The men are corrupt, so are the women
By Manisha Yadav
Women have now claimed parity with men on most fronts now. Looks like they are now catching up on the corruption front too.
A sarpanchor village head of Porghavan village (in Andhra Pradesh), Ms Kusum Khadse, was caught redhanded early this week by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for demanding a bribe of Rs 6,000 from a contractor. The sarpanch had demanded the sum to permit him to construct a water tank. He tipped off the Bureau, reports a leading newspaper.
Take another incident in Rajasthan which reveals the manner in which a woman sarpanch had been shielding corrupt officals. She tore the shirt of a villager at a public hearing. The victim’s offence: deposing as a witness against corrupt officials!
Interestingly, another woman sarpanch in the same State, has earned nation-wide applause for her development initiatives in Soda village. Ms Chhavi Rajawat, an MBA graduate, created IT infrastructure in the area by utilising government funds appropriately. Ms Archanatai Jatkar, a sarpanch in Pune has also let her work speak for itself.
Nearly 10.5 lakh women head villages in India, says a recent survey by top firm, A C Nielsen ORG Marg. While countless debates on whether women leaders bring down corruption rate rage on, it could tremendously help India if the answer is in the affirmative due to the sheer number of women sarpanchs.