Enclosed, and brought up in the ‘culture of silence’, the rural women’s lives start, continue and endup in this darkness of silence.
As women hold up half the sky, it becomes imperative that they should be brought out of this shell of darkness, silence and powerlessness into the mainstream of development and to the process of gaining control over the self, over ideology and the resources determining power. This empowerment process “refers to a range of activities from individual self-assertion to collective resistance, protest and mobilization that challenge basic power relations. For individuals and groups where class, caste, ethnicity and gender determine their access to resources and power, their empowerment begins when they not only recognize the systemic forces that oppress them, but act to change existing power relationship. Empowerment therefore, is a process aimed at changing the nature and direction of systemic forces which marginalize women and other disadvantaged section in a given context”.
The fundamental objectives behind each programme are almost identical such as –
- to bring together women and inform them about the society – its present nature, problems within, their possible solutions and women’s economic role therein,
- to help them confront and struggle raising their voices against atrocities and excesses on them.
- to prepare the women for individual and organized action which would lead towards possible solutions;
- to awaken and empower them as an individual and as a productive member of the family and the wider community.
- to identify additional/alternative sources of income which would help to increase a women’s status in the family and in the community.
How To Implement?
Through awareness and consciousness raising with different media like –
- Individual contacts.
- Meetings and discussions.
- Camps, gatherings and conferences.
- Study tours.
- Action and programmes.
- Books, poster, educational kits, ‘Sakhi’ (friend) magazine specially for rural women by Chetana-Vikas for continuous interaction and dialogue.
- Women-to-women.
Who could benefit?
- Adolescent girls.
- Newly married couples.
- Deserted women and widows.
- Aged and retired women.
- Common village women.
- Village leader women.
- Members of Village Panchayats.
- Kindergarten workers, Community health workers, (local village cadre).
- Members of self-help groups.
- Aware youth and men.
Due to all the consistent and Conscious efforts in varies dimensions so far, efforts were made to integrate the right values and thoughts through various programmes taken up for empowerment. It was ultimately experienced that –
- Women become vocal, articulate and fearlessly self expressive through their assembly in small groups.
- They start making discussion about self within the family and in the group where she belongs.
- Their general awareness of, and access to, new kinds of information, knowledge, attitudes and skills increase to a great extent.
- Their physical mobility increases due to their attendance in meetings, trainings, cultural programmes, study tours, conferences, field action programmes etc.
- Women gain significant confidence because of their role as decision makers, accounts keepers, technically skilled agricultural workers and village engineers, planners of action programmes, trainers etc.
- They also start talking and asserting before government officials and men in the villages for their views and rightful share.
- Their economic status improves leading to higher say and status in family matters.
- They develop capacities and skills to understand and perceive situations, reflect upon it, critically analyse the situation further and explore possible solutions for the problems posed before.
- Women put together courage to do the chores taken care of and performed by men so far and learn relevant scientific and mathematical skills (Like constructing bunds, handling technical instruments, calculating one’s wages etc, Record keeping, handling accounts etc.)
- Altogether the image of women as a respectable source of strength improves significantly within and outside the family.
- Levels of violence, atrocities and oppressive social customs begin to decrease due to her social and economic empowerment.
Only economic development, empowers the women to some extent but it is the all round development of her ‘self’ as Aware, conscious, knowledgeable, mature person actually leads to a holistic personality who tend to think with wisdom for herself, her family and the community at large.
