Reservations for women and other deprived sections in the devolution of power to local governments give them an opportunity to participate in decisions pertaining to their priorities. An action research project, conducted in three phases, investigated the degrees of freedom available to women elected to self-government bodies to determine local and macro fiscal policies. It demonstrated that women in self-government do not lack the capacity to direct fiscal policy, but have insufficient training to enable them to participate effectively in the budget process.