In addressing progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) the report claims that achieving these goals is also an essential precondition for women’s access to legal rights. Without awareness of rights and decision-making power, women are often unable to claim their due.

The report claims that women and girls, especially those living in rural areas, have been least likely to share a pie in human progress. In addition, millions of women, particularly in rural areas, depend on natural resources for their livelihoods; they must form the primary target group of efforts to achieve environmental sustainability. Work on all these goals underpins women’s social and economic empowerment and access to decision making at all levels.

In July this year, the United Nations Development Programme published a study that took into account for the first time levels of inequality to adjust countries’ positions on the human development index (HDI). India is ranked 119th on the index, and looses 30 per cent of its value when adjusted for inequality. The study was also done on individual states, covering 19 states. Madhya Pradesh ranked 16th on the HDI among Indian states, and looses 35 per cent of its value when adjusted for inequality.

For the Government of India-UNDP project on Access to Justice for Marginalized People, a Justice Innovation Fund (JIF) was created in order to support interventions by civil society. The fund aims directly at promoting activities that create legal awareness amongst members of marginalised communities in order enable them to seek justice. Effective legal aid to those belonging to deprived sections is a key goal of the JIF. The main support is provided in building the capacity of civil society to initiate district level reform in local governance and its functionaries to support human rights defenders and further the level of access to justice systems for the marginalised.

We have an over all goal of exposing 3,000 women to activities that impart legal awareness and improve legal literacy, especially in MP. Through a variety of activities at different levels, women from the villages of all six blocks of the district of Tikamgarh will be able to participate in opportunities to enhance their knowledge of human rights.

The list of activities includes village level interfaces with local government supply side actors, such as Panchayati Raj Institution members, to gain access to entitlements under MGNREGA, and consultations with block level supply side actors that will give the women access to a higher level of government and justice delivery systems, such as a discussion with the District Legal Services Authority.

A multimedia approach at the local level is also a component of Development Alternatives efforts towards improving legal literacy. Radio Bundelkhand will develop a total of 12 programmes directed at issues specifically related to realising rights and entitlements. Programmes invoke thinking process using innovative technologies such as a folk song discussing the Dowry Prohibition Act or a radio drama exemplifying the use of the Right to Information Act. Special efforts to narrow-cast these programmes in the areas out of reach of Radio Bundlekhand are also being taken up by partners.

Another aspect of the awareness drive is organising street plays in which community members are educated about legal rights through plays outlining the uses of different laws and how they help in realising rights and gaining access to entitlements.

To carry forward the programme select 50 volunteers from each block will be trained to act as community Paralegal Workers (PLWs). This total group of 300 persons, at least 150 of which will be women, will be intensively trained over a period five days in the key laws and schemes that are most relevant to women in Tikamgarh. They will be required to participate in quarterly follow-up meetings and in a refresher course the following year. These PLWs will also gain extensive knowledge in legal issues through their participation in the other legal awareness activities.

It is important to note that first step in successfully implementing this project was to make our partners and field staff legally literate, so that they are able to train the other PLWs and have extensive knowledge to provide support. They already are well versed on many issues, especially entitlements under MGNREGA. We have engaged local lawyers and created a simple manual, especially for imparting legal knowledge with the help of faculty from Bundlekhand University.

Till the end of August 2011 DA and its partners have trained a total of 300 men and women to act as community PLWs. We have also conducted the preliminary introductions to activities such as the block level consultations and village level interfaces. Apart from this, we have also created, and broad-casted and narrow-casted radio programmes on dowry, RTI, and social security pensions.

Only after completing the preliminary activities, the baseline survey and formal registration of volunteers, have DA and its partners fully understood the ground realities of implementing a legal literacy project.

The finalisation of criteria for selection of a volunteer PLW also brought to light the social restrictions in the number of qualified women and men available in the project area. Priority in registration of this programme is given to people belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes categories, and those between the age of 18-50 with some level of community leadership experience, be it through a community mobiliser position or a self-motivated leadership role. Most importantly, the volunteer must have basic Hindi literacy, which proved to be a major challenge.

The final analysis of the baseline survey proved that a majority of the respondents represented the youth and almost 98 per cent of them were members of Self Help Groups. Nearly 57 per cent of the respondents were literate. Further, the survey showed that in the district almost 66 per cent of women are illiterate. A more detailed analysis, keeping social groups as variables showed that illiteracy was very high in case of SC and ST women.

