In November 2010, Development Alternatives (DA) took on the GoI-UNDP Access to Justice for Marginalised People Project in order to address the basic lack of rights and entitlements knowledge for rural women in Bundelkhand. The project activities were designed to raise awareness on the rights and entitlements of women in the community as a whole. A variety of project activities including interfaces between SHG groups and block level authorities, street plays and community radio programmes were able to reach out to a large audience. Most important was the training of over 300 women and men community level volunteer Paralegal Workers (PLWs) to serve as a link between their communities and justice service authorities. Prior to this project, the SHG women were involved in DA’s sustainable livelihood development initiatives, including the establishment of small enterprises. However, they were completely unaware of their legal rights to protect themselves against acts of violence in and outside the home.

The target population was women who belong to marginalised groups, including the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Communities as well as those who fall under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. The aim was to establish these women as knowledgeable and capable members of their communities to assist their overall progress.

The project design involved implementing specific capacity building efforts to enable 300 community volunteers to understand basic rights and entitlement legislations and thereby to identify an act of injustice and advise fellow community members on the methods of seeking justice. Beyond these specifically trained 300 individuals, the goal was to raise the overall awareness levels on legal issues of the district rural population as a whole. Through a widespread awareness campaign carried out through community radio programmes, street plays and interfaces with justice services providers, the larger village populations were also exposed to ideas surrounding the protection of women’s rights.

The project’s substantive design was fluid and depended on indicators set by the target population. The baseline survey conducted in the first stage of the project period was designed to bring out the most common issues that these women faced and which issues they themselves felt should be addressed. The PLW trainings focused on key laws and schemes developed from the baseline, including MGREGA, since it is a source of livelihood and employment in the district and, in connection the Minimum / Equal Wages Acts. The Right to Information Act was also addressed so as to enhance the society’s ability to demand accountability from government entities. Further, the Domestic Violence Act, Dowry Act and provisions against sexual harassment were also covered in the project in order to address the hard-hitting issues that primarily affect the rural women in this region. Under the heading ‘entitlements’, social security schemes including widow and old age pensions were also discussed. Also included in the curriculum for entitlement issues were initiatives for safe drinking water and the ration distribution system.

The Community Legal Assistance Partners’ (CLAP) committees were established as direct links to legal services and continue to meet regularly even now after the project period is over. Additionally, the training of male PLWs has allowed sensitive issues to be brought out in very remote, socially backward areas. These male members of the communities were able to work towards fighting against injustices for women and in many cases with great success. Over the two-year project period, continuous follow up of PLWs through regular meetings and handholding support helped in building their confidence levels. After the first 6 months of trainings, the PLWs wanted to focus their work on addressing serious legal issues such as domestic violence and significantly controversial property and land rights related issues.

The village and block level interfaces and consultations gave women the rare opportunity to interact with supply side actors in a safe and constructive environment. The consultations focused on specific laws and schemes and were organised in such a way that women who were going to directly benefit from the interaction were brought from all areas of the block to meet with a supply side person who could directly provide answers or services to them. The village level interfaces with local level supply side actors were also designed to cater to the most relevant needs of the women in that particular village.

The methods used for the awareness drive activities have proved to be quite effective in raising the level of understanding of the women on their legal rights. The community radio programmes developed by Radio Bundelkhand have also proven to be a useful tool for raising awareness. The programmes were conducted in a variety of formats including interviews, dramas and folk songs in the local dialect and in ways that were familiar to the community. These radio shows increased the people’s interest in these issues and also helped to enhance their level of understanding regarding such issues.

The major source of livelihood in this area is agriculture – either people engaging as independent farmers or agricultural labourers. In the result of the baseline survey conducted at the start of the project, about 75 per cent of the target population were small and marginal farmers, while 25 per cent were landless. Most of the landless households belonged to Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. In most cases it turned out that women had no official ownership of their land, nor were they aware of their property rights. As enumerated by the women themselves during focus group discussions conducted at the time of the Baseline Assessment, the first level of the interface is largely with the Panchayats for informal resolution of conflicts. Majority of the conflicts that come to the Panchayats for informal resolution are related to property or land dispute. Mostly these are not in favour of the women.

Unfortunately, one of the major issues in Bundelkhand that has not been addressed is the equal access to land rights for women. Women have either limited or no ownership rights for land. Most women in neighbouring villages lack the essential understanding of human rights and also have no understanding of their equal right to land.

Development Alternatives is engaged in implementing many watershed projects in Bundelkhand. While the mandate requires women to play a major role in the decision making process, most women are not empowered enough to actually fulfil that role. Essentially, supporting development and access to livelihoods in this area requires in-depth intervention in women’s access to justice systems and their equal access to land and the management of natural resources. Looking ahead at the new initiatives in livelihood development and sustainable farming, the focus should be on the essential role that women play in rural development. Projects and programmes need to begin with women’s access and knowledge of basic human rights, especially access to land. q