Rural India remains a society where the subjugation of women by men is taken for granted. Even before birth women suffer discrimination. It’s illegal but sex-selection abortion is widespread and boy-girl ratios are skewed in many villages. With arranged marriage domination passes from father to husband. In work, women’s pay is half that of men. In the home, domestic violence is common. Despite awareness of HIV, women are often unable to negotiate safe sex. In local politics men seek control; even when women are elected to office, husbands may try to supplant them.
Can such oppressed women do anything to help themselves? They can, through the simple idea of joining together into self-help groups.
What is a self-help group?
A self-help group has 15-20 members who each save a small amount each month. The group then makes loans to members out of the pooled savings. Escaping the high interest loans of moneylenders makes a big difference to women’s incomes. Banks will lend to groups so their members can start micro-enterprises and boost their income further. The groups have collective strength such as petitioning local authorities to install a pump for safe drinking water or pressing the police to act in cases of domestic violence.
The groups meet twice a month – once for savings, once for social issues. They elect a leader and an accountant, and, crucially, join a federation.
What is a federation?
A federation is an organisation of women’s leaders representing around 100 self-help groups in a locality. Federations can start new groups, bolster weaker groups, run community enterprises, organise mass direct action, and employ their own staff, such as micro-enterprise advisers. They enable women to escape poverty and oppression.
I used to be very shy. Now I am leading my people. Together we have changed so many things and I have hope for a better future for my children...
VST and its partners have been working with self-help groups for more than 10 years, forming them and training their members on micro-enterprise, HIV, TB, domestic violence, gender rights, political action and how to use the law.
Our big ambition
To forge the federations into independent, self-sustaining bodies, able to confront poverty and injustice for the long term. By themselves.
Imagine … poor, uneducated, village women of humble origin running their own substantial organisation, supporting hundreds of tiny businesses, dealing confidently with bank managers, government officers, police inspectors. That’s the power of self-help groups.
Case study - Kaliarsy
Maitri (a VST partner) encouraged us to start self-help groups in my village. At that time I used to go for agricultural work with my husband. I have two young sons so I often had to miss work which meant we went short on money. Then I got a loan for 6,000 rupees from the Women’s Federation to start a shop selling everyday provisions. The shop was a success so later I took another loan for 10,000 rupees to expand it. My shop makes about 100 rupees a day profit, which is over twice what I earned as a labourer. Through training sessions at Maitri I have also leant to basket weave, which I do when the shop isn’t busy.
I can honestly say that Maitri has brought me from the darkness to the light. Before they came to my village, I didn't fully realise my problems or the possibilities in my life. Now I am very aware of my problems, and how I can tackle them. I don’t have to go to money lenders anymore, which is a great help, and my whole family is much better off financially. My two children are in school and we own a television set now.
I’ve become the president of my self help group. In my group we talk about village issues and how to tackle them. Then we go to the village elders with our views, and these days they listen. Slowly the men and women of my village are beginning to work together.