Opinion | Women’s Empowerment: The Growing Role of Women in Politics and local Governance

Female emancipation and empowerment are one of the most important issues around the world that keeps changing the political, social, and economic dynamics of many societies, and especially in the areas where women’s position has traditionally been determined by men. The growth of women in leadership, partisan and local administration is very crucial mark of women’s emancipation. In India women’s participation into political processes are important because several cultural and traditional barriers debar women from accessing income generating activities. This holds much importance particularly in Jammu and Kashmir having the history of conflict, political turmoil and very resilient patriarchal culture.
Kashmir as stated in its political history especially of the 20th century remained greatly influenced by male- dominant systems and culture that offered little space to women in politics. Until and the early 1990’s the women of Kashmir remained mostly at home due to militancy and political instabilities, and only a handful of them were engaged in the official political process. Quite significantly, the gender gaps that emerged from militant outbreaks in the late 1980s deepened the implementation of gender inequalities and in its aftermath, women incurred the greatest costs. The political instability was therefore very destructive on women; many of whom died, were forced out of their homes, or raped. As political and social systems destabilized, the role and power of women in public space was limited. However, the end of the twentieth century, as well as the early years of the twenty-first century might be viewed as the starting point of a slow but steady change in the role of women in local politics. It was realized that the rights of women are also important in constructing a peaceful post conflict society along with the efforts made to ensure women’s representation at the political level paved the way for women’s participation in the political arena of Kashmir. The landmark effort in this journey was made with the women’s participation in Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Institution that brought a profound difference. India is one of the countries that have made efforts in the 1990s to decentralize and devolve the powers down to the local level; both the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments (1992) required at least one-third of all seats in Panchayats (village councils) and urban local bodies to be filled with females. Even as the amendments were passed in most parts of India, implementation in Jammu and Kashmir was slow and the official acceptance of Panchayati Raj in the state only happened in 2001. The decision to reserve one third of the seats for women was a huge advancement that succeeded in enhancing female participation in local political leadership. Most of the women in Kashmir could now be seen taking leadership roles within the community at large. Recent elections of 2024 in Kashmir saw a flood of women coming forward to stand for elections either contesting themselves or being partisans or campaigning, which was once a stigma and reserved sphere of men. Many women across geographical locations over the past years including urban, rural and tribal ladies started coming out to vote, contest, engage and occupy the seats of Sarpanch – the head of Village Panchayat and Panches, the members. This marked the beginning of women doing what they could to ensure they are noticed and actively contribute to decision making at the local level. Positive developments in terms of women’s political representation remain limited because the participation of women in the politics of Kashmir remains to an extent only. Patriarchal cultures, traditional sex roles and an enduring conflict remain key barriers to women aspiring to leadership positions. This has been well reinforced by the fact that one of the many challenges that persist is the enhanced patriarchal culture. It is unbelievable but even such political changes that have allowed women to occupy positions in the government, traditional gender expectations still dominate today. Again, in many cultural frameworks women’s political participation and power is almost seen as secondary to the role of wife and mother. Some cultures want women to stay at home and out of the public domain, and those who venture into the public domain are most times rejected by their family, community and even politicians. The most important pressure which acts on the representatives of a society is the pressure of gender roles that are very strict in the countries under discussion, especially when it comes to rural and conservative communities where the family and community’s reputation matter immensely. Further still, there remains a major issue of security and other related problems for women in Kashmir. this area has been a theatre of political fighting, and the women who participate in politics parts of their body are violated. Women in politics especially from the rural setup are vulnerable to the act of bullying, violence or even harassment from their competitors, militiamen or even their own people. It is politically charged to say the least, and women who step up for promotions, for instance, or stand for ideas that can overturn the system are not only shut down by society, but their lives may also be in danger too. Although emergence of the Panchayati Raj system has brought some political leverage to the women at the grassroots level, many of the woman representatives to these bodies fail to understand politics or administrative roles expected of them or are projected as proxy candidates by their male partners. Lack of mentorship or support necessitates that to succeed in the deliverance of the responsibilities of governance and decisions making; many women particularly those from poor background face challenging times to meet the challenges. Lack of experience coupled with low political consciousness tends to result in low performance in that office and in some cases lack of political responsibility. More to this is the politics of dynastic and patronage networks which are rampant in Kashmir since power is hereditary in most cases. On this system, it may become hard for any woman who does not have the privilege of the political influence or family influence to venture into politics. Often women arising from influential political households certainly can make relevant connections and acquaintances but women from humble backgrounds find it hard to take off.
However the political journey of women in Kashmir has been without a doubt a success story, which suggest that all is not lost no matter how hard the environment maybe on women. They have demonstrated how local political leadership can facilitate women to overcoming barriers that have previously excluded them from decision making roles. The road to women’s liberation in the region has not been travelled fully, however, the fight for an equal status of women in political and other top leadership positions is still on. One of these areas of emphasis, therefore, should be political education and training of women. Such programs may assist in emancipating women to learn to compete for leadership positions they need to fill and engage into decision making process. In addition, the protection of women’s rights in politics must be of paramount interest. For women who want to be promoted and work on leadership roles they must feel protected. It is for this reason that safe spaces for women in politics and activism need to be produced. Women would benefit from solidary with institutional, legal frameworks and training
Finally, further work to combat sex and faith-based gender discriminations is need of an hour. It was found that by mobilizing the male community, religious leaders, and the elderly; it is possible to transform the social culture and enable women to get leadership positions. As much as the constitution guarantees gender equality, political parties, and the leaders at the local level have to ensure that policies are being implemented to encourage women’s political representation.
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