Empowering Women Through Panchayati Raj Institution: A Study on Women Representative in Namsai District, Arunachal Pradesh

Abstract

In the contemporary world, empowering the women has become crucial for the marginalized sections of society, including women who face social, economic, and political discrimination. Global leaders have increasingly focused on women's empowerment in recent decades. Despite the progress made toward gender equality, women still faced various challenges which need to overcome at the earliest. In India, the 73^rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 introduced the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI), reserving 33 percent of seats for women, thus politically empowering them at the grassroots level. This legislation ensure to strengthen as well as provides opportunities in decision-making for women. Women’s involvement in local governance fosters a sense of empowerment and encourages broader societal engagement. The present study examine how women representatives represent themselves in the PRI in Namsai District, Arunachal Pradesh. It further examine the opinions of the Women Representative regarding the women status in the society and their perspectives on various aspects of the PRI. The Women representatives expressed that the PRI served as a confidence-building mechanism to improve the status of women within the society.