Women leaders in public life might have felt let down by their male counterparts in Karnataka in distribution of tickets for the ensuing state assembly polls, but accolades have come their way for the quality of leadership that they have provided and administrative skills they have displayed in the panchayati raj institutions.

Be it the way they have addressed the challenges of providing civic amenities, encouragement they gave to enroll children in schools, active campaign launched to address the rampant problem of domestic violence or the skills shown while interacting with bureaucrats over issues of concern to the public, the performance of women elected representatives of panchayati raj institutions in Karnataka have been acknowledged.

The state women leaders in the panchayati raj institutions are the second best in the country – next only to their counterparts from neighbouring Kerala. Women elected representatives constitute 43 per cent of all elected representatives in the three-tier panchayati raj system in the state. Only in Bihar women are better represented – at 54 per cent of the total.

This and other findings have come out of detailed survey commissioned by the Union Panchayati Raj Ministry and carried out by AC Nielsen ORG-MARG. The survey’s focus was on the theme “Elected Women Representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions.”

Women representatives take their responsibility more seriously than male representatives.

They have been more active than their male colleagues when it comes to taking responsibility for providing basic amenities like street lights, sanitation and drinking water facilities to their electors, the survey said.

The survey report that covered the entire structure of the three-tier panchayati raj institutions - zilla, taluk and gram panchayats - in 27 states across the country have showed that 79.9 per cent of women elected representatives did not perceive any constraints while fighting an election, be it by way bitter political rivalries or the lack of funds.

Even their relatively low educational level, caste or religion did not come in the way for successfully fighting an election.

Interestingly, women in the younger age group (21-35 years) are faring better as elected representatives. On several counts, women members have outclassed their men counterparts in the State. While interacting with local bureaucrats to attend to civic problems, women are more active than men.

Constraints faced

However, seventeen per cent of women elected representatives have complained of being at the receiving end of the gender-based discrimination. Besides, gender discrimination, women elected representatives also face another constraint – their relative lack of awareness about various welfare schemes of the Central and state governments.