Similarly in the political arena, women are very well represented. In the local bodies, there are about 250,000 elected officials ranging from a member of Gram Panchayats (village-level elected self-governments) to Mayors of Municipal Corporations and Chairpersons of Zilla Parishads (district level elected councils) and of these, over 85,000 are women.
These developments, which are shared in different ways by other States, give a positive twist to the outlook for empowerment of women for the future. Above all, the existence of a free press provides insurance against excesses and makes Governments at all levels more accountable than otherwise.