The 73rd and 74th amendments gave us the framework, granting constitutional status to panchayats and mandating reservations for women like me. The three-tier system—gram panchayat, panchayat samiti, zilla parishad—is meant to bring governance closer.
But from this Sarpanch’s chair, I see the real tiers: the old political families, the officials who dismiss us as "just a woman," and then the village women who finally whisper their needs to me because my door is open. The amendment's promise meets the reality of last month's struggle to get the Block Development Officer to release funds for the school toilet, simply because he didn't like being reminded by a new Sarpanch.
#rural#village
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