Sharada Kolli

Mayor
Guntur City
India

Entering Local Politics

I am a Doctor of Medicine, specialized in obstetrics and gynaecology. I come from a socially active family background. My father is a journalist and all my brothers and sisters have postgraduate degrees in medicine. I am married to a surgeon.

My father has been member of parliament for two terms but I had no active role in politics until I got elected. I was, however, active in social activities. I was drawn into politics by the passing of the 74th Constitutional amendment to the constitution of India whereby 1/3 of seats in local governments were reserved for women. I then contested and won the election becoming the first woman mayor of the City of Guntur.

A Woman's Perspective

My being a woman has not presented any difficulties when dealing with the public or with other officials and I do not think I am facing any discrimination. There is, however, a slight strain in inter-personal relationships in my contacts with fellow political leaders especially men leaders.

Women have a strong representation in our local urban government. In addition to my position as mayor, there are 18 women representatives in the urban corporation; women are chairpersons in five out of the nine municipalities which compose our District and, in accordance with the 74th Constitutional amendment one-third of the councillors in each municipality are women.

Breaking The Barriers

I believe Indian tradition is one of the main factors preventing many women from entering public life. Moreover, the high level of illiteracy among women (about 52 per cent) is a great obstacle for their involvement in politics. Other factors that restrict their active participation are corruption and criminalisation of politics.

The main policy we have implemented aimed at increasing the participation of women in government was a mass literacy programme started one and a half years ago. Over that period, more than 22,000 women in the 15-35 age group have gone through the programme. Furthermore, we also have a loan system for needy women to obtain gainful employment.

I believe women leaders have the responsibility of promoting female participation in politics. Our women parliamentarians and women leaders are fighting for passing a bill in Parliament to reserve for women one-third of seats in Parliament and federal Government (State Government). Personally, I have been involved on the literacy programme mentioned above, as well as, in other programmes to improve the status of women such as the provision of low-cost sanitation in urban slums dwellings.

The perception of women in politics has changed for the better, at least in India. After seeing women in local governments for the last three years, now people are confident that women are good administrators. They are sincere and committed to discharge their duties and do not encourage criminalisation of the political arena.

I think my best accomplishment in office so far has been getting the participation of the public and private sectors in the improving the quality of life of the citizens by providing basic infrastructure and I hope to continue working towards making our city people friendly.