E-Dialogues 26.0 | Entrepreneurship, Skill Building
Training women at the local level is key to their empowerment All India Institute of Local Self-Government, in collaboration with Girl Power Project, organized the twenty sixth edition of ‘E-Dialogues’ on ‘Empowering Women by Building Skills and Entrepreneurship’ on Tuesday, August 3. The webinar was organized to solidify the efforts and initiatives under AIILSG’s Girl Power Project Team Urban Update
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he venerable panel for the event comprised of Farida Jalees, Managing Trustee, Lucknow Mahila Sewa Trust; Ankita Kashish, Program Manager, Umang; Dr Jaykishor Chhangani, Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialization (MGIRI); and Dr RK Gupta, Project Director, Girl Power Project, AIILSG. The event was moderated by Ashley Paul, Senior SubEditor, Urban Update. Paul started by emphasizing the importance of women entrepreneurs as people around the world have started recognizing the need for integrating women into the workspace. Building on entrepreneurship skills directly uplifts women’s social status. He mentioned several schemes run by the Government of India like the Ujwala scheme, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and the Nirbhaya scheme, that are working towards empowering women.
44 August 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
The first speaker, Dr Jaykishor Chhangani, began by saying that Indian society considers women to be a mighty source of power. Quoting the Vedas, Chhangani said that God resides where women are respected. Sadly, the picture portrayed by the holy books does not get translated into real life. Chhangani said that it is essential to involve women in the workspace for financial stability of the nation. “Unfortunately, the erstwhile governments have not taken this as seriously as they should have”. He stated that according to the data released by NITI Aayog, women’s contribution to the GDP is 23 per cent, a severely low number as compared to international standards. He informed that he is currently working with MGIRI, which aims to empower women through entrepreneurial development based on ‘Panchagavya’. Stating that there is an urgent need for upliftment of women, especially in the rural landscape, he
implored that government packages cannot be a solution and that women entrepreneurship development is the only way. He said that women need to be empowered with scientific and technological intervention. Panchgavya are the five products that a cow can provide - cow milk, clarified butter, curd, urine, and dung. These products, sold worldwide, have proven medical properties. Seeing the commercial importance of these products, MGIRI conducts five-day workshops training women the art of manufacturing the aforementioned products. The Institute has also conducted several training sessions with local self-help groups. For instance, women of the Adivasi Pardi tribe from the Wardha district of Maharashtra were part of a five-day training program where they were taught how to make phenyl from cow urine. Those women went on to set up their own businesses and are now independently handling the product’s marketing, sales, and manufacturing. Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh has several ashrams for widows that raises funds through donation. These women have also been part of the institution’s fiveday training camp. The next step in this project is going to incorporate Naxalite women for which the organization has already received a grant of `1 lakh. Dr RK Gupta took the discussion ahead by speaking about womenfriendly food value addition and other technologies for a sustainable livelihood. The Girl Power Project (GPP) is aiming to empower over 5000 urban women with the help of Central