This major challenge and learning really exemplifies the importance of even basic literacy rates to take further steps towards development.

Even a little step taken by a woman after finishing training is considered a big leap forward. After their training the participants were given homework assignments. These assignments are basic in nature and designed to act as introduction to the possible impacts that the women themselves can create. DA’s first batch of PLWs in Niwari was asked to simply visit its local Public Distribution Center and investigate the types of violations they had learnt about during the section on entitlements under the PDS. A few of the participants returned a week later and reported on the violations they had seen and rectified by taking a stand collectively. Violations mainly included improper recording of goods distributed. The law requires that a public board must record and account for the amount of goods distributed each day. Other points included irregular distribution of goods based on the type of ration card. Many people were receiving less than they are eligible for. In addition, the PLWs were able to ensure that there is a separate line for women when they arrive to receive their ration.

We recently held our first village level interface in Niwari, in the village of Babai. About 30 women came to the interface with their Sarpanch. It is interesting to note that although the Sarpanch herself is a woman, she was not actively involved in the interface; instead her husband sat in front of the room as her representative. The topic of discussion focused on entitlements for rural women under MGNREGA. DA and the village’s newly trained PLW presented an overview of the scheme and rights while working under the scheme, followed by a detailed discussion on the enrollment process. DA staff came prepared with multiple copies of enrollment forms and was able to hold a session where all interested women were individually guided through the completion of the document. About 15 women completed their enrollment forms and handed it directly to the Sarpanch herself. DA staff has taken on the responsibility of seeing that the women are given work within the guaranteed 15 days or taken through the next step in the process of receiving compensation if they are not given work within the allotted time period.

For our upcoming project activities we plan to focus on providing extensive hand-holding and experience training for the new PLWs. This includes their active role in the organisation of both village and block level interfaces. Quarterly follow-up meetings will give the PLWs opportunities to share activities and gain access to problem solving solutions through discussions with supply side actors. In addition, the PLWs will be given an intensive refresher course the following year.

Our goal of exposing 3,000 women through a variety of activities will continue through the project period. Most importantly, these activities empower women collectively — they strengthen the power of the SHGs that have been developed through the Tejashwani project. Legal literacy is highly dependent on social structure and the ability of women to engage in activities that will raise their awareness levels. They need validation that their collective action to defend their rights will succeed.

While we make the local women from the justice demand side legally literate, it is essential that they receive support from service providers. As a part of the project efforts, each block will have a group of representatives, the Community Legal Assistance Partners, who will act as guides through legal process for the community women. The members include District Legal Services Authority/ Tehsil Legal Services Cell (DLSA/TLSC) members, media representatives, local judges, representatives of local police authorities, advocates and active PLWs.

We should keep in mind that two years of intensive efforts is just a start. While the desired outcome is an overall change in the way the society views women’s rights, we can only expect small, but hard earned, achievements. Basically, documentation of cases of a few active women who have been able to address one or two community issues, whether it be reducing corruption in the PDS or accessing justice for a woman facing abuse, will be carried out.

Sustainability depends highly on the subject matter and the support that DA is able to give to the PLWs.

Making sure that field staff is amongst the trained paralegals is important because they already play significant roles in community leadership. They are aware of the steps to be taken to best empower the women they live and work with. As leaders of their community they have been trained in delivering training sessions and understanding the details of the laws and the processes to realise rights. They are trusted by the community, they are also examples of empowerment and leadership for the other PLWs to gain support from and to look up to for inspiration to continue working for the betterment of their communities.

The formation of Community Legal Assistance Partners for each block will solidify the linkages between the demand side; the women who have been made aware of basic legal rights and those who have been trained to lead them forward will have concrete linkages to those on the supply side of justice delivery.

The project of legal literacy stands on increasing the basic level of awareness on these issues. Not only is a woman severely impaired if she does not have the ability to read and write, it also greatly reduces the overall level of development of the community.

That same concept is applicable to legal literacy. Social development and level of empowerment is heavily dependent on their basic understanding of rights, entitlements and duties as citizens of this country. How can we consider a woman empowered if she is able to successfully run a small enterprise, but is not able protect herself or gain access to justice for violations of her basic human rights? q