rights at the center'- documentation on women's federations and rights based work in...
TRANSCRIPT
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Rights at the Centre
A Documentation Series
HHS' Engagement With Women's
Federations in Karnataka
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Hengasara Hakkina Sangha
www.hhsonline.org
Email: [email protected]
Hengasara Hakkina Sangha (HHS) is a women's rights
resource centre established in 1993. Based in Bangalore,
we have worked in most districts f Karnataka on capacity
building with grass roots NGOs, women's collectives,
media, State institutions, civil society groups, private and
unorganized sectors, union, police and others to enable
rights assertion of women. We use rights education as a
means to achieve gender justice.
This book is part of documentation series of a decade
engagement with women's federations on issues of gender,
rights and law across Karnataka.
To know more about our work, click www.hhsonline.org
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Rights at the Centre
A Documentation Series
HHS' Engagement With Women's Federations in Karnataka
AuthorsIndhu Subramaniam
Usha B N
Hengasara Hakkina SanghaBangalore 2014
Supported by KIOS, The Finnish NGO Foundation for Human Rights
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Context
We write this in the year 2014, with
news of so much violence against
women, particularly rape and sexual
abuse of children. Claiming public spaces
and being visible and articulate as citizens
was never more important for women as it
is today.
It is a moment to look into and visibilise
the quiet work of many years women have
been doing to makes their own lives and
other women's lives better. Yes it has
been slow progress- laying claim to public
spaces and using them. As is evidenced
in daily reports of violence from across the
country, things are not equal or fair or
safe. But we do need a robust
countervailing discourse and public
register that can highlight the positive
stories of courage, assertion and sense of
justice women's collectives have
displayed with activism at the grassroots.
In a sense, giving meaning to the
abstraction called democracy.
In the eighties and early nineties
through various national level policies and
World Bank thrust policy decisions, grass
roots development organizations moved
from village to village speaking with
women conducting meetings and
convincing them to come out to attend
meetings in their efforts to form self help
g roups (SHGs) .Conv inc ing and
negotiating with their husbands and
fathers to let them go and at the same time
holding talks and discussions with
community leaders to convince them to
allow women to come out for meetings
would have been no mean task. It wasn't
an easy process, firstly to access women,
secondly to convince them and
importantly negotiating with strongly
patriarchal rural communities to do
something unprecedented- sending
women out to uncharted nontraditional
spaces and activities.
Sometimes trying to preserve the
status quo so that they were still welcome
in those communities and sometimes
taking on the obstructers, it wasn't as easy
as it appeared on paper- the act of
mobilizing women to form SHGs. It was
a tight rope for many activists and
development organizations to gain
access and encourage women in a non
threatening way. The prospect of saving
and getting access to loans and money
perhaps did sway the argument to an
extent.
Slowly women overcame their
inhibitions and reluctantly came to the first
meetings, they were mocked by groups of
men 'yaaru meeting hogthavre nodo'
(look who are going to meetings). These
women who were the first to come out
were illiterate or semiliterate, had never
stepped out of their houses or environs.
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They were so far doing things that they
were expected to, fetching water, working
in the fields or going out only to the village
fair or weddings or other community
functions. They were now traversing
uncharted territory by going to these
meetings.The intrepid continued to attend
meetings where they discussed
children's health, issues like sewage
water, hygiene, safe deliveries-things that
mattered to them immediately. They also
started talking about creating resources
for their families, this aspect helped them
with negotiating and winning crucial
approval for their going out. They were
told that if their SHGs saved some money
they would be eligible to get loans from
banks to start some enterprise of their
own.
Through income generating schemes
and micro credit, women were
instrumental in buying cattle, goats
buffaloes, milch cows to augment
incomes for their families. The poorest of
the poor and Dalit women were being
mobilized through SHGs. Quasi
government agencies like Mahila
Samakhya were already mobilizing poor
Dalit women through literacy and
empowerment programmes while the
grassroots development organizations
intensified mobilisation efforts in the
face of funding and push from NABARD
and World Bank and other funding. In the
beginning of the 2000 decade, State
sponsored Stree Shakti programmes
solely focused on micro credit took off.
This to a large extent diluted the
empowerment aspect of mobilization in
Karnataka.
Going to meetings became the norm,
there we SHGs in every village, and all
women wanted to be part of SHG and
sangha as they saw the benefits of going
to meetings. Sangha became the norm.
It was no longer limited to poor women,
women from all castes including the
upper castes wanted to go to meetings.
By the beginning of 2000 decade SHGs
were widespread. Women from
different castes were sometimes part of
the same SHGs; they would share public
platforms together even though back in
their respective villages, caste
hierarchies, segregation and uneven
distribution of resources continued.
With the thrust on forming SHGs and
extending credit increasing grass roots
development organizations shifted from
mobilizing poorest of the poor to
mobilizing women who had the
wherewithal to save. The focus shifted
from the outcome to the process, it was
becoming unclear where the money was
going to. With availability of credit,
slowly the character of borrowings
changed. Investments on livestock or
enterprise (which was a high risk
endeavour without appropriate back up
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support) failed. Since there was no
stable healthcare system available a lot
of loans were going towards health
emergencies.With the advent of
microfinance institutions the political
and empowerment component seems to
be almost erased, SHGs are getting loans
without questions, with a high interest
rate, as long as they were being repaid.
Women have become instrumental in
obtaining loans for any sort of expense.
As far as the market is concerned it is an
emerging business sector with huge
opportunities.
