Assessing The Sustainability of Women Empowerment: A Survey of Rural Lucknow

The compulsory representation of women in the panchayat is not the effort of women. They never initiated any movement for this right. It is imposed upon them. Therefore any interaction and understanding may be very cautiously observed as how the policy makers are determining the choices and alternatives of the women s development and empowerment. Before political empowerment there remains many variables with reference to economy and socio-cultural system where women is deprived and discriminated. The present study concentrated on a sociological analysis ofthe role of women in the participation of the village affairs and power dynamics of the panchayat taking into consideration the interplay of politics, economics and socio-cultural factors. Not only this the study takes into consideration the status of the new daughters of democracy who emerged at the local political domain and what are the changes they realize when they are no more at the affairs of the panchayats. The political change, social mobility and economic advancement lead to the creation ofnot only new relations but also of new values, new attitudes and new aspirations. This process of political mobilization provides scope to the individual to enter new networks of interpersonal relations in which village, caste and other traditional bonds though are decisive but not absolute. With the system of reservation the disadvantaged section particularly women are coming to t All the eight blocks of Lucknow district have been covered. After getting the classification of all the four elections (1995, 2000, 2005, 2010), the total numbers of women Pradhans who could not hold theirseat comes to 489. The present paper is based on a project done by Department of Humanities and Other Studies, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow and sponsored by indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi. The author is very thankful to ICSSR for funding the project.