Training of Women Elected Representatives in Jharkhand

A three-day training was organised for women elected representatives from eight districts in Jharkhand at VISWA, Ranchi on 27 to 29 March 2017. The programme was organised by Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), supported by State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) along with UNICEF, Jharkhand and Society for Action, Knowledge and Humanity Foundation (SAKH), Ranchi. Twenty-one women elected representatives (mukhiyas and up-mukhiyas from Ramgarh, West Singbhum, Gumla, Latehar, Hazaribag, Koderma, Simdega and Deogarh districts participated in the training programme. The training was organised to validate the case studies of women mukhiyas undertaken by PRIA in five of these eight districts, and was based on the capacity gaps analyzed through these 10 case studies.

Speaking at the start of the training, Vandana Dadale (Secretary, Department of Panchayati Raj Institution and Rural Development, Government of Jharkhand) shared that the Jharkhand government is serious in ensuring panchayat standing committees are functional and check lists have been made for this. She motivated the women mukhiyas to learn and enhance their skills over the three-day programme, encouraging them to maintain proper records and conduct samiti meetings on time and according to the law. She also advised them to discuss economic and financial issues along with social issues, in particular how to manage resources that are going to be available through the 14th Finance Commission recommendations.

Mridula Sinha (Director General, State Institute of Rural Development, Jharkhand) also interacted with the elected representatives and advised them to focus on issues of malnutrition, water and sanitation.



The women elected representatives received training on decentralisation and role of local governance institutions, local development and flagship government programmes, role of panchayati raj institutions in participatory planning (opportunities, situational analysis, prioritisation, promotion of equality), gender mainstreaming, gender budgeting, social accountability and community engagement. The methodology used for the training was participatory, including lectures along with activities. Participants were given group and individual tasks to sustain interest and help in better learning outcomes.



This three-day training was positively received by the learners, providing the women elected representatives a platform where they could directly interact with each other, share the challenges and problems faced by them in daily functioning, and learn from each other’s experiences. On the last day of the training, Onkar Nath Tripathy (Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, UNICEF Jharkhand) shared his experiences and encouraged the elected representatives to implement the learnings they had received when they return to their communities.