Coming back to what HHs was doing,
HHS started partnering with grassroots
development organizations who were
mobilizing women to help with capacity
building work to understand the
concepts of law, rights and gender. Since
violence against women has been our
focus we have consciously chosen to
work with women's collectives as we
believe collective actions have far
reaching impact and positive outcomes
for individual women. We saw the
enormous potent ia l o f women
collectivizing in the public sphere, even
if they hadn't come together for the
purpose of looking into women's issues.
We saw this as an immense opportunity
to introduce law and the discourse of
rights and entitlements. We saw this
opportunity affording us access to a large
number of women who were eager for
their life circumstances to change and
wanted social change. Our endeavour
was to provide analysis and information
from a woman's perspective and from a
gender rights perspective; which they
may not have come
across. Their exposure to law, from what
we gleaned, was lawyers expounding on
the sacredness of law-so removed from
their lives- that it ended up alienating
women from law.
When HHS started training groups of
women mobilized through grass roots
organizations we didn't know the extent
of tribulations, negotiations and battles
that were behind these women actually
being able to leave home and hearth for a
period of three days to sit in a training
programme. What we usually saw was an
enthusiastic group of women in their best
sarees and jewels. The struggles that
we faced as women in the city were a
little different but through the course of
our sharing over the years we also
marveled at the common things that
bound us together as women. In our
trainings we would wonder why women
were unequal or why violence happened
only to women. How could we stop this
cycle of violence for our children? This
usually got them galvanized and
interested and thy would with rapt
attention listen to some of the things we
said and would most enthusiastically
participate and come up with solutions in
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their group exercises. Offering counter
analysis and realities and stories of
collectivization and rights assertion was
such a part of our sessions as much as
helping women question oppressive
gender norms. Women were a constant
source of delight. Many of whom had
never had an opportunity to attend a
formal school would all vigorously
participate and absorb.
After the workshops there would
invariably be a phone call crackling from
one of the villages to let us know what
they did back home, we have thus heard
stories of women having gheraoed the
corrupt PDS (public distribution system)
owner or a group of women having
questioned their local Bank officials
about the delay in their loans. This is not
to say that our training by itself
transformed their lives, all this wouldn't'
have been possible without the
perseverance, robust motivation and
encouragement of the grassroots
organizations and activists who have
been working with them. For us it
demonstrated that we were contributing
very meaningfully to a process that was
making women assertive seek what they
were entitled to.
There is a story told at HHS which
has passed on from the first trainers to
this day, like an oral tradition, of a group
of women in Kakodlu village who after
attending training sessions from HHS
found an ingenuous way to stop violence.
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equality in doing the last rites for the
dead-especially for parents. There was a
silence and no one knew how to respond.
We embed law and rights in the public
sphere and in the marital/familial sphere
while women don't think in such
compartments. The spir itual,
emotional, public and private meld into
each other and it is a seamless
crisscrossing thread. For us it was a
pointer that we can't just talk of rights in
public spheres away from realities of
gender, caste, religion, economy and
polity and the need to talk more and
more in terms of lives and lived realities.
The pyramid called the Federation
From the beginning of the 2000 decade
over the next few years all the work of
mobilizing women at the village level
into SHGs was getting strengthened and
culminating in a structure called
F e d e r a t i o n . F e d e r a t i o n i s a
representative legal body with
representatives drawn from each sangha
it represented at the district or taluk
level.
When Federations started appearing,
we saw this as another opportunity to
work with women's collectives with a
much wider base and reach. When
Grameena Mahila Okoota working in and
around Kolar invited us to train on a few
themes on law rights and gender with a
focus on violence against women, we
readily accepted. This was the beginning
of our yearlong association with various
federations across Karnataka. It was
very invigorating as it gave us a sense of
what was happening on the ground say in
a remote village called Gollara Hatti in
Kolar district in Mulabagal talu where
buses plied once in a day. In places
where organizations like GMO were doing
painstaking and persevering work,
politicizing and mobilizing women.
GMO was doing admirable work in talking
corruption, VAW and land issues, in the
process taking on local politicians, an
effort that was fraught with personal and
organizational risks.
Nothing was easy as it perhaps
appears in a string of words on this screen
or paper. Even though women were
collectivized and had a new structure
called federation and was a lot of
excitement about their struggles and
successes it was still a lot of work in
motivating and ensuring women came
out in huge numbers to make them
count. Before an event like our training
session, an activist of the organization
would've done a lot of work in convincing
the women the importance of the session
and remind them to attend and then
perhaps even go around to help cook and
pick them up! Most women would come
and then finally around 12 our sessions
would start. We went one step further
and invited them to Bangalore where
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along with talks and discussions and role
plays women visited the Vidhana Soudha,
High court and the planetarium! Thus we
have discussed and chatted with scores
of women across the state.
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Women like Papamma from GMO, a Dalit
woman imbued with an innate sense of
Justice have shown the world that
support and information can help them
collectivise and assume leadership.
Women like her have made sincere
efforts to understand their situations and
articulate the needs and aspirations of
their collectives in public and larger
forums. They have inspired us and also
endorsed in good measure the
meaningfulness of the work we do. Also
most importantly helped us understand
that collective action can influence
change.
This document is an attempt to capture
our engagement with federations in the
past decade. This engagement wouldn't
have been possible without the
continued and unstinted support of KIOS,
The Finnish Ngo Foundation for Human
Rights.
