Poverty and marginalisation: challenges to poor women's leadership in urban India

Abstract

This article examines the women's quota at the local governance level in urban India, using several case studies of women municipal councillors, to question the evidently low numbers of poor and marginalised women amongst them. It examines issues of class, caste, and religion that have a direct impact on the access of poor women to quotas reserved for them at the local government level. The objective of this work is to draw attention to the specific ways in which women are constrained at the pre-election stage, resulting in an elite capture of the women's quota in India, indicating the need for further research and study on this issue.

Governance and Poverty Eradication: Applying a Gender and Social Institutions Perspective

“…In Bangladesh, Haque () notes that ‘although 33.3 percent local government seats were held by women, there was no female mayor’; in Nepal, only one of 14 mayoral spots was occupied by a woman. Haritas () sees similar issues in India. Its quota system, which reserves one‐third of local seats for women, is nearly two decades old.…”

“…Its quota system, which reserves one‐third of local seats for women, is nearly two decades old. However, as no provision was made to ensure that women were included on local committees, they have largely been shut out of actual decision making in India's deeply patriarchal system (Haritas, ; Jayal, ). Furthermore, the intersection of gender and caste often makes it difficult for women to advance their own issues.…”

“…Furthermore, the intersection of gender and caste often makes it difficult for women to advance their own issues. In urban areas, it is predominantly elite women who capture the seats reserved for them; they have the financial and practical resources that allow them to compete (Haritas, ). Additionally, it is not uncommon for women to simply ‘inherit’ a seat from their fathers or husbands, which raises concerns about tokenism.…”

Women’s Leadership Building as a Poverty Reduction Strategy

“…The GPs, representing several villages or neighbourhoods in a given locality, were given the responsibility for designing, implementing and monitoring social services, including health and education, as well as anti-poverty programmes. But the increased number of women in electoral politics has had mixed results in terms of addressing social injustice and women's poverty (Haritas 2008;Kudva 2003;Stephen 2001).…”