Onwards and upwards: women of Tamil Nadu claim their space in local administration

The thought that paved the way for the 73^rd and 74^th Amendments to the Indian Constitution, mandating 33% reservation for women in local self-governance institutions, was based on the fulcrum that political participation is the ‘master key’ that would allow marginalised groups to unlock the doors of justice and legal protection.

Emphasising equality across all levels of governance – from panchayat to Parliament – the Indian federal system recognised that meaningful participation must begin at the grassroots.

Despite providing a system for women’s participation, a society deeply rooted in caste and patriarchy often overlooks their true potential, viewing them instead as mere “proxies” or “placeholders” for their male relatives.

Nevertheless, the system of reserving seats for women, intended for women across all rungs of society, has indeed fulfilled its purpose, bringing generations of women to the forefront, ready to claim their rightful space at various levels.

The State’s youngest panchayat president, R. Sharukala, is a living testament of this emerging, confident generation of powerful women in local governance. Elected to Venkatampatti Panchayat at just 22, the engineering graduate did not merely hold office; she embraced her role with a determination to succeed where many of her male predecessors had failed.

Ms. Sharukala and residents at the Pongal event
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“Coming from a modest family of farmers and teachers with no political lineage, my entry into politics was no accident, but a deliberate move to make a difference in my village,” she notes.

Bridging gaps

Ms. Sharukala recalls a significant milestone, of connecting the Muthammalpuram Scheduled Caste (SC) habitation to the main village. “For over 30 years, the settlement had been isolated by a dividing river, but with the support of the administration, we managed to successfully bridge the gap – literally and socially,” she says.

While there was no direct opposition, administrative slackness in sanctioning the required infrastructure demanded persistence and sustained legal follow-ups to finally break the decades-long isolation of the settlement.

Ms. Sharukala also successfully tapped into the 15^th Finance Commission and Mines and Minerals funds to provide tap water connections to nearly 3,367 households across 23 villages.

While she faced charges of corruption from male officers and staff, all of which she dismissed as ‘baseless’, she mentally resolved not to lose her footing.

Stifling women’s voices

The path for a woman panchayat leader is rarely easy. In many cases, it is even more challenging than what Ms. Sharukala had to endure. The experience of T. Panchavarnam, the president of Sirukudi Panchayat in Sivaganga, proves just that.

Despite winning the National Best Panchayat Village Award from the President of India in 2023, Ms. Panchavarnam recalls persistent attempts by male colleagues and politically influential figures to stifle her initiative and restrict her ability to serve the people.

Winning the panchayat elections under the reservation quota, she says she was opposed by members of her own community over her resistance to follow the corrupt ‘commission’ system and her refusal to be a mere “rubber stamp” for local power brokers.

Even for basic improvements like laying roads, installing streetlights, and permitting projects, she had to navigate a labyrinth of bureaucratic delays and deep-seated prejudices that sought to deny these essential services to marginalised habitations.

However, she now says, she has won over the people, both from her community and others, through consistent performance and by delivering visible development that had long been lacking in the panchayat.

Caste-gender dynamics

Bhuvaneshwari Perumal, a Dalit, started as a noon-meal organiser in a government school. She has now become the first woman chairperson of the district panchayat council in Kallakurichi district.

She was elected unopposed to the 19-member district panchayat council during the indirect elections to local bodies in October 2021.

Ms. Bhuvaneshwari recalls that during her stint as a noon-meal organiser in a government school in Thiyagadurgam in the district, she faced severe caste discrimination at the hands of the school authorities. However, she laboured on, and now has a number of achievements to her credit that have benefited the villages.

T. Dravida Selvi, former vice-president of Kameshwaram panchayat in Nagapattinam district and the only fishing community representative among nine panchayat members, says her struggle was both within and outside the panchayat. “I was mocked in my own community for riding a two-wheeler. They said bikes were only for men. Later, the same people became comfortable, and even started asking me for lifts!” she adds.

Within the panchayat, she feels the barriers were more subtle. “Because I am a woman from the fishing community, I rarely have opportunities to speak. Discrimination is often silent – when I speak, they look elsewhere. You know they are avoiding you, but it is difficult to prove it,” she says. “The one thing women representatives still lack compared to men is the basic right to be heard.”

Asserting agency

Reflecting on the numerous incidents of discrimination faced by women panchayat leaders, particularly those from SC communities, in even fulfilling basic acts like hoisting flags, occupying their official seat, and signing project approvals, author, activist, and researcher V. Geetha, says the system has failed to address such issues. While governments and NGOs once provided vigorous training and workshops for women leaders, these initiatives have since dwindled into a routine formality or ceased altogether.