T h i s n o t a c o m p r e h e n s i v e
documentation of our work, we would
like to give the reader an idea of the
context of rights based work HHS has
been doing with women's federations in
Karnataka. We have drawn from field
notes and reports from HHS archives and
fresh interviews conducted over the last
year with the following federations and
activists. We would like to thank,
Sangama okkuta Ilkal, Bagalkot district,
Kituru Rani Chennamma Okkuta ,
REACH,–Harapannahalli, Davanagere
distr ict, Aagama Dal ita Mahi la
Vimochana Okkuta, Spandana – Belgaum
district, SWARAJ network, Karnataka.
What are federations and why did HHS
choose to work with them?
Rights based approach has enabled
a context where rural women collectives
have gained confidence to assay public
roles as gram panchayat members or
members of sanghas. It has not only given
them a collective identity but also has
increased their mobility and a space to
talk of socio political issues that concern
them in their villages and surroundings.
In Karnataka , the past decade saw the
formation of exclusive women's
f e d e r a t i o n s ( M a h i l a O k k u t a ) .
Federations are registered bodies, with
representatives from all affiliated
women's sanghas at the level of the
taluk, district and the state. These
sanghas are mobilized by NGOs and even
government departments. (for example
the milk federation by KMF etc). Many of
these federations work on issues of social
justice in their villages and districts.
Mobilized by NGO's and the State,
federations of sanghas have a much
stronger political identity and are better
equipped to take forward the rights
discourse as opposed to individual
sanghas. Federations enable women's
mobility to an extent, where they will be
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able to participate in broader debates on development, women's rights, etc. We
see that federations work on various issues of governance, effective delivery of
schemes meant for them, livelihood, basic amenities, education of children etc.
Though federations are of women sanghas, they do not automatically talk about
issues of gender or gender based violence. Though they do help women in crisis,
VAW many a times is not on the agenda or lower in the agenda of many of
federations. Women's collectives working on women's rights issues in Karnataka
still have to contend with traditional power structures of the feudal landowning
upper caste male- in politics, access to resources, challenging gender relations,
asserting rights to property, mobility and demanding systemic accountability.
HHS work with federations focused on enhancing and facilitating peer learning
processes through building capacities programs and by dissemination of easy-to-
use material on gender rights, especially on VAW. This intervention also sought to
contribute towards enabling non-traditional secular spaces to promote citizenship
rights and public life of women. HHS began working with women's federation in
v a r i o u s p a r t s o f K a r n a t a k a f r o m 2 0 0 4 .
A copy of the form that participants fill during the workshop
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epre
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angha w
om
en.
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What did we do?
Federation women at the workshop
HHS has had long term association through capacity building programs for a core
group of women leaders of 15 federations from 16 districts of Karnataka.
Workshops, back home tasks and resource kits containing booklets, manuals,
audio CDs and posters were used to aid learning for women who were part of the
trainings. We have built capacities of core group of 48 women leaders from 15
federations from 16 districts of Karnataka to work on issues of VAW. We have also
closely associated with the federations on advocating better implementation of
laws, services and assistance by the State for women facing violence.
A letter confirming participation from a federation
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List of Federations HHS has worked with
vSadhana Sampanmoola Kendra, Maddur, Mandya District
vGrameena Mahila Okkuta (GMO), Mulabagilu, Kolar, Srinivasapura,
Bangarapete, Kolar District
vJagrutha Mahila Sanghatan (JMS), Manvi and Sindhanur, Raichur
district
vStree Suchana Sangama Okkuta (SSSO), Koppal and Bijapur districts
vVikasa Grameena Abhivrudhi Samste, Ilkal and Hunagund
vSadhana Grameena Mahila Okkuta (SGMO), HD Kote, Mysore district
vVimukthi Grameena Mahila Okkuta, Savlanga, Davengere
vNisarga Vividodesha Mahila okkuta – Tarikere, Chikmagalur,
vKituru Rani Chennamma Okkuta – Harapannahalli, Davanagere
district,
vAagama Dalita Mahila Vimochana Okkuta – Belgaum district
vJagruthi Parisara Mahila Okkuta, Bhadravathi
vSwaraj Network, Karnataka
vUttara Kannada Mattada Okkuta- Honnavara
vNavajeevana Mahila Okkuta, Raichur,Guruha Karmikara Okkuta,
Bangalore
Training of trainers: We have also been able to train 12 activists of
federations and NGOS from various parts of Karnataka to be a trainer/resource
person on gender and law. A training manual on gender and rights was brought out
to aid trainers to do capacity building on gender rights issues.
What were these workshops all about?
The aim of the workshop is to build capacities of collectives of women to respond
to issues of violence against women from a rights based approach. Through
discussions, presentation, games and reflections the workshop equipped women
with legal and non legal strategies to combat gender based violence.
A snapshot of our workshops with federations:
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vThree to four days workshop spread over three phases over a year. We have
done three such long-term, phase wise workshops with various federations.
Women leaders of the federation and activists have been part of these
workshops.
vIssues and laws related to domestic violence, dowry related harassment and
deaths, sexual assault, and caste based violence against women from Dalit
communities were covered in the workshops. Each workshop would look at
conceptual understanding, myths and facts, personal experiences of
handling cases on these issues followed with legal and non legal strategies to
combat various forms of violence listed above.
lThese workshops were accompanied by back home tasks which helped
participants and federation to consolidate what was learnt at the workshop.
