“The Political Voices of Rural Women:Myth or Reality-A Study of Dibrugarh District of Assam”

Abstract

Political participation is the hallmark of a democratic setup. Effectiveness and success of democracy depends upon the participation of people both men and women.The 73rd Amendment is one of the land mark judgment which brought about a tactical shift in the functioning of grassroots democracy. The Act through Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) provide the opportunity to the rural masses to involve themselves from grass-root level to achieve all the national challenges.Moreover participation of rural women is ensured with 33 percent women reservation.It heralded a new era in decentralised governance processes in India by changing situation in power structures that has created opportunities for the women to step out of their homes to take active part and greater representation in local governance.This has been viewed as a new norm for women empowerment.Empowerment of women stands against the patriarchal nature of Indian society and helps in building a society where women can breathe without the fear of oppression and exploitation.Though the 73rd Constitutional Amendment has created a pathway for women to come into the public sphere, but their status and participation in local self governance is still low.Moreover the present day Panchayat in India is mostly criticised by the proxy participation of women in the decision making or development process.This paper basically focus to study the extent of women participation in gram panchayats of Tengakhat Block of Dibrugarh district.Their role in local governance and problems faced by themselves in performing their duty and will try to provide some recommendations to  overcome the problems.