The Hindu Business Line : Empowerment Unlimited

The biggest success story of the community learning centre is that two girls who trained here have got jobs with call centres and earn Rs 8,000 a month.

Nazia and Noori Mumtaz.

Ma'am, hamarey ghar mei job nahi hota hei. Till now no woman in my family has worked; my father won't allow it, but he wants us to learn computers. He says you should have knowledge, but you don't need to work. But I'll surely work some day."

The confidence in the voice of 17-year-old Nazia Mumtaz, a II B.A. student in Kanpur, who is doing a three-month basic computer course, devised for Microsoft's Unlimited Potential project (called Project Jyoti in India), is heartening. Along with sister Noori, she is exploring the exciting world of "computers", at the class run by Datamation Foundation Charitable Trust, an NGO supported by Microsoft Corporation with a cash and software grant of Rs 76.71 lakh to empower women and rural communities through vocational courses, including IT.

On a bleak rainy morning, as we wind our way around Kanpur's dirty and overflowing streets, the morning is brightened by the enthusiasm of Ujjwala Subedar, Datamation's Project Co-ordinator.

As she rounds up the young women to tell us how they mastered simple computer skills to get jobs, some of which fetch more than their fathers' wages in Kanpur's tanneries or other factories, her unlimited energy is evident. A post-graduate with a diploma in IT, it is with great zeal that this former schoolteacher introduces young women in the Kanpur-Lucknow belt, most of them from orthodox Muslim families, to a world hitherto taboo... the world of economic independence.

At Rs 40 a month, the course fee is a pittance, and yet there are those who can't even afford this, "so we give free training to them. In the beginning a lot of people didn't take us seriously and thought we were a government facility, because no private facility has such low fees."

At the Datamation community learning centres, which have so far covered 1,400 women in the Lucknow-Kanpur belt, vocational courses from tailoring and beauty care to IT skills, are offered. A traditional vocation in UP, particularly Lucknow, is chikan work, which girls learn at a young age.

With help from IIT-Kanpur, Project Jyoti has attempted to improve, innovate and quicken the process of getting the chikan design transferred to the fabric. Ujjwala explains that earlier the designs used to be hand-carved on wooden blocks and each block took 1 - 12 weeks to make depending on the intricacy of the design. But now the software has made the task easier, providing basic chikan motifs such as mangoes, peacocks, etc.

From the basic design, young women such as Tehseen, trained at the centre, explore the world of newer and more fashionable motifs, all with the click of the mouse. She explains how the computer design helps create motifs in the same size, something that was a tough call in manual designs.

Paltry income

But despite the innovations, at Rs 50-60 a day, the chikan workers earn a pittance, and this after Datamation's intervention; earlier the earning was a paltry Rs 25-30 a day. "They come from very poor families; earlier the nawabs and zamindars would give them food, clothing etc. If nothing else, they'd ask them to make chikan garments for prisoners. Today, when the affluence of nawabs is gone, you can imagine the plight of these women," says Ujjawala.

She says that even when parents want their daughters to do some other work, often the girls are reluctant as they think it's a legacy that has to be preserved. But the income is not commensurate with the labour as the mahajan or middleman grabs a huge commission. "The salwar suit they buy from here at Rs 600 is sold in Delhi for Rs 1,500. Now we are planning to market through the Internet, so that these women will get better returns," she says, adding that the NGO was trying to organise them into a self-help group to gain access to bank finance.

On the scope for export, she says, "We need to have our own fabric, for which the budget is not enough. The Microsoft budget is only for education; if we get extra help, we could export."

Beauty care

Shanno Verma, a beautician, on the job.

Gradually, young women are moving on to other vocations; the beautician's course at the Datamation centres is quite a hit, as there is scope for a good income. "During festivals like hariyali teej, raakhi, etc, there is demand for mehndi and make-up, and during weddings we do bridal make-up," says Shanno Verma, who trained here as a beautician and has now turned teacher, as her trainer left after getting married. "Many of our students are doing facials and other beauty treatment from home," says Shanno, who is paid a salary of Rs 1,500 for a four-hour day. The rest of the day she is free to practise as a beautician.

But it is the basic computer course that offers the most potential for a decent income. "We teach them Word, Excel, Power Point, e-mail, etc and after this course many girls have got jobs in private companies. Some girls do data entry for the IT department on contract and earn Rs 2,500," says Ujjwala proudly, adding that the centre helps girls get jobs as receptionists, office assistants, etc. "Now that people know we train girls they come to the centre when they have vacancies."

