CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES: EXPERIENCES FROM THE FIELD

1. CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES: EXPERIENCES FROM THE FIELD Presented by Jahnvi Andharia Founder Director ANANDI Gujarat At the Planning Commissions Civil Society Window on Self Help Groups 7th November 2006 New Delhi

2. FEMINIST EMPOWERMENT PARADIGM FINANCIAL SELF-SUSTAINABILITY PRADIGM Main Approach and Policy Instruments §Gender equality and human rights §Micro-finance as an entry point for women’s economic, social and political empowerment §Gender awareness and feminist organization Financially self-sustainable micro-finance programmes.which focus on . §Setting of interest rates to cover costs §Separation of micro-finance from other interventions for separate accounting §Programme expansion to increase outreach and economies of scale Definition of empowerment Transformation of power relations throughout society Economic empowerment, expansion of individual choice and capacities for self-reliance Underlying assumption Women’s empowerment requires fundamental change in the macro-level development agenda as well as explicit support for women to challenge gender subordination at the micro-level Increasing women’s access to micro-finance will automatically lead to economic empowerment without other complementary interventions or change in the macro-economic growth agenda. Locating Our Intervention

3. Women’s Empowerment and DevelopmentANANDI commitment and approach • Justice, Equality and Peace in the family and the world. • Rural poor women from Tribal, Dalit and Minority community are most marginalized in the Indian Society – discriminated thrice over by caste/ethnicity, class and gender. • Putting the concerns of the most vulnerable in center makes development interventions sustainable. • ANANDI adopts an empowerment approach with a strong emphasis on Collective Processes in a Rights framework. • ANANDI and local organisations partner to meet development needs of the most marginalised

4. Profile of Savings and Credit Activities – 2006 March

5. Empowerment is a process of gaining control over the self, over ideology and the resources which determine power – Batliwala 1993 • Rests on the axis of social justice • Transforms social relations of power through increased control over resources • It involves enhancing Knowledge, Information,attitudes and skills in broad spectrum • Skills and organisation building • Financial resources

6. It translates into strategies as … It involves enhancing Knowledge +attitudes+skills in broad spectrum • Enhancing livelihood opportunities and food security • Increasing access to formal sources of credit • Disaster preparedness, mitigation and response • Building accountability to women in Governance • Improving access to health care services and promote rational practices • Ensuring justice for victims of violence • Promoting tolerance and peace

7. Building technical skills-creating local pool of skilled service providers Confidence and negotiation skills Management training Account keeping Savings and credit programs to reduce dependence on usurious lenders Investments in assets in the names of women Investments in water, sanitation, health, education for well-being Strategies cont.

8. Learning to be independent and owners • Increasing farm productivity by training,improved input supply and credit from bank-linkages • Enterprise trainings and loans Kusum, Sagtala village fighting a court case to retain Land and home after her husband’s death from her in-laws

9. Women on the Move • Mahila mandal members report of reduced violence • They are respected in the community and invited to plan • Women feel that given a chance they will change the world. Women leaders on the dias at the PPS,2002 Arogya Padyatra, 2003

10. From SHGs to Livelihood Improvement “A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living” Chambers and Conway,1992