These tasks, planned as a group activity ensured equal participation of all the
five representatives in the process. The tasks were planned by HHS and
p a r t i c i p a n t s a t t h e e n d o f e a c h w o r k s h o p .
lSurvey on protection officers, widow pension, and status of hostels meant for
Dalit girls, VAW cases registered in the nearest police station were some of the
back home tasks that were undertaken by federation women. These back h o m e
tasks helped them observe, analyze and apply some of the perspectives a n d
information that were gained from the workshop. These tasks ensured sharing
of learnings from the workshop with other women in their sangha and
u n d e r s t a n d i n g a s p e c t s o f g e n d e r a n d v i o l e n c e b e t t e r.
lInterface with other NGOs, activists and lawyers were included in the
workshops to give participants a glimpse of different kinds of interventions on
w o m e n ' s r i g h t s i s s u e s i n v a r i o u s p a r t s o f K a r n a t a k a .
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Resource person and a litigating lawyer
interacts with women at the workshop
l
Samakhya, struggle for better food
supply by women in Bangalore slums,
work toward s mak ing l oca l
government bodies respond to needs
of women made it possible for
participants to not only understand
how these issues of women rights are
framed by these groups but also about
how these issues were identified in
group processes, campaigns and
r e sea r ch . V i s i t t o women ' s
commission and Karnataka State Free
Legal Services Authority was an
opportunity for the group to interface
with government offices and officials.
Exposure to Nari Adalats of Mahila
Rekha demonstrates how to use the flip chart
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Resource kit
One of the major impediments to deepening the discourse on rights is the non-
availability of resources in the local language. Workshop learning needed to be
augmented by material resources in print, audio and visual forms for it to sustain
retention, and wider replications.
The Resource kit was specially designed for use by federation members who are
mostly semi literate. Therefore the accent was on visual and audio material. The
content of the resource material covered concepts of gender, rights and equality
and provided legal information. Primers and booklets which were previously
produced by HHS were also included in the kit.
The content of the resource kit was conceived and presented in a manner that
was empowering to women. It did not just stop at providing legal information. It
highlighted how a federation could use the knowledge of rights and information on
law to benefit women. For example: Poster on dowry harassment illustrated the
role of federations in registering complaints, recording statements during
panchnama (which is a first step of police investigation in a crime) and
accompanying victim to file a complaint. The aim was to politicize the issue of VAW
(as against being viewed as a private problem faced by individual women) and
emphasized collective actions.
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The process of putting together a resource kit involved creation of
new resource material and sourcing already available material on
women's rights.
Our resource kit contained
1. Two Flip charts on
· gender and impact of gender on women'
· domestic violence law and relief's
2. Three skits on understanding the concepts of rights and equality
3. Three set of audio CDs on
· laws related to rape,
· domestic violence and
· dowry
A copy of our workshop evaluation and feedback form
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One of the participant with the flipchart
4. Three posters on
· Substantive equality, · Dowry harassment and ·Dowry death
5. Handbook on crisis intervention with women facing violence
6. Booklet of FAQs on PWDVA
7. Calendar containing some important legal provisions for women facing
violence.
8. A training manual on Gender and Rights
9. Videos on women's rights in Kannada available online.
Plays on All India Radio
HHS has had a positive experience of disseminating information on radio, especially AIR as
it has an amazing reach. HHS designed and produced plays on laws concerning women's
rights to reach both federation and other men and women through radio. Three
conversations between activists and women on laws related to Domestic Violence, Dowry
and Rape was produced. The program included strategies and suggestions that could be
used to help a victim assert her rights. The last episode had representatives from the
federations who spoke about themselves, their federations, aspirations, achievements,
struggles and constraints of their work. For many, this was a first time experience, to be
recorded and hearing their voices broadcast on radio. All the episodes were broadcast on
All India Radio, Karnataka outreach.
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Voices of women
A participant in rapt attention at the workshop
HHS workshops brought women leaders from various federations together
from various parts of Karnataka. Our work with federations had few
important aspects. Firstly we decided not have one off workshops with any of
the federations; we had a long term interaction and support. We tailor made
the workshops based on the consultations and field visits to many of the
districts and dialoguing with federation leaders and NGO heads. Conceptual
understanding of VAW issues as well as practical tips to use legal and non legal
strategies to combat VAW was the main focus of the workshops. We worked
with federations who already had been working in a rights based perspective
on various issues of social justice and women's well being. However to
exclusively talk about VAW, violations in intimate relationships, women's body,
sexuality and rights was a complex, albeit important arena.
To narrate how we plugged into the process of supporting federations and
strengthening responses to VAW has to start with who are these federations
and what do federations mean to these women? What do women do in
federations? How has it aided their lives?
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Here are some glimpses of women in the federations through their voices.
'Naanu gandanna bittaru, Okkuta bidalla'( I may leave my husband, but will not
leave the federation)
Shahina of GMO at the workshop
Shahina of Grameena Mahila Okkuta told us this in great gusto. Grameena Mahila
Okutta is a women's federation that has mobilized more than 8,000 women largely
from Dalit, OBC and minority communities in and around Mulbagal taluk in Kolar
district. This statement captures what federations mean to women. Federations
have created an identity and space for women which family or villages in general
have not afforded them. It is Okkutta that has given them a larger public identity
and purpose. It has made it possible to have a financial resource from their own
savings, made them representatives of their communities to voice concerns;
federations have indeed played a major role in building self worth for women.
