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Women Empowerment:
D espite a thriving economy, India is home to 40 per cent of the world’s illiterate of which two-thirds comprise women. This results in a huge mass of unemployed population. The condition of women is even worse, with illiteracy being as high as 65 per cent in some cases, compared to 82 per cent in their male counterparts. In a stark contrast to their urban counterparts, rural illiterate women are confined to doing just household chores, having no authority in basic family decision making processes and no opportunities for productive employment. These women just resort to their fate with illiteracy serving as the main catalyst for their oppression.
There are a number of reasons such as inequality based on gender differences, strong stereotyping, etc., that can be attributed to low literacy levels among women. Women are increasingly replacing males in farm-related activities at home which requires no formal education. Fewer than 2 per cent of girls who are engaged in agriculture work have attended school. One of the main reasons for these gender differences and stereotyping is the absolute poverty in India. It tends to deter the pursuit of formal education especially among girls and women, as education is not deemed of as the highest priority among the poor as compared to other basic necessities. This leads to a vicious cycle, whereby the low female literacy rate has dramatically negative impacts on family planning and population stabilisation efforts in India. It also has a negative impact on children’s education. Hence, there can be no progress unless the needs and interests of women are fully met. Women empowerment will not hold any meaning unless the women themselves are made strong, alert and aware of their equal status in the society. This can happen by way of literacy. Policies should be framed to bring them into the mainstream of society. It is important to educate the women. This should certainly be the need of the hour, as education of women will lead to their empowerment, and this will further have a significant impact on the nation’s development. Education thus holds the key to development. According to a UN Report (study carried out by UNESCO on Education), following were some interesting excerpts: • ‘India still has the largest number of illiterate adults in the world and two-thirds of the total illiterate people are women…’ • ‘Governance problems have hampered India's efforts to strengthen vocational education and responsibilities are spread among several ministries and authorities leading to a great deal of duplication and fragmentation of work...’ • ‘For countries including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Nepal, the big challenge is keeping children in school once they enroll…’ |
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Kusum, 30 years, Kasna Village, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh Living with her husband and five children, Kusum spent her entire day in household chores and looking after the needs of her family. With the desire to become financially independent, Kusum joined the ‘Literacy to Self-Reliance’ programme initiated by TARA in Greater Noida, UP and studied Hindi and Ganit as part of the TARA Akshar+ programme. Kusum continued her association with the programme and learnt stitching and tailoring. She learnt to stitch ladies garments, men’s garments (shirts and trousers) and children’s clothes. She began with stitching clothes for her family members and soon she was stitching for her neighbours as well. She now earns up to Rs 6000 per month. Kusum’s family members are very supportive and are happy for this change in her life. |
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Taking all these factors into consideration, TARA (Technology and Action for Rural Advancement) has established a robust system that first makes women literate and then strengthens their income generation environment through various training and capacity building activities (thereby providing livelihood opportunities) and simultaneously increase their awareness towards advantages of education. Based on the needs and requirements of the target women, they are equipped with various forms of self-reliance at each stage. The components and activities of this ‘literacy to self reliance’ programme include: The first stage is the functional literacy component which is provided through one of the world’s fastest literacy programme (as per the Wall Street Journal) – TARA Akshar+ (a laptop-based functional literacy programme, which can train an illiterate person to read and write and perform basic numerical skills, in just 98 contact hours). Based on the results of a training needs assessment, women are then taught life skills aimed at enhancing their overall personality and further equipped with various forms of vocational skills. Some women with business acumen are encouraged to move further in the programme and are trained on enterprise development skills. The programme ends with facilitation in providing market linkages. For the convenience of the participants and also to bring the benefits of the programme to their door steps, two to three sub-centres are organised locality wise and then made operational. The USP of ‘Literacy to Self-Reliance’ programme lies in the fact that women are given an opportunity to stop at whichever stage they feel they have achieved a sense of ‘self-reliance’. This concept is designed in a way that not all women are expected to go through all the stages of this process. This flexibilitiy is provided as all women have different needs, requirements and aspirations. For one, self reliance could mean the ability to be able to read and write and manage day-to-day tasks more effectively. For another, it could mean being financially independent and contribute to family income. For yet another, it could mean being able to teach her own children and contribute to their education. Thus, depending on how women define ‘self-reliance’ for themselves, they are encouraged to participate in the programme. This concept of ‘Literacy to Self-Reliance’ has formed the basis of CSR initiatives for a number of government organisations and corporate houses and has been implemented successfully across various parts of the Hindi-speaking areas in India. |
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Kelavati, 77 years, Bhanota Village, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh Kelavati is probably the oldest woman in her village. An illiterate woman married off at an early age, Kelavati had a strong desire to study. At the ‘young’ age of 77, she decided to address her lack of education and enrolled in the TARA Akshar programme (as part of Literacy to Self-Reliance Programme) in her village (Bhanota) in Greater Noida. Her tremendous will to study and rapid advancement in learning was noteworthy. She passed her exam in October 2012 and is now able to read, write and do simple math. Kelavati has set an example and motivated other women of her village to become literate. |
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There are a number of women who are now engaged in entrepreneurial activities and are earning about Rs 150-200 per day. Some of them are working as employees in garment factories and earning about Rs 6000-7000 per month. A few have also opened their own training centres. Experience has shown that participation of women in this programme has resulted in their confidence and self-esteem levels being increased manifold. There has been a tremendous change in the thinking and attitude of these women towards life. They are even more determined to make their children attend school. They feel that their value in the family and community has gone up considerably. They understand the importance of education and being empowered for themselves as women, as well as for their children. q Sunanda Jain
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