Leadership of Khasi Women of Meghalaya: A Socio-Political Context
anangsha Rajguru2022, CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo
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Abstract
Background: Khasi women have a rich tradition and enjoyed social status and freedom in their community. Women are the leader of the family and make immense contributions to the socioeconomic wellbeing of the community. Leadership in the family and service sectors is highly visible but there is less participation in the political sector. Therefore the current study is to explore the socio-political leadership of Khasi women in the East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya. Materials and Methods: A mixed method study and sequential exploratory design were carried out in the current study. The respondents were from the Mawsynram and Shillong blocks of East Khasi Hills District. A total of 150 Khasi women filled out the google form questionnaire for quantitative data. For qualitative data, 10 respondents were interviewed. The questionnaire and Interview guide were focused on the family, social and political leadership of Khasi women. Quantitative data analysis was done through SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Sciences) for generating frequency whereas qualitative analysis was done through thematic analysis. Results: The quantitative results revealed that women rule in the family and society. They strongly agree on women should be given equal representation in local bodies. The qualitative finding depicts that women's leadership in family and service is high. The study also found that Khasi women have less participation in the political sector. The reasons are lack of awareness, opportunities, a traditional system, and poor interest. Conclusion: The overall findings show that women are involved in all kinds of family functioning, social service, and occupational sector. The women are well capable in their family functioning and service sector, and then they can be much capable in political leadership. The current study suggested that women's participation in politics will help to connect the issues in the family and service sectors. Therefore, need for empowering women in leadership in the Khasi community.
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