Apart from savings and credits activities, federation has been a place for forging
friendships, becoming active citizens in their villages and gave them the
opportunity to travel beyond their villages and taluks. A common refrain we hear
while talking to the women is that 'before going to the sangha, I did not know many
things, we were mostly inside our houses. But after joining sangha we have learnt a
lot of things about the outside world.' This journey from just attending monthly
meetings to becoming active federation members has been difficult but fruitful
journey to many women.
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· In the words of Bharthi Shettar “thought I didn't discriminate among my children in their upbringing. I realized after being part of this process that I restrict my daughters from doing few things. After this training, I have changed.”
· Participants from Sadhana Sampanmoola Kendra said that this project has helped them understand the need to prioritize working on gender issues in their federation. Savitha said that understanding of gender has given her courage even to do simple things. “After the training I demand seats in the bus reserved for women”. One of the participant's Sukanya from SSK said that she has learnt how to go about intervening in a case systematically. Susheela from JMS said “Now that I have learnt about the domestic violence law, I feel confident to give suggestions to women who approach me. I have personally also changed my thinking, now I feel women and men should be equal”
· Most participants said that back home tasks especially visiting police stations to collect data, introducing themselves to counselling centres and department of women and child was very useful and empowering. Ratnamma of JMS said “We had never visited police before. After this training, we feel visiting police station should be a common activity for activists”.
· All of them found information on the laws and legal procedures very useful. Shanta Hiregowdar of Vikasa Grameena Abhivruddhi Samasthe says “I had no courage and no information about law. If I had known about all this earlier I would not have been cheated in my own case. I have faced domestic violence. At least I will not
There are various kinds of federations. There are exclusive federations of women
belonging to Dalit and OBC communities as well as federations which have women
from all the backgrounds. We have federations that have particularly come to
existence to combat VAW issues as well. Some federations focus on issues of
livelihood, better governance and access to basic facilities in villages. There are
also federations whose main focus is credit and saving activities.
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We began working with federations on violence against women issues. The very
virtue of being a federation attracts women from the surrounding areas; they
come to them seeking help, support and advice. Thus the federation ends up
taking cases of violence against women even when it is not their main focus. They
play a pivotal helping women access information on her rights, negotiate
structures of formal justice such as police stations and courts. They also become
spaces for mediation and dialoguing with a woman's family and perpetrators of
violence. Our role has been to equip these women's federations with knowledge
and use of rights and law for VAW. Sukanya, a member of Swaraj network based in
Chennapatna, Mandya district explains “We work with women victims of domestic
violence and even sexual violence. When such cases come to us, we first enquire
about the case through people we know in that village, later meet them. We try to
understand the situation. Later we sit with both the parties. If it is criminal l case
we go to the police station or else we go to protection officer for filing a case.” It is
here that HHS played a role in enhancing the capacity of the federations to respond
to VAW from rights perspective.
Sukanya of Swaraj network reads out her
back home task report at the workshop
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However the ground reality of poor rural women to access institutions of
justice is not a simple matter, it is like running through an obstacle course.
Whether it is accessing the local panchayat or the police station or the protection
officer there are many hurdles to cross. Even though they are public institutions
in a democracy, patriarchal values and mindset rule the roost. Structures that are
responsible for providing services to women facing violence side with the abusers
and a woman or federation needs to confront them in many cases to obtain access
and respond to women. Our inputs to the women in the workshops which
reinforced their status as citizens and their entitlements have helped in this
process of confrontations and access. As Sukanya says- “We knew that the police
have to take our complaint if we go there with a case of VAW but we did not know
the laws then. We were also scared of going to the police station. With HHS
training we came to know how to talk with rights based approach, we came to
know about the laws. Thus we were able to support more cases.”'
Roopa, a young woman who was an activist based in Ikal (which is a small
town in Bagalkot district in north Karnataka) with Vikasa Grameena Abhivrudhi
Samste says “I am from a Gowda family, we never ventured out much. Our life
was between our house and college. That's it. Somebody would accompany us all
the time, if we wanted to go out. When we began going to sangha meetings men
at home rebuked us. They would ask 'what is the use of all this running around.'
This running around was important, it gave us confidence to talk, to go out. We
said lets help ourselves and save some money. We began getting confidence to
deal with the outer world. Mobility of women and access to public spaces is
crucial issue that determines the power women have over many aspects of their
lives. Sangha or federations have played a major role in increasing mobility and
visibility of women in public spaces in rural areas which were hitherto men's
bastions. This shift has made many things possible for women.
Sharanamma from Bharkundhi village near Ikal, one of the most active
members of the governing body of Sangama okkuta, supported by Vikasa
Grameena Abhivrudhi Samste says “We had not entered a bank before because
we never had our own money. We always
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21
borrowed money from men. When we formed our sangha we began saving Rs 10
every month. We started having some money in our hands. We had never used a
cheque before in our lives; we began transacting with cheques at the bank. All this
gave us new confidence that we could solve our own problems and that we need
not have to depend on men for everything.”She is also an ASHA worker who is a
health animator at the village level taking care of maternal and child health
nominated by the Department of Health and Family Welfare.
