Empowering women

A powerful movement has been sweeping across the southern states of India over the past few years, bringing in its wake a marvellous resurgence of spirit among the marginalised section of women in rural and urban areas. All that was needed was a little seed money from the bank to set them off and an abundance of encouragement by way of basic training in simple accounting and marketing, and of course keeping faith in themselves.

It is amazing what a little encouragement can do even when one lacks the wherewithal of education or any kind of exposure beyond one's own village cluster. But once these women got going, not even the most discouraging of husbands or the disapproval of family matriarchs could stop them. And with the confidence and economic independence the women have gained, they have been emboldened to insist on three things: health care, education facilities for their children and the participation of women in major discussions.

Wherever women gathered in large numbers, I would ensure that such meetings be held in the afternoon when they would have completed their daily chores. Moreover, since most of the audience had little or no education their span of attention was likely to be limited, and also, they had to catch the last bus back to their villages; all reasons to keep the oratory short and crisp unless you wanted to see your audience melting away even as you speak. At the end, I would coax a few women to speak. It needed just one person to overcome her shyness before others eagerly volunteered to recount their own experiences.

Manage a business

At one gathering an elderly woman shyly said that she wished to do something but had neither the skill nor the education. I reminded her, "As woman of the house you know how to ensure that different members of the family, your husband and children, parents-in-law, and perhaps a sister-in-law, live together in harmony and cooperation. This means that you can manage people, so you can also manage a business.

"You can run your home with whatever money you are given, some months more, some months less. This means that you are already good at managing finance.

"As woman of the house you have seen yourself doing several things at a time, sitting by the stove cooking a meal, while patting to sleep the baby lying in your lap, and in between, mending the dress of your other child. This ability to multi-task is unique to women and allows them to take up other work without neglecting the home and family."

It was gratifying to see so many women get up to speak after that. Member after member came forward shyly but determined to offer their views and delighted that what they had to say was being counted.

One said proudly that unlike earlier times, her opinion was heard when decisions were called for in the family. Another said that while earlier she had been confined to the boundaries of her home, she was now participating in meetings concerning the common good.

Yet another said that while once she knew nothing beyond the day to day running of her home, today she knew what was going on beyond her village, in other parts of the state and even the country.

At yet another interactive gathering, another diffident woman doubted her ability to make something of her life and reduce her dependence on the male members of the household. She said she knew nothing. I told her she knew how to make pickles and savouries, she could milk a cow and take the milk to the pick up point, she could paste gum on envelopes, make detergent or dish-washing powder and soaps if shown how, and she shyly nodded her head.

I reminded her of the pantheon of deities that she, her family and her village worshipped, and did she not realise that the most powerful among them all were the female deities, in charge of the portfolios most essential to our existence?

Take for instance Lakshmi, the deity of wealth, or Saraswati, the deity of knowledge and learning, or Durga, the deity of vengeance and retribution. The male deities, well, they took care of life and death, but for all the important aspects during one's lifetime, the celestial ladies were in charge!

I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of my work when, as a woman, I could help hundreds of women to recognise their true worth in the scheme of things, and the pivotal role they play in the evolution of a mature social order. I only pray that this wonderful revolution does not get mired in the murkiness of politics of which I see distressing signs in some parts of India.

Vimala Madon is a freelance journalist based in Secunderabad, India.