Women Continue To Be Underrepresented in Delhi Assembly
Delhi Vidhan Sabha, the elected body of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, has a dismal representation of women. Only 9% of the elected MLAs in […]
Women’s Political Participation Sees A Steady Increase In Jharkhand
Women’s political representation in Jharkhand has seen a constant upward surge since the state came into existence in 2000. The proportion of women Members of Legislative […]
Haryana’s Women Carve a Larger Role in The State’s Politics
In Haryana, a state with a skewed sex ratio (913 girls to 1000 boys, an improvement from 830 girls in 2011), there is one gender indicator […]
Women Hold Fewer Ministerial Positions In State Governments
Telangana, the newest state in Southern India, finally has women ministers in the state’s council of ministers for the first time in its history. In a […]
Krishnaveni’s Story And The Era Of Women Panchayat Presidents
P Krishnaveni remembers the night of 13 June, 2011, clear as day. Barely 200 m from her home of 15 years, in front of a local […]
First Time Adivasi MP Hopes To Be The Voice Of People
Goddeti Madhavi (26), the first time Member of Parliament (MP) from Araku in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) knows the trust that her constituents […]
The Triumph Of Sharmila Devi And Tamil Nadu’s Women Leaders
Sharmila Devi (39), the youngest dalit sarpanch of Thirumanvayal panchayat in southern Tamil Nadu’s Sivagangai district, has pulled off what none of her upper-caste, male predecessors […]
Meagre Funds, No Salary: How Tamil Nadu’s Women Leaders Still Succeed
What is it like to do a full-time job without a salary? Especially if you are a dalit or an adivasi woman and your daily earnings […]
Why Muthukanni, A Dalit, Had To Build Her Own Panchayat Office
It wasn’t personal ambition that drove K Muthukanni to stand for election as panchayat president from Madhavakurichi in Mannur block of southern Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district. […]
Tamil Nadu’s Women Leaders Live, Work In The Shadow Of Violence
Even by normal standards of violence in Tamil Nadu’s panchayat politics, the events of March 29, 2001, were troubling. Menaka, 35, the feisty dalit president of […]
Why 277,160 Women Leaders Remain Invisible To Tamil Nadu’s Political Parties
Salma (50), the deputy secretary of the women’s wing of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), is among the few women to have made the transition from rural […]
Why Ashubi Khan’s Pioneering Run Ends Today
Ashubi Khan, 51, is distraught. A decade of trailblazing work done by this tall, soft-spoken sarpanch (village chief) and her team of seven illiterate women–and three literate […]
When I step into the Parliament, I carry the voices of 10 lakh people of Araku: Madhavi Goddeti
Madhavi Goddeti may be a first time Member of Parliament (MP) in the newly elected Lok Sabha but she is no stranger to politics. The 26 […]
Illiterate, Married at 11, Mother At 12: Panchayat President Now Changes Fates
Despite limited resources and social resistance, Sidhamallamma Kanchappa, a panchayat leader from Tamil Nadu, has become a champion for women’s health.
In A Sylvan Valley, One Woman Reveals, Changes Lives Obscured By Beauty
Nestled in a sylvan valley in northwestern Tamil Nadu and surrounded by forests, the village council, or panchayat, of Sittilinghi struggled to bring to state attention […]
The Woman Who Brought Drinking Water, Toilets To A Lost Panchayat
Mazharkodi Dhanasekar has a radiant smile and is keen to talk about her achievements, which, as it emerges, are considerable: Building 650 toilets and making her […]
In Bihar’s Political Realignment, Women Suffer
As a first-time member of the legislative assembly (MLA) in Bihar, Jyothi Devi, 46, did well over her five-year term: She had 10 bridges—some of which were demanded […]
States With Worst Sex Ratios Have Most Female MLAs
States with poor development indicators for women (mainly sex ratio and female literacy) have higher representation of women in their vidhan sabhas (legislative assemblies) according to an analysis […]
From Proxies To Politicians: Bihar’s Female MLAs
Thirty five years ago, Bhagirathi Devi was a sweeper in the block development office in Narkatiyaganj, a town in Bihar’s West Champaran district. Today, she is a third-term […]