Anasuya from Belgaum and Sharanamma from Ilkal at the workshop
Though ASHA workers work for a government department, since they are hired on
contract basis they don't get full salaries. Sharanamama's work as an ASHA
animator came after she became active in her federation. People in Sharanamma's
village have to travel 7 kms to Ikal to access a hospital (which is run by the
government). Women have to come to Ilkal for delivering babies or for any other
medical attention. Sharanamma says “There are no good bus facilities to reach
Ilkal. We have to call 108 (which is ambulance services run by the Government of
Karnataka) when there is an emergency. I accompany women to the hospital for
their deliveries as that is my responsibility as an ASHA worker. I have accompanied
women at all odd hours since a delivery is simply not predictable. I have gone
whenever they have called me. Nowadays it is easier for me to go as my children
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are grown up and I can leave them behind. When they were younger I used to put
them to sleep in my neighbour's house and leave. It was very difficult to manage
but I have never missed a single delivery. People thank me whenever they meet me
for the help I have rendered to them. I get paid according to the number of cases I
help with, the payment sometimes does not come on time. But the kind of
recognition this work has brought me in the community is a very important thing to
me, in fact it is of greater value than money”.
Sharnamma belongs to OBC caste and she shared about going to the Panchayat
asking for NREGA work for her fellow sangha members- “I went to out Panchayat
asking for NREGA work along with the sangha members. Getting work was not easy
we had a confrontation and
Finally got work. But the upper caste men and others in the Panchayat called
over my husband and father in law. They asked him to advise me to mind my own
business and not get into NREGA and Panchayat issues. What is the need for all this?
They were asked. My husband and father in law in turn asked me to stop all these
activities. I told them I am not doing anything wrong, only trying to get work for
people. There was some friction. But we went ahead, got job cards and work for
everyone and finally the payment too.”
Sunanda and Bharathi share their learning using our flipchart at a federation meeting at Ilkal
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Confronting inequalities outside their homes as a collective is difficult but more
difficult it is in the home where the battles become tougher and intimate. We see
that federations have been a source of strength and inspiration to shift and change
things in public and private spaces of women.
What is NREGA?
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 ( ), also known as the
"Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act", and abbreviated
to MGNREGA, is an and measure that aims to
guarantee the ' ' and ensure livelihood security in rural areas by
providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year
to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual
work. Targeting poverty through employment generation using rural works, he
basic objective of providing additional wage employment involving unskilled
manual work and also to create durable assets. The major responsibility of
implementation was also gradually transferred to the
. Unlike its precursors, the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA guaranteed
employment as a legal right.
No 42
Indian labour law social security
right to work
Panchayati Raj
Institutions
Federations have also been a springboard for women for political participation.
Finding unending difficulties while accessing government institutions they often
think of fielding one of their own sangha members for the Gram Panchayat or
Taluka Panchayat elections. Sharanamma says candidly “The present secretary at
the Panchayat is a member of our federation. We all encouraged her to contest for
the panchayat election. We campaigned for her door to door telling people to vote
for a member of the sangha. All our sangha members voted for her and did not vote
for the person their husbands suggested! She won the elections. She is now helping
us.We do not have a place to have our federation meetings so we have requested
for a community hall for such purposes and she has promised to get it done for us.”
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Ilkal is famous for its traditional hand oven saris and many of the okkuta members
are weavers. Sharifa Bi, an active member of the Sangama Okkuta weaves
beautiful Ilkal sarees who belongs to the older generations of skilled weavers in her
village. She explains how the sangha, savings and the support from other women
have impacted on her life –I weave saris and I have to survive on the money that I
get from mediators who buy sarees from us and sell it to retailers and city traders.
Thanks to my sangha that I have been able to raise my children alone. I took loans
from the federation and helped my children to stand on their own feet. I am proud
that as a single mother I have been able to support my family and myself.” She
narrated the instance of delivery of her grandchild.. The government hospitals in
smaller taluks are either not equipped to deal with delivery cases or are apathetic
to the plight of the poor. It was the federation that helped Sharifa Bi and her
daughter in law to have a safe delivery by protesting against doctor's apathy at the
public hospital.
Roopa from Ilkal and Deviramma from Harpanahalli
looking into the crisis intervention booklet at the workshop
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Sri Kittur Rani Chennamma Okkutta, is women's federation drawing women
from 28 villages of Bagalkote district. This women's federation has a strong
presence in Harapanahalli and surrounding villages and works on various issues of
women's rights. NREGA, PDS, VAW are some of the important issues that the
federation has dealt with. Kumar, from REACH NGO, which is the driving and
nurturing force of the okkutta says “women of the okkutta interact directly with
the Taluk Panchayat on important issues concerning them. For example -the issue
of Below Poverty Line Cards (BPL cards) and AAY cards (Anthyodaya cards) are to
be given to people who have no land at all. These cards help people access
government schemes and facilities. There is a lot of mess up with these cards;
people who really deserve it do not get it. So women have questioned this. They
have met the Tashildar as well as food inspectors and asked them why such things
are happening. The problem cropped up when a government order said that the
number of BPL cards issued had to be lesser than the previous year. The logic
behind this is was thatthe government has initiated many developmental
activities, schemes and projects; and they expect the number of BPL card holders
to have come down. In reality we know it is not true. . When such an order came,
officials tried to eliminate as many BPL cards they could at the Panchayat and push
them into APL (Above Poverty Line). They usually do this to families who are meek
and will not ask any questions. The Panchayat has a fair idea of people in the
villages. BPL card is needed for healthcare, getting access to schemes at the
Panchayat and children's education. The federation used RTI act (Right to
information act) to get information and restore the BPL cards to those who really
deserved it.”
According to Kumar another scam that was taking place was with allocation of
work under the NREGA. When women approached for work they were given
physically daunting work to deter them from seeking work under the act.
