Poll panel,Unicef join hands to train women corporators in governance

The programme will be flagged off in rural districts on December 14 and will be launched in urban centres such as Mumbai,Nashik and Nagpur in January next year.

State election commissioner Neela Satyanarayana said in a small survey done in the Wardha district,it was found that many women corporators do not even have the dynamics to stand in front of a crowd and introduce themselves. “These women hold the position for the sake of it and the governance bit is indirectly controlled by their husbands or other male members of their family. The three-day training programme will try to encourage these women to take a stand of their own by training them about provisions of Acts that relate to governance issues,” she said.

Another official from the department said that even in a city like Mumbai,powerful politicians push women in their families for candidature. “Such women usually never participate in discussions in the general body meetings or committee meetings. The point of reserving seats for women who can then voice women related issues,is completely lost,” said the official.

Apart from UNICEF,that will partly fund the Rs 2.75 crore projects and provide human resource for the training,students from Nirmala Niketan have also been roped in to carry out the actual training. After the training,an NGO called Support Center for Women in politics will help evaluate the outcome of the process. The first phase of the project will covers areas of Thane,Sindhudurg,Pune,Nashik,Sholapur,Kolhapur,Nanded,Amravati,Wardha and Satara. Phase two,to be launched on January 3,to mark the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule,will be carried out in urban areas.