Women In Local Self-Governance: A Sociological Inquiry into Panchayati Raj Participation in Murshidabad, West Bengal

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act (1992) reserved 33% (later 50% in West Bengal) of seats for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), marking a radical attempt at gender-inclusive decentralised governance. Using the Murshidabad district of West Bengal as a case, this paper sociologically examines the extent, nature, and limitations of women’s participation in local self-governance three decades after the amendment. Drawing on primary data from 180 women elected representatives across 26 Gram Panchayats and 5 Panchayat Samitis (2022–2024), secondary literature, and ethnographic observation, the study finds that while numerical representation has dramatically increased, substantive participation remains constrained by patriarchal bargaining, proxy governance (“sarpanch-pati” or “pradhan-swami” syndrome), economic dependence, low literacy, religious conservatism (especially in Muslim-majority blocks), and caste–class intersections. Yet, a small but growing section of women—particularly younger, educated, Scheduled Caste, and politically mentored women—are beginning to exercise agency and bring gendered issues (drinking water, sanitation, ICDS, domestic violence) into the public domain. The paper argues that mere reservation is necessary but insufficient; without simultaneous investment in capacity-building, social capital, and transformation of domestic gender contracts, the emancipatory promise of Panchayati Raj will remain partially fulfilled.