As I am a feminist, I aways want woman participation and empowerment in every sphere of society. I come from the land where we say “Amra Nari, Amra Pari” (we are women, we can do everything in Bangla) and “Je Randhe Se Chul O Bandhe” (who cook also take care of their hair).
I am placed in Bhuj in Kutch region as a fellow. I came to know about ‘Balika Panchayat’ a mimic panchayat system of adolescent girls, by girls and for girls. I am an active political member in West Bengal and served my five years as a Karmadhakhsya in women and child development in block development office of Howrah, West Bengal.
I experienced that in West Bengal although there are 50 percent seats reserved for women, maximum of them are unaware of their power. In India also, many elected women are replaced by their husbands, sons or the other male members of their family. On paper the women are the members or Sarpanch or Pradhan but in reality, they are nowhere in the political avenue or decision making.
I am very eager to know how we can change this. That is why I am very interested in Balika Panchayat, where girls are nominated and can make a change in future. If we educate and train our next generation to actively participate in politics for a better India. Now let’s see what have I found and is it really a game changer for Gujarat or not.
What Is Balika Panchayat
Balika Panchayat (BP) is India’s first ever girl panchayat. Kunaria, Maska, Matagua, and Vadsar were the first four villages of Kutch district in Gujarat; where it was started in 2019. It was launched under the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign by the women and child development welfare department of Gujarat. It is managed by girls aged 11-21 years, created just like the Gram Panchayat through a voting system.
The main objective of a BP is to promote the social and political development of the girl child and to remove the evil practices from the society – such as child marriage and the dowry system. The government also wanted from the system that the girls should move forward in politics and ensure that girls get their nominations done in the panchayat’s decision making process.
Members of the BP, which runs parallel to the Gram Panchayat are also elected after an intense campaigning process. In most cases, it becomes a closely contested affairs as the entire village goes into poll mode. Girls who aspire to become members of the Balika Panchayat even carry out rallies and door to door campaigns. You can read this other piece by India Fellow Udhisha, who worked here for further insights.
What Have I Learnt
I ffirst met with the BP at a workshop organised by Yuva vani at Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS). The Yuva vani team arranged a whole day program with 11 selected BP of different Gram Panchayats of the Kutch district. KMVS selected the BP according to their Mahila Sarpanch. They were also present there. I sinteracted with the BP members. There was a range from the quiet ones to the very talkative too. Being the first workshop with the newly elected BP members, some only six months old; we with their introduction.
After that we did an activity – gave them colours and chart papers and told them to write down or draw things that they hope to have in their village. They drew such meaningful things that was a glimpse into how well they can make development plans in future. Some BP members drew high schools for their villages, some demanded easy transportations as they don’t have many vehicles to travel from their villages, they want a big village gate with beautiful decorations and some wanted playgrounds and library for girls. The girls delved deeper into their depictions during the presentation.
After this interaction, my curiosity and interest piqued. Whenever I got a chance, I started meeting them. In the past couple of months, I have met with at least four relatively invisible BP members and came to know that the story is really different from the ones at the forefront and met earlier. This was in a village where the BP unfortunately was dysfunctional.
Deep Dive And Disappointment
A few month ago, the Anganwadi and Asha workers of their village called them with their documents like Aadhaar card and photos and told them to sign a paper. Post that, there was no training or meeting regarding the responsibilities, opportunities or the motive of making this committee. Here the girls are college students and very motivated to do this kind of work. However, the lack of will from the elders hindered.
I asked them, “Were you invited in any meetings or Gram Shabhas of your Gram panchayat?” They answered, “we have never seen the Gram Panchayat after singing the papers. We don’t know what Gram Shabha is.” Similar experience happened when we (KMVS) were celebrating the human rights day at another panchayat on the 10th December. We planned with the BP members and the Mahila Sarpanch for the event. The girls went door to door to call the villagers for the program. On the event day, the Mahila Sarpanch did not come and the number of the villagers who turned up were also very low.
I asked some of my seniors that why the parents of the girls hadn’t come to the program. At least they should be proud and come to support their daughters. They are doing such a great job. But I was shocked when I heard that the parents were still unaware of the significance of BP. I also talked with some parents of BP members, villagers and our field workers. It confirmed that in most of the villages BP members were not elected, they were selected by the Anganwadi workers based on how talkative the girls are!
The ‘Ideal’ Balika Panchayat At Kunaria
When I came to Bhuj and heard about it for the first time I googled it and I found all the videos and news, photos regarding BP of Kunaria. Kunaria is the picture perfect BP. The Sarpanch of BP of this village is very smart, she knows what to do, how to do, how to talk etc. She gave several interviews to many news channels.
Here is a video of Kunaria Balika Panchayat for you to view and understand.
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