Punjab Bans Sarpanch proxies

The Punjab government has decided to ban Sarpanch proxies in any meeting of Panchayati raj institutions to empower women instead of paying lip service.

What’s the issue?

• Most of the women's sarpanches do not attend meetings.
• Instead, the male family members of several women's sarpanches were attending official meetings on their behalf.Some male members even sign documents on their behalf.

How does it impact the system?

• Proxy sarpanchesdiminish women’s authority and block the election of women keen on bringing about a change in society through a career in politics.
• This is not only making a mockery of the reservation of women in Panchayati Raj institutions but also appears to be a hurdle for other deserving women candidates.

Reasons for the emergence of ''sarpanch proxies”:

• Resistance due to Social barriers
• Poor social status of women
  • poor level of literacy
  • confined to domestic spaces
  • lack financial independence
• Lack of skills: Lack of efforts for women’s capacity building, training, or inculcating confidence
• Failure of government to act appropriately against such malpractice and blatant misuse of power.

Required measures:

• Additional work is needed on the capacity building of women in matters of governance. This can be done by:
• Raising society’s awareness about women's rights
• Sensitizing bureaucracy about the relevance of women's participation at the panchayat level.
• Social barriers due to traditional society need to go away.