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@article{189716,
        author = {Rajiv Shankhu and Dr. Shivakumar M.A},
        title = {Political Empowerment of Women through Panchayat Raj Institutions: A Critical Study of Vijayapur Taluk},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {5160-5166},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=189716},
        abstract = {The political empowerment of women is a constitutional imperative in India’s democratic framework. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 institutionalised Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) as instruments of decentralised governance and mandated reservation for women to ensure their participation in grassroots democracy. This study critically examines the role of PRIs in facilitating women’s political empowerment, with special reference to Vijayapur Taluk in Karnataka, from a legal and institutional perspective. Adopting a doctrinal and empirical research methodology, the study analyses constitutional provisions, statutory frameworks under the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, relevant judicial interpretations, and field-level experiences of elected women representatives. The findings reveal that while constitutional and statutory provisions have significantly enhanced women’s numerical representation in Panchayat bodies, substantive political empowerment remains limited. Structural constraints such as patriarchal dominance, proxy representation, inadequate legal awareness, and weak institutional support mechanisms continue to restrict women’s effective participation in decision-making processes. The study highlights a critical gap between formal legal empowerment and actual political agency at the local level. It argues that mere reservation is insufficient to achieve the constitutional objective of gender-inclusive governance unless supported by enforceable legal safeguards, capacity-building measures, and accountability frameworks. The article contributes to legal scholarship by emphasising the need for a shift from symbolic representation to substantive empowerment through strengthened legal and institutional reforms within the Panchayat Raj system.},
        keywords = {Panchayat Raj Institutions; Women’s Political Empowerment; Constitutional Law; Decentralised Governance; Local Self-Government.},
        month = {January},
        }