Published Paper Details:

Haryana State is largely agriculture based state; most of its population live in villages. The rural Haryana combined with strong patriarchal leanings make the status of women in rural Haryana precarious. Rural women in Haryana, as in other parts of India, suffer from variety of disadvantages. Foremost among them is lack of education among women. Another is its skewed sex ratio. The number of women per one thousand men in Haryana is among the lowest in India. Hence we need to empower women in rural Haryana. This can be done in a variety of ways, like, through spread of education and awareness about rights, changing the patriarchal mindset/system. Concerted efforts are being made in that direction by the government and other agencies to uplift and educate the rural women. Similarly, the 73 rd Constitution Amendment Act created the institutions of village panchayats and local bodies, and gave one-third reservation to women. How far the institution of panchayats in Haryana has changed their status or empowered them, is a matter of debate. Similarly, the issue of spreading education for women in villages is also debatable. Along with this the patriarchal system, and deep prejudices against women in the rural set-up, recently reflected in the form of assertive Khap panchayats, also need to be examined and analysed. The scope of the instant paper is to critically analyse all these and related issues.