PRIA, in its efforts to extend gender mainstreaming across the board to all its partners and the marginalised, has dealt with cases of gender inequality among grassroots level participants. At the grassroots, the gender issue is often  stark:  Those who assert themselves to demand equal rights  face oft hostility from both  men and women whose value systems are deeply embedded in notions of patriarchal hierarchy. There are few  tales of valour and not all have been successful in challenging centuries-held notions of patriarchy.

Time and again, whenever the matter of forming the Committee Against Sexual Harassment is brought up, the general response from organisations is that such cases do not occur in their premises. Incidences of sexual harassment of low intensity such as gestures, sexually coloured remarks etc. are not considered as areas of concern for strict disciplinary action. But these kinds of harassment cases are widely prevalent. In Chhattisgarh, Janjgir District, a female employee, working with an organisation for the last six years felt severely harassed when she overheard a derogatory, sexually colored remark meant for her. Two male colleagues were having a conversation within the office premises. They were deeply engrossed in the conversation and were not aware that it could be overheard through an open window. One of the colleagues commented about the female employee to the other. She overheard it as she was standing outside the window. Distressed by the remark, she complained to her supervisor. Her supervisor reprimanded the two male colleagues asking them not to repeat such incidences in future. The case was not brought to the notice of the NGO head or any forum of importance.

There are few points worth noting in this incident. Although not directly verbally communicated to the concerned person, the remark was made in the office by official colleagues. It mentally shattered the calm of the person it was meant for and became a cause of agony for her. It also resulted in lowered morale and dignity of the aggrieved employee. In addition she now faces the contempt of the two male colleagues who know that she has reported against them. Since the organisation does not have any strict policy regarding sexual harassment, these two male colleagues have solely blamed the aggrieved female for being daring enough to report the incident. This case re-emphasises the need for having CASH in every organisation.



Achieving gender equality in the  workplace is the ultimate goal of gender mainstreaming in organisations. An organisation may be said to be truly gender sensitised when, in addition to addressing concerns of  the women, it makes arrangements that benefit  men too. A policy of providing paternity leave is one of the best indicators of organisational commitment to achieving gender equality at the work place. In India, many organisations have started providing paternity leave facility ranging from one week to one month. Take the case of a CSO which has decided to provide three months paternity leave to its staff. Ms. Sudha, head of Shaktivardhani in Patna will not discriminate between paternity leave and maternity leave; in her organisation both men and women will get equal benefit for parenting. She has taken this decision inspired from her mother CSO, Aditi. She narrated her experience of Aditi, the head of which is Ms Viji Srinivasan. Ms Srinivasan, strongly believing in the parenting role of the father, has provided three months paternity leave for male staff. One male staff opted for paternity leave. Though initially he was unsure of his contribution as father, Ms Srinivisan was adamant that he share responsibilities of child care equally with the mother and almost coerced him into accepting the leave by constantly checking with his spouse what help he was providing at home. The end result was that the male employee got really attached to his child. In fact, the very person who was irritable at having such a long leave forced on him, brought his child to office several times when he rejoined as he could not cope with the sudden withdrawal from the child. This incident led Ms. Sudha to conclude that if organisations extend benefit of paternity leave to men, they will significantly contribute to the parenting of their child and would discover a new meaning of fatherhood.




Being Elected Representatives have given women a wider platform to deal with issues like domestic violence. This is evident by the experience of Manav Devi, panchayat member in Makdumpur Panchayat of Muzaffarpur district. Manav Devi, an illiterate woman of 38 years, had been involved in self-help group activities even before she won the  elections. After winning the elections she decided to take up women issues, especially violence against women. She responded to various cases of domestic violence against women, and at times went and threatened husbands who were abusive towards their wives. Her group also took up anti-alcohol campaigns. Manav Devi also tried to stop gambling practices among men. She said that men have a tendency to sit in groups, wasting their time and money by playing cards. The women of their families suffer due to this habit. She exhorted women to collectively put a stop to this. Manav Devi, a woman of rare courage, also intervened in a conflict situation between two groups of men in the village. She fearlessly held the lathi of one of the men charging at another and asked him to stop the violence. She received the support of the Nyaya Panchayat Samiti of the village.

Stirred by her example, the village women now do not tolerate incidents of domestic violence and immediately seek her help. On hearing from the PRIA team that there is now a law that prevents domestic violence, Manav Devi has felt empowered. Information of this kind needs to be passed on to the ERs, both WERs and MERS, so that they can act on it when the need arises.




People in Tikariya Gram Panchayat of Khairabad Block in Sitapur district, Uttar Pradesh are scared to go to Kokila Devi's house. "Her husband threatens to beat us up if anyone speaks to her", says the citizen leader from the village and stays well away from the house, only pointing it out to us from a distance. What makes this instance different from any other is that Kokila Devi is an elected representative in the present gram panchayat body. She won the elections in 2005 but till the time of this interview (28.1.07), she had never been to any of its meetings. Kokila was scared to speak to us without the 'orders' of her husband (mere pati ka order nahi hain) who would, if informed, proceed to instruct her over the ‘mobile'.

Both of Kokila's sons go to schools in Sitapur but her daughter has currently been pulled out of school to help look after a new sibling. Kokila, with restrictions on her mobility and with no friends, shared a longing to be with her parents and her own siblings but because of the 'excessive' work at home, has not been able to meet them. Kokila is scared of speaking to us about the panchayat functioning, scared that her husband will beat her up. She thinks it is better to stay at home and be scolded by her husband than go to the panchayat meetings and be scolded by other people's husbands.

Kokila Devi does not also remember filing her nominations nor does she know about any meetings that have taken place, she does not know who the 'pradhan' is and is not aware of any training.