Liberation.Ink

For women in Bihar, voting is not allegiance. It's leverage

- Pragya Singh

IN the heart of Bihar, democracy is not a distant idea. It is lived daily by women whose names will never make headlines— women who vote, organise and survive with quiet urgency. Across caste, religion and location, their lives reveal what participation looks like—whether the state is absent or present— and even when the most fragile thing they hold is hope.

Women Who Govern

In Nadi village near Darbhanga town, Rashmi Chaudhary sits at the front of every panchayat meeting. Her husband, Naushad, once active in grassroots politics in Delhi, now supports her work as sarpanch. Rashmi won on a reserved Scheduled Caste seat, and she is married to a Muslim man. “People wanted someone who could get things done,” she says.

With no party backing and limited funds, she pushes ahead—on roads, water and education. Caste and religion remain present in the political air, but she calls for unity. “Sab milke chalein toh kuch badal sakta hai— only if we unite can things change for the better.”

It is Rashmi who holds formal office now, not her husband, who had been an activist for Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi. She attends meetings, follows up on complaints and tries to fix the school’s problems and get work sanctioned under MGNREGA. “Funds are always a problem,” she says. “But I go wherever I’m called.” When asked what kind of politics she believes in, she says, “Unity. Not caste or religion. What good has that ever done us?” Her power is fiesty, her obstacles many—but the space she occupies is real.

In another part of Darbhanga, Reshma Ara, elected mukhiya at age 30, four years ago, is a visible figure of authority. Her presence disrupts stereotypes—a veiled woman asserting accountability, demanding updates, standing firm.

“Main padhi-likhi hoon. Log sunte hain—I am educated, people believe in me,” she says. People of Gonoun panchayat respond because she shows up, listens and acts. Faith and governance need not be in conflict.