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Our
Selected Women Empowerment Initiatives |
Case-V
A Fight with Society |
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Background |
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Village
Anup Garh of Jind district is a classic example of the disparities
between the rich and the poor. The residents of this village
live on the two extremes of wealth accumulation. The communication
between them is of a Master and a Labourer. There are many
people in the village who have to depend upon the work being
given by the rich people, but due to the invention of modern
machines and availability of money with the big farmers the
importance of physical efforts of these agricultural labourers
has surely come down. As a result, they are not able to earn
sufficient money. Anguri Devi is a resident of the same village,
who spent 30 years of her life facing the financial crunch
along with social humilation. She is educated till the Eighth
standard. Her husband, Surendra also comes under the category
of literate, but literacy itself cannot bring social respect
to the person. Under these circumstances, he has started working
at a carpenter's shop, but still he was not able to beat the
rising inflation and meet the family needs. |
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Emergence
of Idea |
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Anguri
Devi started saving in a self-help group (SHG) in order to
save her face at the time of financial crisis. This group
was formed by the women themselves and was functioning just
for economic purposes. In due course of time, we started intervening
in the village. They motivated the village-based group to
join the organization for long-term benefits, but the women
had their own apprehension about the security of the hard-earned
money. Finally, after many meetings, the women were convinced
about the security of their hard-earned money and their respective
roles in their SHG. Anguri Devi also joined Aseed along with
other members. Soon, she discovered that the organization
would also be providing them with the information related
to setting up their own enterprise. This increased her interest
in the group. She tried to save regularly to start some work
of her own. Besides this, there were many things that were
discussed in the group meetings conducted by the Aseed SHG
coordinator. |
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Initiation
of Action |
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Taking
the idea and guidance from the field worker, she started a
small stationary shop in her house, as the villagers have
to go to the far-off market to procure these things. Her sales
increased shortly which gave her the motivation and money
to keep more stuff in the shop. Economic stability and general
awareness from the group meetings led Anguri Devi to take
interest in the matters of the village Panchayat. During the
group meetings with the Aseed staff, not only Anguri Devi
but other women also started critically analyzing their situation.
They started looking for options to come out of the situation.
Supported by her group, Anguri Devi started participating
in the Panchayat's discussions. The person controlling the
allotment of the resources did not tolerate this. They tried
to put hurdles in her path, but Anguri Devi was determined
to assert her rights. Surendra and other family members supported
her throughout the process along with Aseed and her group
members, who were always by her side to motivate and protect
her from the ill - will of the society. A determined Anguri
Devi enrolled herself in the coming Block Samiti elections.
She won the election and knew that with the help of this position
she can bring about the desired changes in the society. She
faced all the bureaucratic hurdles and utilized the funds
for the development of the village. |
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Generation
of Support |
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Driven
by her desire to change the standard of living of the people,
Anguri Devi utilized the public funds for the construction
of a veterinary hospital and water tank in the local school.
She bravely faced the aggression of the people who wanted
to utilize the money for their own benefit. Her courage got
her publicity and support from the fellow villagers. Not only
was she able to command respect from the people who once used
to ignore her as if she did not exist. She was soon approached
by the people with their problems, which she tried to solve.
She was fully aware of her responsibility as a post holder
in the Block Samiti and often discussed the matters with our
field staff adn her group members. Meanwhile, her small stationary
shop wa able to win its permanent customers. So much so that
she was having a regular supplementary income. She repaid
her loan very easily due to that and concentrated on the job
where she was utilizing her education and awareness. |
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Recognition |
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Anguri
Devi's struggle is not a hidden story for anyone in the block.
Everyone knows her journey from the days where she was a non-existing
entity to the days when she is a prominent figure. Many women
have now started taking interest in the decisions made by
the Panchayats as they have come to know that it is also affecting
them and they can also put forward their opinion if they are
not satisfied. Women are joining SHGs as the importance of
SHG as a community-based pressure group is attracting them,
apart from the monetary support. Anguri Devi is happy with
her achievements and is motivating other women to make themselves
aware and their group empowered enough to handle all the hurdles
in life. She is a winner on the financial front also. Surender
is happy with her achievements and stood by her side in all
the decisions. They are sending their children to school,
which was their dream. The income from the stationary shop
is helping Surender and Anguri Devi to save for the future. |
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