In a country where they have been playing second fiddle to men for centuries, women candidates outnumber men in the ongoing polls to the West Bengal village councils, the third tier of India's electoral democracy.
An estimated 90,000 rural women are contesting the pollls out of a total of 169,000 candidates, that is over half the total number of candidates in the elections that would decide representatives in 58,865 seats.
This is to fulfill a legislative requirement that 50 percent of seats in panchayats be reserved for women in a move seen to give them greater empowerment and enable them a say in decisions that affect their daily lives.
We invite our users to read the full article published 16 July 2013
In a country where they have been playing second fiddle to men for centuries, women candidates outnumber men in the ongoing polls to the West Bengal village councils, the third tier of India's electoral democracy.
An estimated 90,000 rural women are contesting the pollls out of a total of 169,000 candidates, that is over half the total number of candidates in the elections that would decide representatives in 58,865 seats.
This is to fulfill a legislative requirement that 50 percent of seats in panchayats be reserved for women in a move seen to give them greater empowerment and enable them a say in decisions that affect their daily lives.
We invite our users to read the full article published 16 July 2013
