In states across the country, women are given 50 percent reservation in elections ranging from panchayats to local bodies. In the election results, a significant number of women are seen as Sarpanches and Pradhans. However, it is said that despite the victory of women, our society still appears largely male-dominated. Women are considered the weaker sex. This has given rise to the problem of proxy representation for women. Proxy representation means that while women hold the positions of Sarpanch or Pradhan, the real power remains concentrated in the hands of their husbands.
A decision has been made to tackle this proxy governance. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) states that this kind of leadership is a criminal offense under the Indian Penal Code. These husbands portray themselves as public servants, thereby committing acts of criminal breach of trust and illegally influencing public affairs. Recently, a similar petition was filed before the NHRC in Haryana.
Previously, the NHRC had sought clarification from several states, but most states did not provide satisfactory responses. Even today, the situation remains the same: elected women are titular heads, while their husbands or fathers actually perform their duties. This practice of Sarpanch husbands or Pradhan husbands must end. This is undue interference in the functioning of local self-governance and must be stopped. This reality goes against the spirit of granting equal rights to women and empowering them, and also violates the fundamental rights of women enshrined in the Constitution.