The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 mandates at least 33% (one-third) reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) across India, including for positions of chairpersons. The HinduC. Palanivel Rajan takes a deep dive to examine whether women have moved from being seen as “proxies” or “rubber-stamp” heads to achieving true empowerment. Hearteningly, hewe find that many women leaders have indeed wrested agency and truereal power.