APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR WOMEN MEMBERS OF GRAMA PANCHAYAT I Personal Background 1. Name of the member 2. Age 3. Educational Qualification 4. Name of the Ward / panchayat 5. Caste General / SC / ST / OBC II Family Background 6 Marital Status 7 Size of the family 8 Economic status of the family 9 Main Source of income 10 Extent of family holding 11 Husband s occupation 12 Annual Income 13 Husband s education III Informations relating to panchayats 14. Present position Member/Vice President / President / Member of Standing Committee 15. How many times elected to panchayat? 16. Positions Held Member/Vice President/ President 17. Whether elected anonymously? 18. Member for how many years? 19. Who are the agents responsible for you getting elected? Family/Husband/Political party / 215
Village leader/self 20. Were you a member of any political party when you contested for election 21. What was the source of finance for election? 22. Do you know about 73 rd constitutional amendment act? 23. What is your opinion regarding reservation of seats for women? Is it required? Yes/No IV. PARTICIPATION 24. Do you attend panchayat meetings regularly? If No, Why? 25. Do you participate in Ward Sabha & Grama sabha & panchayat meetings. If No, Why? 26. How often you have presented the problems of your ward / panchayat in meetings? 27. Do you Participate in the process of decision making? If No, Why? 28. How do you follow up your projects? 30. How often you meet your ward members? 31. Do other members in the panchayat support you? 216
32. Do you observe any discrimination by the male members? If Yes, how women are discriminated in the panchayats? 33. What are your responsibilities in the panchayat? Are you a member of different committees in panchayat? If Yes, What is your contribution Women Atrocities /for Handicapped / Child welfare / Women education. 34. Are you aware of the various developmental programmes of panchayat? If aware of the programmes, how do you rate your role in helping people to make use of the programmes a) b) c) Good Satisfactory Not satisfactory 35. What is your contribution for the development of your ward / panchayat? 36. Do you have any future plans for the ward? 217
37. Do you act on your own in panchayat? V. General If No Depend on whom? Husband / Family / panchayat leaders. 38. After becoming the panchayat member, have you been participating more & more in social functions / activities? If Yes What type of social functions do you participate, in What capacity? 39. Are you a member of Mahila Mandal / Self help group / School betterment Committee / Any other? 40. Are you interested in the women s welfare? 41. Are you satisfied with the working of the Panchayati Raj Institutions? If No, Why? 42. Are you able to do justice to your duties as a member? If No, What are the obstacles? 43. How do you rate the performance of women members in comparison with male counterparts? 44. Do you intend to contest the election again? Why? 218
45 What are the changes brought about in new after becoming member? Highly motivated / motivated / not motivated 219
APPENDIX B QUESTIONNAIRE FOR MEN MEMBERS OF GRAMA PANCHAYAT I Personal Background 1. Name of the member 2. Age 3. Educational Qualification 4. Name of the Ward / panchayat II. Informations relating to panchayats 5. Present position Member / Vice President / President / Member of Standing Committee 6. How many times elected to panchayat? 7. Positions Held 8. Whether elected anonymously? 9. Member for how many years? 10. Do you know about 73 rd constitutional amendment act? Aware / partially aware / No awareness III PARTICIPATION 11. Do women members participate actively? If Yes, reasons Family background / Husband / Occupation / Education / Experience / any other If No, Why? 12. Do women members come out with 220
ideas? 13. Are the Women members discriminated? If Yes / How/ 14. Whether sufficient opportunity is given to them? 15. Do you expect them to be better with your support? 16. What is your opinion regarding reservation given to women? Right / Wrong If wrong, Why? 17. Whether women make constructive contribution to decision making? 18. What are the areas women members mainly take into consideration? 19. Do they take up issues like women welfare, child welfare etc.? 20. Are there any mutual problems between men & women members? 21. Do you think more & more women should participate in local Administration? 22. Do Women face problem in the panchayat Yes/ No If yes, what are the problems 221
23. Do you think reservation for women has deprived men of their seat? 24. What do you think about the reservation for women to the post of gram panchayat president? 25. Do you agree for increasing percentage of reservation above 33.33%? If Yes, why? If No, Why? 26. Do you think panchayat membership contributes for the political empowerment of women? Yes/ No 222
APPENDIX - C Questionnaire for officials related to Gram Panchayat. 1. Name of the official 2. Age 3. Educational qualification 4. Name of the Panchayat 5. Position Secretary / Chief Secretary Executive Officer / Chief Planning Officer. 6. Since when the present position is held Years 7. What is your opinion about t he reservation provided for Women? a. SC / ST b. OBC c. General 8. What is your general impression about the participation of women members in a. Ward sabha b. Grama sabha c. Panchayat meetings 9. Do women represent the problems of Ward / panchayat in the meetings? 10. Do they follow up these issues? 11. As presidents and Vice Presidents, how women perform in panchayats? 12. Office Management / Planning / Execution of plans / Monitory Budgeting / others Do women members have leadership 223
qualities? 13. According to you, are women politically empowered consequent with 73 rd constitutional amendments Yes / No If no why? 14. What sort of problems women members including presidents & Vice Presidents face in panchayats? 15. Are they aware of the various rules and acts governing PRI S? 16. Do women get co-operation from their male counter parts 17. Do you think that women perform better than men / equal to men in implementing various developmental programmes 18. Do Women members attend panchayat meetings regularly? 19. What are issues women take up in the panchayat? 20. Do you agree with the reservation provided for the post of president? Yes/No If No, why? 224