Union Minister Lauds UN Women’s Programme for Women Leaders in Gram Sabhas

Vishakhapatnam - The Hon’ble Minister of Panchayati Raj and Tribal Affairs, Government of India, Shri V. Kishore Chandra Deo has commended UN Women’s efforts to empower women in gram sabhas. Speaking about a joint programme of UN Women and the Government of India, he said that it “targets where it matters most- the Gram Sabhas.”

“Changes can be brought about effectively and equitably at the basic level of the Gram Sabha. As far as I know, few projects of UN agencies have put such level of emphasis on this basic level of the governance structure. I am happy that the Government of India and UN Women have positioned the issue at the right level,” he said.

He was speaking at a two-day meeting on ‘Promoting Women’s Political Leadership and Governance in India and South Asia’- a joint programme of the UN Women and the Government of India.

The Minister addressed senior officials of Panchayati Raj Departments who, along with UN Women, implement the programme in six states. In two districts each of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan, elected women representatives will acquire the skills to perform their functions confidently. “We need to ensure that women can play an effective role as leaders without facing discrimination or violence and that their concerns of economic, social and physical security are reflected in the action agenda of panchayats and Municipal Bodies,” said the Minister.

Each of the districts will also hold at least 100 Gram Sabha meetings in a year to discuss development and gender equality. This will be done with the support of trained motivators and the participation of relevant departments.

“Our programme focuses explicitly on the potential of panchayats to promote gender equality. Women are not being trained to deliver for panchayats. The roles are reversed – the panchayat is instead expected to deliver for women by focusing on issues that are central to the lives of India’s women,” said Anne Stenhammer, Regional Programme Director, UN Women.

All states now have 33 percent reservations for women in Gram Panchayats. Some even reserve 50 percent seats. Despite this progress, the Minister sent out a clear message that panchayats must have the authority and the capacity to directly take decisions in local matters.

The Royal Government of Norway has committed 11 million USD for the programme from 2009 to 2012. “We expect to bring strong alliances between governance practitioners, experts and institutions in India and Norway and have a fruitful sharing of experiences and ideas,” said Aslak Brun, Minister Counsellor and Charge d’Affaires a.i. Royal Norwegian Embassy.

UN Women partners include the National Institute of Rural Development, State Institutes of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj departments, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, The Hunger Project, and the International Centre for Research on Women.