EFFECT OF EDUCATION IN CREATING AWARENESS ABOUT WOMEN RESERVATION IN LOCAL SELF GOVERNANCE-A STUDY OF RURAL WOMEN

In one of the most important steps for the empowerment of women the 73rd amendment to the Indian constitution, passed in 1992, mandated that no less than a third of the total number of seats in village governments (panchayats), and no less than a third of the office of Chairperson of the panchayat should be reserved for women. Including women, in local governments, is an essential step towards creating gender-equal opportunities and gender-sensitive policies. Education/literacy holds the key for active participation by the women representatives in gram panchayats. To study the effect of education in creating awareness among rural women about women reservation in local self governance, sample of 100 rural women from Bhongra, Budian, Khaparan, Baroda, Dhan Kheri villages of Jind district of Haryana was selected. Data was collected with the help of a self developed questionnaire and face to face interview. Major findings suggested that lack of education create hindrances in the way of active participation of elected women representatives. Also the traditional thinking of society, male dominance and gender discrimination are the major problems in creating awareness about women reservation in local self governance.