maan fought for her property share and became financially independent. she s now using her position and knowledge to help other women do the same. seeing maan conduct official business in the panchayat or the village council office is like watching a woman reclaim what is rightfully hers. because when the indian government introduced quotas at the village level to encourage representation of women in these local bodies, it was only partially successful. women did start getting elected, but the power remained with their husbands and other menfolk in the family who would come here and conduct all the business while the women remained figureheads stuck back at home. in her case, as a widow, maan s village council election win and the power it brings her is hers and hers alone by being head of the family can improve life in other ways too.
with their husbands and other menfolk in the family who would come here and conduct all the business while the women remained figureheads stuck back at home. in her case, as a widow, her village council election win and the power it brings her is hers and hers alone being head of the family can improve life in other ways too. for example, spend money on their own health care. what we found was that when women lived in households which had land, if they owned and managed the land, they had lower mortality rates. than when they lived in a household where they did not own and manage the land. in a country where till quite recently, widows were not allowed to dress in colourful clothes and were forbidden from stepping out of their house for six months after their husbands death.
but the power remained with their husbands and other menfolk in the family who would come here and conduct all the business while the women remained figureheads stuck back at home. in her case, as a widow, maans village council election wins and the power it brings her is hers and hers alone by being head of the family can improve life in other ways too. being head of the family can improve life in other ways too. for example, spend money on their own health care. what we found was that when women lived in households which had land, if they owned and managed the land, they had lower mortality rates, than when they lived in a household where they did not own and manage the land. in a country where till quite recently, widows were not allowed to dress in colourful clothes and were forbidden from stepping out of their house for six months after their husbands death. after their husbands death, some women were even blamed for it