Woman and development: A study on the role of elected woman representative in the state of Uttarkhand

The women in Uttarakhand played an important role in addressing the development issues be it a reformation of state or protecting environment. The steps taken by them has got a national recognition. The women in Uttarakhand has crossed the reservation from 33% to 40 %. Despite the positive facts and figure the women has faced a lots of problem in contesting election and addressing the social issues in the region. The majority of the women panchayats representatives who are functioning are without training, orientation and technical knowledge on Panchayati Raj, rules, functions and duties. They are manipulated by bureaucrats, politicians and dominant power brokers in the villages. Most of the Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) faced the problems of non cooperation from the officials. These problems have slowed the pace of developmental works and also elected representatives to fully participate in the Panchayats. Needless to say that the women were not meant to be elected as the rest of the members, instead they were meant to be co-opted. This book highlights the areas of training components, the problems faced by the EWRs which hinder her to performed better.