However, she is quick to say that even if a systemic revolution has not yet happened, the 33% reservation in Panchayats Raj institutions still represents a monumental shift. According to Ms. Geetha, women initially perceived as proxies for their families often begin to assert their own agency once they master administrative intricacies.

For those who believe no tangible ground-level change has occurred in the past 30 years, she argues that much has shifted regarding who can and does claim power when given the right platform.

While women are often criticised for being under the influence of men and their political circles, the incremental progress in their participation must be viewed alongside the extreme violence and systemic discrimination targeted at Dalit women leaders.

Resistance to change

From the murder of Communist Party of India (Marxist) Madurai Corporation Councillor K. Leelavathi in 1997, to the murderous attack in 2011 on Krishnaveni, a member of the Arundhathiyar caste and the panchayat president (2006-2011) of the North Thazhaiyuthu area in Tirunelveli, and the recent instance of a Dalit woman president in Tiruvallur district being denied the right to hoist the national flag on Independence Day, all these incidents serve as reminders that while the law grants equality, the social fabric remains resistant to accept the script.

Despite severe injuries, Ms. Krishnaveni survived the attack and decided to fight the assailants. She stood her ground against dominant-caste men to build toilets for women, and says that if supporting basic needs is a crime, then it is the men who should hang their heads in shame, not the thousands of women leaders who are struggling to assert their rights.

Throughout the grueling 13-year legal battle, Ms. Krishnaveni had faced constant threats and immense pressure to accept a settlement and withdraw the case. However, she had remained unshakeable, declaring, “I will not give up until justice is served.”

Her persistence was rewarded in 2024 when the Tirunelveli Special Court for SC/ST Act cases sentenced six men to double life imprisonment, a verdict recently upheld by the Madras High Court.

G. Palanithurai, former professor at the Department of Political Science and Development Administration of Gandhigram Rural Institute, says, throughout the country, following the amendments which have brought on significant and tangible changes in local governance, the practice of power capture has evolved. To an extent, it is no longer the preserve of elites and dominant-caste groups that attempt to undermine the spirit of the law by using women and marginalised representatives as mere proxies for their own interests.

While the established power centres allow local leaders to fulfil basic necessities such as roads and electricity, they fear any attempt to touch the ‘core’ issues of social justice and land rights, which they perceive as a direct threat to caste-based dominance, he states.

But women, who make their position strong in the power structure, often try to break the limits by outperforming the essentials and touching upon the basic issues of social dignity.

Increasing awareness

In one such attempt to take over the reigns of a local body – the gram sabha – M. Subbulakshmi, the panchayat president of Varaganoor panchayat in Tenkasi district and S. Indhuja, vice-president of the panchayat, who accepted the best panchayat award from President Droupadi Murmu in 2024, have been conducting Mahila Sabha (women council) and Bala Sabha (children council) to educate women and students about the importance of gram sabha meetings, 15 days before the actual gram sabha.

Speaking about the effort, Ms. Indhuja says, “As women panchayat leaders, understanding the gram sabha ourselves is the very first step. It is equally vital to take that knowledge to every woman and child in the panchayat to balance the democratic process.”

This practice does more than just educate; it fosters a sense of psychological safety. As she adds, it gives them the confidence to voice their opinions freely, reinforcing the idea that the gram sabha is a platform designed specifically for their participation and empowerment.

Changing tides

The Tamil Nadu Women Panchayat Presidents Federation was established in the early 2000s, and played a pivotal role in reinforcing the constitutional mandate of local leaders. It allowed women to bypass local middlemen and build direct contact with top political figures, leveraging the collective power of the thousands of citizens they represented.

Political onlookers, realising the Federation’s potential to achieve collective bargaining power and transform an individual battle for survival into a unified movement for systemic administrative reform, viewed its growth as an existential threat, Dr. Palanithurai notes.

Consequently, he says, concerted efforts were made to render the organisation obsolete, ensuring that the power remained fragmented and thus, easier to control.

However, K. Balabharathi, former MLA and State vice-president of All India Democratic Women’s Association, says the awareness created among the women leaders and the public through NGOs, civil society organisations, political parties and governments, cannot be totally disregarded, as these collective efforts have successfully shifted the narrative from mere symbolic representation to active, informed participation, with increased agency in the decision-making processes.

“Though we keep hearing about the discrimination against Dalit women leaders and interference of dominant caste members in decision-making, that should be seen along with media coverage of such incidents and understood as a sign that these deep-seated power structures are finally being challenged,” she points out.

“The increased visibility of such conflicts often stems from the fact that Dalit women are now more frequently asserting their legal authority, refusing to remain silent in the face of traditional hierarchies,” she notes.

(With inputs from S. Prasad in Cuddalore and Nacchinarkkiniyan M. in Tiruchi)