Impact of Socio-Cultural and Economic Condition on the Political Participation of Women in the Char Areas of Mandia Development Block

Abstract

India is the largest democratic country in the world. Theoretically as well as practically it is striving to achieve a participatory as well as inclusive democracy by making special arrangement and accommodation system through the constitutional measures by promising gender neutral democracy. The issue of women’s political empowerment came to the fore front of the global debate for women’s right at the time of the Fourth-World conference on woman held at Beijing in 1995. The issue of political participation has been a substantive area of interest for both the sociologists and political scientists. The women in India is still lagging behind men in terms of representation and in the decision making process because of some responsible factors like masculinization, criminalization, money driven election, increasing trends of violence and character assassination, psychological barriers, patriarchal attitudes and assumptions, influence of family, culture of gender based discrimination and violence etc. The political arena is organized according to male norms, values and lifestyles. This is otherwise known as the masculine model of politics. Assam is one of the remote Northeastern states of India which is also not free from the vice of the other parts of India. It is a fact that the status of women in Assam is the worst in terms of their position in decision making bodies. The spaces for political participation of women in the Panchayati Raj Institutions have been created from above by the actions of government. In the specific context of rural Assam, the 73^rd Constitution Amendment Act which introduced reservation policy can be considered as new bold experiment in local politics, social justice and participatory development.