Influential members of the Panchayat would then, on the sly use machines to get
the work done and pocket the profits themselves. They were
Cheating poor men and women of work. At a village called Karegudihalli one of
the federation members along with 25 others had applied for work under NREGA in
the Panchayat. This Panchayat at their village like many other Panchayats had
been using machines that one of their members possessed to get the work done and
pocket the money. This had been the practice for many years. So when the
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federation woman insisted on getting work they tried to shut her down. As the
woman was a member of the federation for a long time she knew what she was
entitled to. She was also confident to confront because she knew her federation
would back her. She went to the police and gave a complaint based on the verbal
abuses that were hurled at her. Policemen came to fetch her to go to the police
station. She knew from the trainings that she could refuse to go to the police
station if she was not accompanied by a woman police constable. She refused to
go, since the police station did not have women police constables at their station,
they had to get a woman police constable from a nearby station and then took her
to the station. At the station she was spoken to and treated with respect. t. Finally
the issue was solved at the village. The Panchayat member apologized and was
directed to pay a fine. After this, work amounting to 2 lakhs was taken up under
NREGA and women were able to get jobs.
Kumar adds “Women being in a collective makes a lot of difference. They may
not be able to do anything alone to confront these things but as a group it becomes
possible. Even at night time women go to check where machines are being used
for public works they simply make note of the vehicle number and come back.
Later they give a complaint to the concerned officials and follow it up. This quiet
confidence comes from the backing of the federation and they know that there are
many other women and also many federations along with them.”
Group work at Training for Trainers
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He avers “one has to also remember that bringing women together is not an
easy task. It is not that all women can unite for an issue automatically. There are
differences that crop up. For example, in the context of NREGA one of sangha
woman's relative could be using the machine depriving women of work. So when
the federation wants to take up this issue, that particular woman refuses to
support or diverts the issue. There is a lot of discussion and self reflection within
the federations.”
Agama Dalitha Mahila Okkuta, Belgaum has similar experiences to share. As
the name suggests, this is a federation of exclusively of Dalit women. With over
600 women from various villages near Belgaum, this okkuta has spearheaded some
important struggles on right to work, violence free life and caste discrimination.
Uma, who has been working at Spandana, the NGO that has supported the
federation recollects the process of mobilizing the women. “We began with
monthly sessions with women, began talking to them about rights, in the
Panchayat, in the Aganwadi, with respect to PDS, child marriage, and NREGA. We
began discussing these issues at the village. We encouraged women to approach
relevant government officials to address these issues. When the issue is difficult
to solve at village level, they take it to federation comprising 22 executive
members who discuss and try to solve it. We have lessened our involvement with
the federation these days to encourage them to take over and do things by
themselves.
Yellamma, Agama Dalitha Mahila Okkuta, makes her point in a group discussion at the workshop
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For example: the federation has taken up the issue of PDS and has confronted
the system for not being effective. The food department officials come to the
Gram Panchayat to find out what was the problem because of the protests. Our
federation members have been co- opted into the vigilance committee formed by
the food department to check corruption. The federation also works
independently on NREGA issues. They apply for the jobs and payment and if any
issues crop up they approach higher officials-all on their own”
She continues recounting “In another village where we work, the Panchayat
had agreed to build a community hall for the Dalit community. In a recent meeting
this decision was overturned and the Panchayat declared that they wouldn't give
an inch of land to this community. This news appeared in the local newspaper.
People saw this and were outraged.
They locked the Gram Panchayat office and protested the reversal of decision.
Women from four of our sanghas took up this issue and were the main participants
in this protest. Finally Dalit leaders, police, Panchayat members were all called
together and the matter was discussed. Panchayat, in the face of such stiff
protests agreed to build the community hall. This happened recently.”
Dakshayini and Yellamma speaking to us during the interview at Belgaum
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Capacity building : PWDVA and other laws relating to VAW
Violence against women is a serious issue for all the federations and women talk of
various forms of violence and violations they face, in sangha and federation
meetings very frequently. Other members listen to them and help them to get the
reliefs they desire. Sometimes it is just a meeting with the family or husband that
resolves the problem and some other times they have to go to the police and courts
as well. This support becomes crucial for a woman facing violence as it gives her a
collective voice to talk about her problems.
A girl called Jyothi came t us with marital issues. She has been married for
three years; she was 18 years old when she got married. Her husband was
very abusive. She was neither allowed to go her mother house, nor was her
mother allowed to talk to her in private. They restricted her mobility fully.
They even tried to kill her. She endured all the abuse. Once when they
brought her out to sign some papers, she somehow got back to her mother's
place and talked about the abuse she was going through. With the help of
one of the leaders of the Raitha Sangah(farmers union) a mediation was
initiated. A compromise was sought and she went back to her husband's
house. Despite assurances things did not change. She later come to us. As
she had not much evidence to prove abuse we opted to file under PWDVA.
There was an enquiry and the husband promised that he would not treat her
badly and will take her home. He even signed a declaration promising he and
his wife would stay separately from his parents. He asked her to wait till he
found a house and in the meanwhile he got himself a transfer to Chikmaglur
and abandoned her. We complained against him at the State Commission for
Women. He was again called by the commission for an enquiry. He has now
filed for divorce. Presently the PWDVA petition and the divorce petition are
going on.
As narrated by Sukanya, Swaraj Network
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Our capacity building programs were not only focused about knowing laws
pertaining to VAW it was also helping women to reflect on why VAW happens to
women, analyse government and society's response to VAW, Know about legal
rights and how they could use that knowledge to access justice as well as practical
information to take their case forward. The workshops also discussed how as a
collective they could support each on such issues and also get systems around them
to respond to women's needs in the face of violence.
