Even as political parties are pushing for reservation for women in Parliament, women representatives of the city civic body, where 50 per cent of seats have been reserved for women, say they face apathy and discrimination from their male counterparts. Advertising An Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) study backed by UNICEF on the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) brings out the attitude of male representatives towards women political representatives in the largest urban local body. The 50 per cent reservation for women was brought into effect in Gujarat’s urban local bodies for the first time during the 2015 municipal corporation elections. One of the women councillors told the IIM-A researchers during the interview that the common refrain she heard from male officers when referring to women councillors or officers was, ‘Ben chhe, to shu karwana che? (She is woman, what can she do?)”. Advertising The report titled ‘Role of Elected Local Representatives-In Social Protection Strategies for Children’, financially and technically funded by UNICEF, underscores how it is more difficult for women to “ensure grievance redressal given their gender”. The IIM-A survey found that there was a complete lack of training on institutional processes and policies, and most of the first-time councillors, the majority of whom are women, said they were struggling to understand the formal structures of the Corporation. Based on these findings, now the research team at IIM-A is preparing a training module for AMC councillors. The Gujarat government’s move to raise the quota for women from 33 per cent to 50 per cent. The motive was to empower women by equal representation in policy making. However, by the end of their first term (Elections are due next year), women councillors at AMC said that they faced discrimination from officials, fellow party men and even from the people they represent. The IIM-A report revealed that many women councillors shared their experiences and anecdotes about how it becomes difficult for them to ensure grievance redressal due to their gender. This is the first term of councillors who were elected after the 50 per cent women’s reservation norm was brought into effect. The study has maintained the 50:50 ratio in its sample size too. While also keeping other deciding factors in mind, the 10 per cent sample size includes more than 60 per cent from the ruling party, 33 per cent from the Opposition five per cent independent members. Of this, 45 per cent of were councillors who were re-elected and 55 per cent first-timers. “For instance, during the interview for this research, either the husbands or father of more than 60 per cent women councillors replied to almost all the questions on their behalf, where they (women councillors) are constantly reminded that they have been elected only because of them (the husbands),” revealed Anshu Gupta, one of the IIM-A research team members. In another instance, when asked about the poor representation of women in the 15 special committees at AMC, one of the female councillors who has been elected more than once and is not come from the general category, listed being a woman and being from a reserved category as reasons for her being excluded from the committees. The report revealed that women councillors are also ignored and sidelined in the party as well as corporation meetings. “More interesting is the fact that these women have had to face discrimination not only from councillors of their own party but even the residents whom they represent. For instance, for a complaint or request, the residents would look for men,” said IIM-A’s Professor Ankur Sarin, who was involved in conducting the survey. Another factor that has come to light is the “informal political and executive relationships that seem to govern the corporation”. For instance, at the end of the day things are done through informal channels in the highly network driven setup of the Corporation. This again comes as a hindrance for women councillors as they completely “lack mandated spaces in policy making and mediation”. “We found women councillors more likely to report and take cognisance of issues related to children,” the report states. One woman councillor said that awareness about specific institutional mechanisms to address gender issues is low. “For instance, she cited the low awareness about a team of women working with the police department, whom she frequently asks for assistance in cases of women-related issues.” In another revealing anecdote, one of the researchers quoted a woman councillor who was an anganwadi worker earlier saying that “before as a anganwadi worker she was able to do more work but after becoming a councillor she cannot get work done for the people at all”. Divided under 10 sections, the survey’s questions ranged from personal information, motivation, knowledge of community, roles and responsibilities with regard to provision of social protection in the city/ward, spaces for citizens, AMC committees, local policy making, political and bureaucratic linkages, need for training and orientation and questions only for women councillors on the time she is able to give to her role, apart from questions on who helps her with the councillor duties, her participation in the board, committees, public and corporation meetings, why women’s participate in such meetings is low, how male councillors perceive the female councillor’s role, whether the woman councillor feels that women from the community are more open in sharing their problems with her and other women councillors than with male councillors, and her future aspirations after completing her term. City Mayor Bijal Patel has her own take on these findings. When contacted, Patel said, “Responsibilities are not handed out but have to be taken, demanded. Many a time it happens that the female corporators are themselves not forthcoming and if any task is given to them they start saying that they will not be able to do it”. She gave an example of how during the budget meetings, none of the female councillors came up with subjects related to development. “I had asked them to select (the topics) on their own and speak about it. I have been telling all of them that they cannot just make an excuse that they are new and first-timers, as in another year they will be completing their term,” Patel said. Rakhi Trivedi is one of the few women in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s engineering department. She has been posted as additional city engineer for the past 12 years and has been with the AMC for 23 years. She says she has never faced discrimination. However, one of the female corporators who has been elected more than once admitted that women, including those with experience like her, are not delegated responsibilities and are kept away from important committees and meetings. “Only because I am female I am not in the standing committee or a member of any other committee. Else I would have got a senior position,” she said on condition of anonymity. Advertising Another female BJP corporator Sheetalben Dada from Maninagar ward denied any discrimination against women in her party, but agreed that “experienced and senior women should be given responsibilities.”

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