Position of Women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI): Examining Gender Discriminations in the District of Hooghly

Women empowerment has emerged as a key focus area for both domestic and international development efforts. Women empowerment refers to the creation of an environment that enables women to develop themselves independently. Furthermore, it refers to enabling them to be treated equally in social, economic and political areas. A major method of empowering women  through active political participation is to enable them to participate in the governmental system and  take part in the decision-making process. From an international, national and regional perspective, there is a focus on politically empowering women. Presently, the issue of women’s political participation is getting increasing attention from legislative bodies around the world as well as from international organizations. As such, there have been a number of schemes, plans and laws developed that are intended to bring women into the mainstream of society and eliminate discrimination and oppression against women. Participation of women in local self-government is generally viewed as a means to enhance their political empowerment at the local level. On the other hand, experiences suggest that the reality is quite the opposite. The ongoing nature of patriarchy and male domination in political parties and institutions creates barriers to their effective impact. Although women may be elected to positions of authority, their participation is typically symbolic. In many instances, elected women are controlled by their party leaders or husbands. Some women are even identified in public media and official documentation by their husband's name rather than their own. As a result, women's roles in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are typically limited to nominally representing their husbands or other dominant groups. Therefore, to realize these goals, a research project was designed to obtain quantitative and qualitative data concerning the subject matter utilizing both data collection methods. Qualitative and quantitative research approaches are utilized to collect and analyze data to explore issues. Historical and comparative research methods were employed in this research to create a comprehensive research methodology. An empirical research design employing an interview schedule was employed to supplement the theoretical understanding. This research is empirical and utilizes both primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected through field work. Secondary data were collected from official documents particularly through the official web portal of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India; District and Block Development Offices; and Village Panchayat Offices. In addition, relevant information was collected from the Economic Survey of the Government of India; statistics from the Government of West Bengal; studies and reports published by researchers in this domain; yearly reports from the Department of Rural Development; reports from various rural development organizations; and a variety of books, articles, journals, government publications etc. The researcher must use multi-stage random sampling methodologies to select respondents for the study. Additionally, the researcher also employed a multi-stage sampling methodology to identify the target population. This sampling strategy was used to select 87 elected women in Hooghly District. The data collection process was conducted as face-to-face interviews using a structured interview schedule with participants.