Meet the women reshaping local governance in rural India

To help women take a more active role in local governance, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) has worked with 90 women in 60 village councils across Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, building their leadership skills. Results include a village court that hears land and domestic violence cases, rooftop solar reaching homes that had never had electricity, 10 women moving into paid work, and a computer centre for teenage girls.

The work reflects AKF’s broader focus on strengthening civil society and women’s leadership. AKF runs civil society programmes in 13 countries and in 2025 supported more than 20,000 organisations, nearly four in 10 of them led by women. AKF is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).

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Across rural India, the face of local governance is shifting.

For generations, women have been the backbone of families and communities, often without recognition or inclusion in decisions that shaped their lives.

In 1992, the Government of India passed legislation to ensure women’s political representation, mandating that one-third of all elected seats on local governance were reserved for women. Despite this, persistent sociocultural barriers meant that some women representatives remained symbolic figures, with male family members making decisions on their behalf.

This is beginning to change.

Aligned with the Government of India’s commitment to ensuring a greater role for women in community decision-making, AKF has been working to promote gender-transformative local governance in 60 Gram Panchayats (village councils) in the northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. These efforts have strengthened the leadership skills of 90 women, many of whom are now in formal roles as Elected Women Representatives in their villages.

The programme has enabled the elected women to effectively address gender-based violence, advocate for the needs and priorities of women and children in village development plans and participate meaningfully in village governance and planning.

Here are some of their stories.

Rani Devi, Bihar

Every day, Rani Devi oversees the village court, helping resolve issues ranging from land ownership to domestic violence.

After participating in training, Rani was inspired to do more and began organising regular meetings with youth in her community to better understand local challenges and look for solutions together.

For Rani, what began as an administrative role has now become a platform for dialogue, trust and collective problem solving.

Sunaina Devi, Bihar

Like many elected women representatives, when Sunaina Devi was first elected Mukhiya (village head), she remained at home while the male members of her family handled official responsibilities on her behalf.

After participating in training, Sunaina decided to take on this role for herself.

Slowly, Sunaina began attending meetings independently and speaking directly with women in her community. In these conversations, she discovered a common challenge where many women wanted to work but lacked support from their families.

Today, thanks to Sunaina’s efforts, 10 women in her village work at a nearby stitching factory and are gaining financial independence. Sunaina now oversees regular women-only meetings, which have become a safe platform where women can speak freely because they know they are being heard.

Rajani Devi, Uttar Pradesh

In Rajani Devi’s village, electricity was out of reach for years. Located near the India-Nepal border and situated in a forested region, infrastructure and connectivity was limited.

After learning about government schemes through AKF’s training, Rajani helped households access subsidies under Government’s rural rooftop solar scheme, helping many homes in the village receive electricity for the first time.

Under Rajani’s leadership, her community has greater access to services, opportunities and a better quality of life.

Rehana Begum, Uttar Pradesh

Rehana Regum was approached one day by a group of teenage girls in her village with a simple request: they wanted to learn computer skills.

Rehana learned about a government-supported rural digital literacy scheme and applied for support to establish a computer learning centre in her village. Today, girls regularly attend classes where they are learning and developing new skills.

For Rehana, listening to the challenges and hopes of everyone in her community is part of being a good leader. What started as a small request has become an investment in the independence, confidence and future opportunities of the girls in her village.

Across these Panchayats, a new generation of women leaders is emerging.

With support from AKF, 90 women have gained skills and confidence and are actively speaking up, planning and leading.

When women lead, governance becomes more inclusive, responsive and effective. When women lead, they challenge norms that prevent women from becoming decision-makers and changemakers, and they inspire girls to imagine new possibilities and opportunities.

Meet Sujata, another Elected Women Representative, in this short film.

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This article was written by Seemab Alam and Annie Lee and first published on the AKF website.

This story is part of the Advancing Gender Equality through Civil Society component of Foundations for Health Empowerment (F4HE), supported by Global Affairs Canada. F4HE aims to improve the health and wellbeing, and enhance the equitable development and empowerment, of women, girls, their families and their communities, in Afghanistan, India, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan and Tajikistan.