The Hindu Business Line : Transforming lives of rural women

THE Common Minimum Programme (CMP) lays emphasis on empowerment of women as an important socio-economic goal. The UN Human Development Report for 2004, while noting the progress made in the status of women, notes that considerable work still needs to be done by governments and the community for raising the status of women. Giving adequate representation to women in Parliament may be a vital step in this regard. That will help in voicing their issues in the highest forum. But at the grassroots level, in the rural areas particularly, much needs to be done to emancipate women and children and give them access to education, health-care and employment.

This year's Budget has rightly focussed on improvement of life in rural India. Experience has shown that giving independent means of livelihood for women will not only raise the economic status of families, but also reduce the evils of alcoholism and oppression by men.

What is the current picture of the economic and social status of women in India? This varies widely in different parts of the country. The State Human Development Reports (SHDRs) serve as a useful tool for knowing the human development and gender status at the national- and the State-levels. The exercise is supported by the Planning Commission through the UNDP's Human Development Resource Centre (HDRC). Of the 27 States, HDRs of seven are readyand eight are being finalised. Along with decentralisation of governance, gender is an important dimension of analysis in the SHDRs that highlight concerns on education, health, livelihoods, family welfare and governance.

The HDRs take a disaggregated approach for districts, highlighting spatial disparities within States and among social groups. District-wise indices such as the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Gender Development Index (GDI) are being compiled. Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat have already included GDI in their analysis.

A look at some policy implications and the situation in the seven States, which have completed the HDR.Besides other factors, the status of women depends on the general development as also on the cultural characteristics of the region. Inter-State disparities persist in all the seven States irrespective of the level of development.

Six States — Madhya Pradesh (1998), Karnataka (1999), Sikkim (2001), Rajasthan (2002), Himachal Pradesh (2003), and Tamil Nadu (2003) — have completed district-wise GDI, which indicate wide variations within the states. Women suffer from double deprivation of low attainments and wide gender differentials in health, education, livelihoods and decision-making in families and communities. The status in some of the key areas is given below.

Health: SHDRs highlight serious gender gaps in health outcomes, such as morbidity rates, low mean average of life expectancy. Various studies show that the situation in the rural areas is particularly bad as the women do not have proper accessibility to primary health centres during pregnancy.

The HDR reports strongly recommend improving and mainstreaming reproductive child healthcare (RCH) programmes, as that might lead to better access to package of RCH services. Healthcare service providers should work closely with local communities, which will mean enhancing availability of women health care providers. The primary health centre needs to be strengthened and properly equipped to do this function. Women face violence against them such as rape, murder, and domestic violence. Self-help groups among women and strict law enforcement, besides economic independence, are the only answers to prevent these crimes.

Education: The SHDRs found wide disparities in girls getting equal opportunities for education vis-à-vis boys. Nearly half the girls are pulled outeven before they complete primary schooling due to several factors such as high poverty, compelling families to send them to work. There is a tendency in male-dominated societies to view education of girls as relatively unimportant and their place being in the house to do the chores and look after children.

Decision-making: The SHDR paint a bleak picture about the role of women in the decision-making process. The presence of local bodies does not guarantee that women will automatically have effective participation in decision-making. There are women proxy candidates in elections, coercion and intimidation of women candidates persist. Thus, the only effective answer is to make women economically independent by giving them equal opportunities for education and employment. Despite the overall dismal picture, there are several success stories of not only empowerment of women through participatory approach in different States, but also improvement in the economic status of involved communities. Under the Health of People and Environment (HOPE) programme, the Spices Board,and the UNDP have shown the way for farmers, particularly women to become self-reliant by improving quality and yield and diversifying crops.

In a village in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh, the Science and Technology Applied for Rural Transformation (START) project, with UNDP funding and simple rural technology input supplied by the Regional Research Laboratory in Bhopal, is transforming the lives of rural women. Mapping of local natural resources is done with the help of NGOs and women SHGs. The local community is already producing ready-to-market juices, pickles, sauces and jams which are being marketed in urban centres. The technology resource centres have also encouraged activities such as growing medicinal and aromatic plants, planting low cost nurseries, mushroom cultivation and poultry farming. These have put incomes in the hands of destitute women and helped in educating children.

A decentralised approach;

Involvement of women who are close to land and crop cultivation;

Catalytic inputs of technology and institutional support to upgrade skills;

Building effective interface between local communities and credible NGOs;

Help local communities to organise themselves as cooperatives for marketing;

Pharmaceuticals companies, agro input suppliers, food processing and consumer goods industries, spice such as textiles, can get involved in their own enlightened self-interest.

(The author is a freelance writer on socio-economic issues.)