VOLUME-I, ISSUE-IV ISSN (Online): 2454-8499 INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 1 st November, 2015 Page 1 Website: www.irjms.in Email: irjms2015@gmail.com , irjms.in@gmail.com Diffusion of Power:Gender as a factor for women leaders at the Grassroots Democratic Institutions of Rural India: A Study from an Indian State Dr Asima Sahu, Reader in Political Science Ravenshaw University Cuttack, Odisha, India Abstract: Even before 73 rd Amendment of the Indian constitution democracy at the grassroots level had been attempted giving limited power to the people at the local level, both rural and urban, but not on a very regular basis. But this landmark amendment besides institutionalizing democracy at the grassroots, made women representation mandatory reserving 33% of seats for them in the elected bodies. Women representatives at the grassroots (panchayat levels) are said to outnumber even the population of some small countries like the Scandinavian ones. However, they suffer from the charge that they do just proxies for the male folks (their husbands, brothers or other male relations). Almost all power structures in India have been patriarchal in nature. How the women induction into Grassroot Democratic bodies have transformed politics is a subject matter of query and curiosity. Do women face handicaps for being women when they sit or work face to face with men in institutions where power and policies matter ? How much effective they have been in policymaking or influencing policies? The paper seeks to study changing nature of gender in the power structures of village democracies (Panchayat systems) while giving a picture of gender relations in the state (Odisha) in general and the rural society in particular. Keywords: Gender, Grassroots Democracy, Participation, Impediments, Power Introduction Gender inequality is ubiquitous throughout the world (perhaps with exception to the Scandinavian countries) in so far as power- positions are concerned. Women are severely underrepresented in political leadership positions.Surveys have repeatedly revealed that even in countries where women are active professionally, their level of responsibility as policy planners (has been ) low( Handelman 2006). However, across the world women are struggling to break the shackles that bind them and challenging the unequal distribution of power in the society. Transforming the existing inegalitarian pattern of gender relationships necessitates leadership in the key centres of power. It is imperative for women to be in the corridors of power and have the power to negotiate a better deal for themselves, if they are to influence policy decisions which have an impact upon them (Rajput 2001). Empowerment of women in all spheres,in particular the political sphere is crucial for their advancement and the foundation of a gender-equal society. The question of women’s political participation has been on the international agenda for quite some time, and permeating many regional and national plans of action. Much hope has been invested in the United Nations and it has consistently been the engine for keeping the gender issue on the global agenda. The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Political Rights of Women in 1952. The issue of women’s political empowerment, while attracting significant attention earlier, actually came to the forefront of the global debate for women’s rights at the time of the Fourth World brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by International Research Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies (IRJMS)