Manthan Topic: Walk to Equality: Ensuring Safety and Empowerment of Women

Inculcating Ethics and Creating Self Reliance:

Solving The Problem from The Grassroots Level

Presented by

Archana Sharma, Mahendra Mohan Das,

Paresh Parimal, Rohit Gupta, Sagar Kumar

IIT (BHU) Varanasi

Parameters Male Female Difference

Literacy Rates 82.14% 65.46% 16.68%

Parliament 89.2% 10.8% 78.4%

High Court 91.74% 8.25% 83.49%

Paid Work 8.5% 4.4% 4.1%

Infant MR 49 52 3

Source: 2011 census

Current Scenario: Women in India

The soaring crime graph and empowerment parameters portray the bleak status of women in our society. Underlying Causes: -Gender Stereotyping. -Sexual Division of Labour. -Lacking moral values .

Improving Moral Values from the grassroots level

• Inclusion of moral education chapters in academic school curriculum emphasizing equality in society.

• Filming and screening of documentaries advocating respect and dignity towards women.

Snapshot of solution proposed for the Safety of Women

Value Education through

Textbooks and Media

Detailed description of key steps

Education: Adding moral chapters • Organizing a committee having representatives from Central and State Education

Boards, reputed psychologists and social scientists to draft content . • Since moral education impacts the mindset of a children, mandatory chapters

should be included in curriculum catering to different age-groups For primary level: lessons on importance of women in society. For middle level: lessons on awareness regarding safety .

• Organizing workshops and guidance seminars for the teaching faculty in schools.

Media: Making documentaries • Encouraging documentaries/films/videos to highlight the presence of women in

myriad sectors of society. • Free distribution and screening of such documentaries in educational institutions.

Recruitment

Organising workshops

Using media and

NGOs

Human and Financial resources required at each step

Coordinator for district level @ INR 20000/month

Sub coordinator for sub division level @ INR 16000/month

Inviting feminist thinkers to conduct workshops for teachers.

Conducting workshops including wages and allowances @INR 15000

Using NGOs for distribution & screening of documentaries.

• Integrating with Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan.

• Women Empowerment Schemes e.g. CEDAW

• Feminist women Organizations , NGOs and other Philanthropic Institutions.

• In case of making and distribution of the documentaries, funds can be granted under NFDC scheme.

Leveraging existing government infrastructure and other proposed sources of funding

• Allowance for coordinators of workshops Rs.11.2 crore • Organizing workshop, including allowances Rs.11.4 crore • Estimated Grand Total Rs.22.6 crore

One-time cost for

conducting workshops

Advantages over existing system

• Prevention is better than cure.

• Cost effective and impactful.

• Use of existing human resources rather than recruiting new ones.

• Visual media, such as documentaries will create a profound effect on the people.

• Long term impact on parochial mindset of people and ushering in progressive society for future generations

• Imparting moral education that instills respect for women will boost a girl child’s morale and give her a sense of confidence and self-reliance.

• A picture is worth a thousand words. Screening documentaries will have a sound psychological impact on young minds.

Scalability • Today’s children will make tomorrow’s society and

nation. As we are targeting all the children of India, its effect will take place nationwide.

Sustainability • Morales once imbibed cannot be undone. It will

sustain forever.

Future Benefits of the proposed solution

Monitoring mechanism • Take help of NGOs and women organizations of the

locality to monitor the activities and report it to officials centrally given responsibility for the implementation of the project.

• Social Audit: Ensure every school provides for at least two classes on Moral values every week.

• Screening of such documentaries in each school must take place at least once in a year.

Social challenge • Some leaders and citizens having orthodox outlook lead to

possibility of protests against inclusion of such moral chapters.

Economic challenge • Government and philanthropic organizations unable to

visualize the viability of funding this project.

Hurdles to accomplishment

Creating Examples among themselves Snapshot of solution proposed for Empowerment of Women

Encouraging women’s participation in

Political and Economic sectors

• Fix a minimum percentage of women candidature for each political parties.

• Organize women into SHGs and venture into entrepreneurship in sectors of Geographical Indicators.

Select GI

• Select suitable Geographical Indicator regions to set up Small scale industries.

• Appoint a village coordinator, preferably from the village itself.

Select women

• Encourage and select women villagers in the area.

• Assure them that all the legal rights and profit will rest with them.

Infrastructure

• Acquiring land & setting up small industries taking Fixed capital from the government.

• Providing loans at subsidized rates. Promote their indigenous skills.

Marketing

• Organizing trade fairs.

• Using media to promote such GI products.

Detailed description of key steps

• Seeing women of the village establishing themselves will boost a girl child’s morale. • A step closer towards Self Reliance. • The contribution of women in the GDP will surge leading to Financial Inclusion. • Cultural promotion of the region.

Organizational set up

Ministry of Women and Child Development

District Magistrate

Block Development Officer

Village Coordinator

Small scale

industry

Village Coordinator Village Coordinator

• Set up a committee to plan the project and frame guidelines. • Acts as the nodal

officer responsible for implementation, monitoring and supervision.

• Exercise general control over all village coordinators.

• Encourage and organize women, publicize the scheme. • Check the participation of women from the village in the industry.

Advantages over existing system

• The increasing or decreasing trend in the participation of women in this scheme will serve as a criteria to measure the impact and reach of the solution.

• Village Coordinators must submit reports regularly to the concerned authorities containing details like Funds received, Products sold, estimated profits.

• Putting a feedback mechanism in place to keep the community mobilized, assess difficulties, receive suggestions to make the project more inclusive and impactful.

Scalability • After successfully setting up a Small scale industry, it can be merged as

collaborators with larger ones.

Sustainability • Once the profits become significant, more and more women will step up for the

scheme and the idea will sustain.

• Integrating women Empowerment with identified Geographical Indications(e.g Darjeeling Tea) .

Leveraging existing govt. infrastructure

Measuring Impact and Appropriate Monitoring Mechanism

Scalability and Sustainability

Economic:

• Women are oblivious about market conditions and are often double-crossed by middlemen and agents.

Social:

• Orthodox mindset and social stigma

Technological:

• They may have the resources but lack of technical expertise may pose a problem.

Legal:

• Land Acquisition

• Arranging the women participants into cooperatives/groups for better collective bargaining power.

• Procuring formal credits through SHGs.

• Tie-ups with feminist NGOs to convince villagers through Gram Sabha and community representatives.

• Imparting technical know-how to the participants.

• Providing fairer compensations.

Challenges Mitigation factors

SWOT Analysis

APPENDIX • References:

• Report of Expert Committee on Gender Education :National Commission for Women

Publications.

• National Crime Record Bureau reports,2010.

• Report on Successes and Failures of SHGs in India,2008.

• Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection ) Act,1991.

• Census 2011(Provisional Figures).

• National Policy for Empowerment of Women,2001.

• The status of women : A reality check by Swayam.

• Annual Report 2008: SEWA Academy.