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) was passed in 2005
and the act is being implemented in Karnataka from the year 2006. The law offers
civil remedies to women facing violence, such as interim maintenance, protection
orders, child custody, and residential rights. The law also created protection
officers who were expected to help women to access reliefs listed under the act.
HHS along with other organizations has been advocating for proper
implementation of the act in Karnataka. As a part of this process the law was
discussed with federations and they were encouraged to use the law.
With this knowledge federations were approaching protection officers, service
providers, magistrates and lawyers under the free legal services to redress
domestic violence. Federations were able to file cases under this law, get orders
from the magistrate for abused women. In most of the cases the federation
members had to confront the system when it was ineffective. We were also able to
connect lawyers who have been trained by us under the lawyers' fellowship
program with the federations for further help in legal counseling and litigation.
Through this process we were able to support women to get reliefs under the new
law and also bring back their experiences and suggestions for better
implementation of the law to our advocacy efforts at Bangalore.
As Kumar says 'we have always spoke of rights issues, how to get your right to
water, right to work, how to participate in gram sabhas. HHS training helped us to
do that with respect to VAW. We came to know for example what one should do
when there is a domestic violence case. We learnt about protection officer's role
and now we have a good rapport with the Protection officer here.' Kumar further
explains that sessions on role of police and how to register a complaint have helped
them to deal with cases.
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Session on Fundamental Rights and Constitution
Sukanya says - 'We contacted Protection Officers (POs) to find out what is
happening with them in Chennapatna. Nobody even knew about Protection of
Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA). We knew a lot about the PWDVA
after the training! We found POs were not responding to women as mandated by
the law. We then protested saying that we do not need a PO who does not work and
cannot respond to women. We protested and got a new PO appointed in our area.
The POs told us that their knowledge of the act was limited to whatever they
learned in two days training conducted by the DWCD. This was clearly inadequate.
With the information and Knowledge I had about PWDVA, I trained other women to
take up cases. They are now equipped with information and are ready to handle
cases by themselves. Now we have become popular with the work we do that
people call us for help when there are cases in Chennapatna. We could be in any
place, we contact the PO on the phone and tell him/her about the case and he/she
usually responds. We have now established that kind of rapport and credibility
with the PO.' ”
Today they have been able to create a space for themselves as women's rights
activists.
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There was this girl called Swetha who was married to a lecturer of a private college. She had a boy child. Swetha’s family was very rich, so her husband began demanding money from her parents. When she refused to meet his demands, he tried to kill her. He refused to let her go out of the house. So some of us from various women’s group went to get her out of the house. We registered a criminal case as well as a case under PWDVA. He is struggling to attend both the cases. He is asking for divorce, she is refusing to give it. She says she doesn’t just want a divorce from him but wants him to be punished for the violence he has inflicted on her. I gave your crisis intervention handbook, she has read it fully! She spoke to directly to the judge asking how divorce could be the answer to the suffering she went through. If he gets a divorce, he will just marry again. He has to be punished for what he did. She is very a strong woman. Now she is helping other women who are abused. Many women who have themselves faced violence are now with us helping others with their cases. As narrated by Sukanya, Swaraj Network
Sharanamma says - “HHS training helped us to know about rights and laws
concerning our lives. We got to know how to lodge a complaint at the police
station. Earlier we used to hide when the police came to our locality. But once we
began discussing these issues we understood their role. This has given us courage
to face any issue that women in the federation face.”
Resource kit and back home tasks were integral to the workshops. As part of
the workshop one of the back home tasks was to look into the status of hostels run
by the government for girls in their taluks. On one such visit to a hostel run by the
government for SC/ ST girls in Chikkakondahalli ,Saraswathi, Prabhavathi and
Yashoda from Adhima Shakti Dalita Mahila Okkoota in Bangarpet, Kolar district
found it in a really bad state. They found that it was unfit to live for anyone, let
alone young girls. They also found that the hostel had a list of materials purchased
from the funds released to them but no materials! The team galvanized into action
and staged a dharna in front of the hostel and later complained to the district
office of the Department of women and child Development. These actions ensured
that materials were purchased and proper food was given to the inmates. In
Harapanahalli, Davangere district and in Belgaum district the federation had to
talk to concerned authorities to bring to their notice the sorry state of affairs at
the girls' hostel.
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Women in the workshop with resource kits
Sukanya tells us “We used your flip chart in the community. We used that to elicit
responses from the community about gender. I have found the handbook on crisis
intervention very useful. In fact I do not have my own copy of it now, others have
borrowed it! I would turn the pages and see which sections apply for a particular
case before I suggested something or went ahead. At the police station I I have
questioned why they were not including a particular section when it was
necessary. Even to this day policemen see me and tell others 'DV act madam has
come'!”
She adds, “ Another issue is the role of police in cases of VAW. Earlier when we
registered a case at police station, we would simply listen to whatever they said
and come back, we had no idea that they had no power to decide on the cases, it is
the court that has the power to decide. We now ask them to just register a case,
not sit on judgment or settle the case'.
End note
We have highlighted our capacity building work with federations here; they have
also been an integral part of most of our work including research and advocacy for
effective services for women facing violence. Our engagement with women and
federations continues and there are scores of more stories to narrate. That will be
for some other day!
The contents of this booklet can be accessed in our blog
This blog has additional video interviews of
activists and women federation members.
www.hhsaavarana.wordpress.com