Melanie Tharamangalam SAKHI (Kerala, India) The 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Indian Constitution, passed in 1993,

devolved a significant amount of power over social sector and development planning to local level governments or panchayats. The constitution mandates a one-third reservation for women in panchayat assem lies and earmar!s a portion of panchayat spending for women"s planning# $erala is the onl% state in India with a se& ratio that is not female adverse, and is generall% considered to have e&cellent gender development indicators' high literac% rates, high average age of marriage, low maternal mortalit% rate, no female infanticide# (et the political participation of women remains a normall% low, violence against women is increasing, and women as a group are poorer and more vulnera le to unemplo%ment and illness than men# The organi)ation I wor!ed for this summer, *a!hi, is a women"s rights +,- ased in Trivandrum, $erala# It functions as an um rella organi)ation and resource center for a num er of smaller +,-s and is carr%ing out several pro.ects in cooperation with government agencies and other organi)ations, in addition to running a violence intervention program for victims of domestic violence and

dowr% harassment# The ,ender and /ecentrali)ation pro.ect to which I was assigned was conceived of to engender the planning process in panchayat governments in two wa%s' mainstreaming gender planning in local governance and enhancing the capa ilities of elected women representatives in local self-governing institutions# *pecificall%, our team wor!ed with two panchayat governments in the villages of -lavanna and 0ila%ur to assess the status of women in the panchayats and to help create institutional mechanisms to improve the conditions and opportunities for women in these areas# 1% portion of the pro.ect was to draft what was initiall% conceived of as a 2ill of 3ights for 4omen in each panchayat. The idea was to create a document along the lines of C5/A4 which could e administered at the local level to improve the status of women in local self-governing institutions# As the pro.ect developed, however, it ecame clear that the outcome would e mainl% polic%-oriented# Constrained as we were % the .urisdiction of the panchayats, 6which derives entirel% from the *tate government7 the document deals mainl% with health, education and economic and political rights# 4e decided to recast it as a ,ender 8lanning and /evelopment 8olic% that could e adopted % the panchayat governments and used as a guideline in developing social polic% and implementing the constitutionall% mandated 4omen"s Component 8lan 64C87# -ne of the !e% pro lems with the implementation of the 4C8 is a lac! of clear guidelines as to what constitutes gender planning# In the mid-99s, local governments in $erala routinel% diverted 4C8 funds to local infrastructure pro.ects : roads uilt with 4C8 funding would e .ustified on the grounds that ;women use roads#" A government order was passed in 1997 to prevent this practice, ut panchayats continue to grapple with the <uestion of how to effectivel% use these funds and

engender social sector programming in general# In m% first two wee!s in India I traveled to various panchayats in $erala along with m% pro.ect supervisor to tal! with local officials and o serve the gender planning and development initiatives happening on the ground# I also spent a significant amount of time in the ver% well e<uipped li rar% at *a!hi tr%ing to wrap m% head around the various intricacies of panchayat governance# 2ased on these trips and on a comprehensive status of women report compiled % *a!hi carried out in the in the months efore m% arrival, I drafted the initial document which then went through several reincarnations with the help of the social wor!ers at the +,-# 4e then traveled ac! to the field to consult with women"s wor!ing groups in that had een set up in each panchayat % the panchayat assem lies with the help of *a!hi volunteers# After meeting with the 8ancha%at 2oard 6the elected mem ers7 to discuss the *tatus of 4omen 3eport as well as the draft ,ender 8olic%, we presented our report to the Gram Sabhas 6village assem lies7 in oth 0ila%ur and -lavanna# In 0ila%ur, we had encountered a fair amount of antagonism and opposition over the course of the pro.ect# Although the panchayat government had agreed to the pro.ect and to cooperate with *a!hi in carr%ing it out, elected officials were unwilling to ac!nowledge gender issues within the panchayat or to concentrate on an%thing other than popular issues of economic development and local infrastructure# =owever, we were a le to develop a relationship with the 8ancha%at 8resident and 2oard over the course of the pro.ect and ultimatel% the Grama Sabha presentation was e&tremel% successful# The pancha%at government adopted the draft ,ender 8olic% as part of its platform for the upcoming elections, and the opposition part% has also promised something similar#

Conversel%, in the -lavanna panchayat government officials were initiall% ver% enthusiastic and cooperative, and did a great deal to facilitate our stud%# >nfortunatel%, towards the end of the pro.ect we got ogged down in some rather complicated local politics# As a result the elected mem ers ecame rather uncooperative and refused to ac!nowledge the validit% of some of our findings, claiming, for e&ample, that dowr% was not a pro lem in the panchayat and that we were deli eratel% misconstruing the simple social practice of giving gifts at weddings# At the time I left India, discussions with the panchayat over the *tatus of 4omen 3eport and the ,ender 8olic% were ongoing, and it is still unclear to us whether and to what e&tent the% will e willing to adopt it or wor! with *a!hi in the future# 1% e&perience this summer was oth rewarding and frustrating, which I imagine is something that can e said of nearl% all human rights internships# There is a lot of wor! to e done, and seeing the efforts of people in the field : oth elected government mem ers and social wor!ers and human rights law%ers : and their infinite elief in the possi ilities for etterment is nothing short of inspiring# At the same time, it can e disheartening to see institutional mechanisms in place that s%stematicall% prevent such etterment, a lac! of political will to push for real solutions, and a lac! of infrastructure to actuall% achieve these solutions# 8ersonall%, it was difficult for me : as a second-generation immigrant who has nonetheless spent roughl% half m% life in India : to e called an outsider to m% face % the elected mem ers, as happened once or twice during tension-fraught meetings# 2eing a le to ac!nowledge that there was truth in that allegation was not eas% for me, ut it when I was a le to overcome the issue and esta lish a level of trust and understanding with those I was wor!ing with, it made the discussion that much more fulfilling# 8erhaps most importantl%, I reali)ed this summer that we can change things is not

.ust a catch phrase from an after-school special? it"s something that real people elieve and dedicate their lives to and sometimes, it actuall% wor!s#