to decentralisation & devolution of power but also targetted for women empowerment with minimum 33% reservation for them.
The above case study pertains to very commonly observed situation where women acts as only nominal head and her husband conducts all administrative business . [Sarpanch /Mukhiya Pati *]
Body · points and prose
(a) Stakeholders of the case :-
(1) Myself as District Magistrate (2) Women as 'Sarpanch' (3) People of Panchayat . (4) Other women of that area (5) Her [Sarpanch's] husband . (6) District , State & National administration
Issues involved in the case :-
(1) women who has been elected as 'Sarpanch' is head only on paper. All work is done by her husband. This goes against the constitutional mandate
(2) Performance of village is best as compared to other panchayats in the district. Any action by me, may hamper the performance and development.
(3) Her husband enjoys support of the local people in a way legitimacy from public. case needs to be handled carefully as it may antagonise a large number of people.
(b) Options available to me are
(1) Allow the things to go as currently are
| Merit | Demerit |
|---|---|
| 1. Developmental activities would be carried on. | 1. against the constitution. |
| 2. local support. | 2. women could be willing to take responsibility but because of her husband's pressure she can't. |
(2) Removing her husband from the administration and making 'women' to take all charge as Sarpanch.
| Merit | Demerit |
|---|---|
| 1. Rule of law upheld. | 1. She might be unaware about the administrative processes. |
| 2. Might not able to discharge her function well → Impact development |
(3) I would make women to take charge, along with it permit husband to help her where ever necessary. ↓ I would choose option (3). Along with it :- (i) Sensitize the people regarding the issue ; why it is important for a women to take charge. would give example of Bachendri Pal, Indra Gandhi etc (ii) Frequent monitoring → to check who is conducting the business. (iii) Talk to Sarpanch & her husband and also issue warning to her husband and related consequences if he do not follow.
Long term Measures → ① Proper training of elected women representatives ↓ ② Proper Monitoring
Close · a way forward
Thus it would make women politically & socially empowered.