Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

SHGs as Change Agents in Enhancing the Political Participation 329
gram sabha. They have also motivated other women in the village (who
are not members of any SHGs) to come and attend the gram sabhas’
(Samarthan, interviews, 2004).
The women took conscious steps to ensure that they regularly get information
about gram sabha meetings. The members of Gyan Ganga
SHG in Sehore Block, Madhya Pradesh, reported that earlier the village
chowkidar (security guard) would not come to their locality to announce
the gram sabha meetings. They confronted him and made him promise
that he would inform them in advance of these meetings. Since
then the chowkidar has been coming regularly to inform them personally
about the meetings. SHGs in Uttarakhand hired a paswan (drummer) to
inform all villagers about the agenda of the panchayat meetings.
Speaking out in the Gram Sabha
Initially, women members spoke on SHG proposals, seeking the approval
of the gram sabha. The issues were discussed in detail in SHG meetings
prior to the gram sabha meeting. The internal meetings helped the women
overcome their ‘stage fright’. They were prepared with the agenda and
the facts. Prem Narayan, up-sarpanch of Bijora, validates this:
There was apprehension that the sarpanch would siphon off the money
received for the construction of the boundary wall of the school building.
Since the women from the group (Naya Prakash Group) were regularly
attending the gram sabha meetings, they knew the budget and were monitoring
the implementation of the scheme, the sarpanch could not do any
thing. (Samarthan, interviews, 2004)
The construction of the community building and a cement road, approval
of the list of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in the gram sabha, starting
the mid-day meal in the school, repair of the hand pump, and disapproval
of the quality of toilets constructed in the school are some of the issues
the members have addressed in the meetings. For instance, the Gyan Ganga
group (Bijori, Sehore Block, Madhya Pradesh) participated in the meeting
to consider the construction of a platform within the village where they
could hold their group meetings. The gram sabha passed a resolution
approving the place for the construction of the platform. While many
sabha members dissented when they realised that they would have to