Pradhan Pati

I rolled into Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh on the day the results to the panchayat elections were being declared. The atmosphere was very charged.

In my survey I am asking people about the main reasons they voted for a certain candidate or what issues were most salient for them. After hearing the discussion about the panchayat elections my questions seemed unnecessary. The discussion was around how much money each candidate spent and which caste voted for whom. In the village I was in, a Yadav won, the reason given is that the Thakur vote got divided among the numerous candidates of that caste and the Yadavs stood behind their guy. He or I should say his family (his father was the previous one) is returning to power this time. It was reassuring to hear that at least some people spoke about the good work he had done in the last five years. So at least in one place I heard the `vikas’ agenda being spoken about.

This village had two surrounding villages with seats reserved for a woman candidate. I got excited that I would get to meet some dynamic women who had decided to step into politics. Till now we had not come across any women who had entered the work force, barring the first day in Gaya were we met a smart young vikas mitr (that is a development worker, whose job it is to make people aware of the numerous welfare programs available to them).

I went to Maksoodan, a village that does not seem to have benefitted from any of the welfare projects. The outgoing pradhan’s house does not have a toilet, so much for swachch bharat! This village is on the banks of river Gomati and lends itself to some beautiful views of the meandering river. But we could not enjoy that much the stench from the open toilet of the village was too nauseating.

My interest in this village lay in the weavers that reside in it. We had not come across such a group yet. They are all Muslim and they used to weave a course cloth that was used as a quilt. Their market is long disappeared, and now they are trying their hands at sharecropping.  The women in these houses weave baskets from elephant grass that I have not seen anywhere else. I asked them if they would make to sell in the market, they look at me all puzzled and ask “who would buy these?” I am lost for words, I have paid over Rs. 2000 for a much inferior product at the crafts melas in Delhi, without batting an eyelid. For them it is part of the dowry they make for their weddings and bring with them.  

In the next household I met a young bride married about two months ago. She is smart, confident and very sure of herself. My prejudices make me believe she must have studied at least to get an undergrad degree. We ask her and she tells us she has only studied till class five in the madrassa and can read the Holy Scriptures. Then were does she get the confidence from? She is also very talented. She can design and stitch kurtas well, there is a piece she has been working on next to here sewing machine. When we ask she tells us she was interested and picked it up. She once in a while has am apprentice she teaches. She points to what she is wearing and says that she had made it and shows us some of the other ones… they are good!

The economist in me cannot resist, such talent would have been found by the market. So I ask, if she earns anything from this. She says of course not, she only does this for family and friends.  Where are you my dear markets? Why have you not reached Maksudan yet!

There is still hope, there is going to be woman pradhan here, maybe the next fie years will see some new jobs being created here for these young talented girls. As I walk around in the village, the posters from the panchayat elections still decorate the house walls. This is a seat reserved for women, then why do I see so many men on the posters? In fact barring one poster, there are no women on any posters.  The man with big mustache is the outgoing pradhan, his daughter-in-law is the candidate this time. I asked why do we not see the pictures of the women contesting. The women have the pardha system and they can obviously not be seen by by anyone outside their houses. Alright, then how will they perform their duties… I am explained that they will obviously not. The pradhan pati’s will! Now who is this person, it is the actual male member of the family seen plastered on the walls.

Empowerment through reservations will happen if the women actually perform their roles. Chattopadhayay and Duflo (2005) show that women’s reservation has resulted is a shift in the policies implemented by the panchayats. Also a later piece shows role model effects of women panchayats. My little village in eastern UP will have to wait for that, no women’s empowerment here with the pradhan pati’s! I also witnessed the victory rally for the pradhan for this village, there were no women in it—not even the elected pradhan.

Is it peculiar to this village, I go a few miles ahead to another women’s reserved panchayat. Here the rally had the elected representative in it, she is from the scheduled castes. She was an elderly women in her 80s who needed help walking. Her grandson was thrilled and was the one being congratulated. A pradhan grandson