By Khabar Lahariya:
[envoke_twitter_link]Is it enough for women to hold positions of power in local government bodies?[/envoke_twitter_link] Can women influence life in their communities from these positions? Or are they simply empty representatives, puppets whose thunder is stolen by domineering male family members? We wrote about women developing a new language of politics in Uttar Pradesh, women who go campaigning, independent candidates who know what it means to win and lead.
We wanted to find more women in rural U.P. politics – women who had won and were leading their districts. After the furore of Zila Panchayat elections died down, we investigated the stories of two women ZP members in Banda and Faizabad. Here, we found a story different from Javitri Devi’s and Anshu Shivhare’s – we found a story that’s the same old story, a story that shows much work remains to be done.
We are at Jawahar Lal Inter College, in Mahua block, Banda, which is the local Voting Centre. Votes are counted here after voting is over.
Gorelal is the one who has been garlanded and congratulated on ‘winning’ the seat. When we try to talk to Munni Devi, she is unavailable; Gorelal speaks in her place and says, “What work do women have here? I’m the one who does everything around here.”
250 kilometres away, in Niralanagar, Faizabad, we seek out Geeta Singh, who also won a seat in the Zila Parishad by 77 votes. We ask people standing around in the mohalla for directions to her house; no one knows who she is. We walk about two kilometres, asking for directions again and again, before we find her house.
Her mother in law angrily shushes her. Geeta once again becomes non-communicative – perhaps in fear of being scolded later – as she waits for her husband to come and handle the media.
Brought to you in collaboration with Khabar Lahariya.