Women in the Panchayats - A study of gender structures and the impact of the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution
In 1993 the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution came into force, affecting the Indian rural governing bodies, the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). The Amendment, at focal point for this thesis, provides a 33% reservation for women as members and as chairperson in the PRI's three-tier system. The reservation has led to a tremendous mobilization of women in the countryside, resulting in