MPRLP UPDATE SERIES NO. 7 GENDER JANUARY 2011
Raising gender awareness in tribal communities In many communities in Madhya Pradesh, there are significant gender inequalities. Women do a significant amount of work, especially in agriculture, but participate less in household decisions and control of spending. By and large, women are also excluded from community affairs. MPRLP works with communities and Gram Sabhas (village assemblies) to create an understanding that gender concerns both women and men. This means giving equal opportunities (equality) and encouraging fair treatment according to people's needs (equity). Depending on circumstances, MPRLP focuses on activities either for women only or for women and men.
Building gender sensitivity MPRLP is raising sensitivity to gender issues by various means. Legal literacy camps make women more aware of their legal rights and entitlements in relation to government schemes. On exposure visits, women go to villages where equality and equity are being encouraged so they are able to see what can be achieved. In the Gram Sabhas, women are more numerous, more active and more vocal than before, and women Panchayat Raj representatives are beginning to fulfil their responsibilities independently.
“Gender concerns both men and women”
Raising awareness of gender
39,490 people attended 700 gender sensitisation events. 109 events for International Women's Day.
Many such women have been elected Panch and Sarpanch – heads of village communities and village councils. MPRLP is working with the Gram Sabhas to design financial guidelines that target poor and destitute women and self-help groups, while the Gram Sabhas are now disbursing more funds to women for livelihood activities. Encouraged that their interests and concerns are being addressed by the Gram Sabhas, women are putting forward more proposals for funding. Women constitute around 47% of the beneficiaries and 40% of the funds have been given to women.
Addressing practical needs and building assets MPRLP addresses women's practical needs too, such as reducing their workload by constructing village water points and protecting their health by introducing smokeless cooking stoves.
The women fought hard in the Bardwara village Gram Sabha to have community bathrooms built for them. © MPRLP/Sandeep Khanwalkar
The way ahead
Build capacity (focusing on community). Strengthen women's position (literacy, leadership, convergence with government schemes and link with financial services). Promote health, hygiene and nutrition (coordination with total hygiene campaign, village health committees and awareness of child health). Reduce the work load and drudgery (smokeless chulhas, fibre sheet and promotions of advanced tools for agriculture).
MADHYA PRADESH RURAL LIVELIHOODS PROJECT
MPRLP also makes efforts to help women build up household assets and to get more control over them. Training courses in skills such as growing vegetables, tailoring and poultry rearing help women start small individual and group enterprises. Women are also now taking part in technical training events, such as those about better agricultural practices, which were previously only attended by men.
“Women's capacity has been increased tremendously”
Self-help MPRLP motivates women to organise themselves into self-help groups which support their members and help them save small amounts regularly. As a result, women's capacity has been increased tremendously, and in recent elections, a significant number of women were elected Panch and Sarpanch.
Achievements
As well as income and savings activities, the self-help groups are addressing social and development needs such as nutrition, health and education, and supporting development schemes at the village level, such as the Anganwadi child- and mother-care centres. They also support immunisation programmes.
Helping women build assets
1020 women in Anuppur trained to make agarbatti (incense sticks). 650 women now producing agarbatti commercially. 100 women have started making sisal handicrafts and 114 have started making rope. 310 women are now commercial poultry producers. 74% of 3584 new self-help groups formed since 2007 are women's groups.
Community members and project facilitation teams shared best practices on women's empowerment issues during 133 exposure visits. 2703 women participated in 158 leadership training courses. 42,000 women are linked to government empowerment schemes. 351 awareness camps, 656 health camps, 42 legal literacy camps. 24,160 women provided with information on health and personal hygiene.
Activities such as chicken rearing, running grocery shops, cultivating vegetables, making bangles and other types of adornment and running flour mills are empowering women and increasing their income. That means they and their children are becoming better fed, more resistant to disease and better educated.
Empowering women Women now make up more than a third of those who attend Gram Sabha meetings. By holding meetings and awareness camps on the role women can play in Gram Sabhas and village development, MPRLP has encouraged more women to take part in village affairs. MPRLP has also run leadership development courses to empower women from less well represented socioeconomic groups. Continuous awareness programmes are improving gender relations and men are playing a supportive role.
Contact Telephone: +91-(0)755-2766812, 814, 815 Fax: +91-(0)755-2766818 Email: mprlp@mprlp.in Website: www.mprlp.in MPRLP is a Government of Madhya Pradesh initiative funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). This publication does not necessarily represent the views of the Department for International Development.