Initial doubts

But initially "it was a huge problem to get girls out of their homes. Our mobilisers had to make several visits to the homes; parents would come here and watch what the girls were doing to ensure that nothing hanky panky was going on!" While at the other centres there is a mix of different communities, at the Basmandi centre, 99 per cent of girls are Muslims and daughters of hawkers, coolies, rickshawallahs or agarbatti factory workers. Many of them are too poor to pay any fee, and receive free training.

She relates the story of two poor girls aged 17 and 14 who lost their parents and after a few months were thrown out of the house by the relatives. They were working in the agarbatti factory but were keen to do the computer course. "I asked them to come to the centre at least for a couple of hours after work and learn something. Their neighbours had put up a tiny hut for them but when unauthorised constructions were demolished, they lost their hut and disappeared. We've tried to find them, but could not get a trace; I shudder to think of their plight. The elder one was earning Rs 900 in the factory," says Ujjwala.

Where success creates problems

Life skills: (From left) Kayanat, Saba Fayyaz and Naseema learn to use computers.

The biggest success story of the community learning centre is that two girls who trained here have got jobs with call centres and earn Rs 8,000 a month. Saltanat, who will appear for her BA Final year exam as a private candidate, is one of the lucky ones. From a traditional Muslim family, her work hours now are 10-6, but she has been told that after three months the timings will change to 12 noon-7 p.m. "The call centre is far away and it takes her an hour to reach home and the parents are worried that she'll get home only by 8 p.m. This is the first centre here so there's no question of a transfer," says Ujjwala, adding, "I told her mother: `Now that she is earning Rs 8,000, organise an auto driver known to you to bring her home'."

In a culture where the male is considered superior, Saltanat has a problem; her father, who works in a factory, earns only Rs 3,000. But the biggest worry for her parents is how they'd find a groom for her. If he earns more than her, he'll demand a bigger dowry; where will they find the money?

Then there is the very touching tale of 17-year-old Kayanat, "who for some time can't even think of marriage as her responsibilities are huge," says Ujjwala. Kayanat has found data entry work for the IT department. She lost her father many years ago, and for six months the mother and four children stayed with an uncle, after which he asked them to fend for themselves. Kayanat's mother worked in a tannery, and they took a tiny room at a rent of Rs 500, but recently she developed a kidney problem and can't work any more. The jewels Kayanat's father had made for her marriage had to be pledged or sold, her siblings had to leave school.

But their misery ended when six months ago Kayanat got a data entry job for Rs 2,500, but not quite. For two months, a Kanpur branch of the SBI refused to open her account on technicalities, such as minimum balance, address proof, etc.

"She started crying saying, `I desperately need the money, have worked for it, and yet can't get it!' So we said we'll give the initial Rs 1,000 required, give other guarantees etc, but yet they dilly-dallied; bankwalo ko pata nahi hei ki jinkey paas kuch nahi hei unke liye tau dhai hazar rupiye bahut mainey rakhtey hei (they don't realise that for those who have nothing, Rs 2,500 is a huge amount)."

Finally the account was opened and Kayanat, who is now preparing to give her Inter exam, confirms that she used her first salary for her mother's treatment. Next she put a brother and sister in a private school, and next month's salary will see the youngest sibling in school too.

She is "17 or 18, I don't really know" and her birthday falls on March 8. Obviously she doesn't know it's International Women's Day. Her dream is to do "more advanced courses; next I want to learn accounts applications at this centre and get a better job."

Her friends and batchmates Saba Fayyaz, Naseema and Salma have all landed data entry work and all of them have bought mobile phones. Saba says proudly, "I've got my sister and brother admitted to private schools paying Rs 300 a month for each." Her father works in a tannery earning Rs 3,000.

After a few months, she might earn more; would that be a problem? "Of course not, he'll be very happy that I've educated my daughter and made her worthy of a good salary," responds Saba, who is doing B.A. Final year through correspondence, with English and Economics as subjects.

Working from home

In orthodox Muslim homes even parents who allow their daughters to train at the centre, frown on their going out to work. But with work available today on the Net, "many girls are working from home, particularly for the publishing industry, where they have to correct the grammar, spelling mistakes etc, reflected on the screen." Computer access is got from families of relatives or friends with the facility, but the dream of all these girls is to own computers.

On whether Microsoft has plans to upgrade the basic computer skills of these girls, Microsoft's Vikas Goswami, Lead - Community Affairs, says, "Not at the moment but as a learning, growing organisation — the programme has been running only for three years — future possibilities are always there."

The NGO partners are carefully chosen for their expertise and training skills, and "we want our partners to look at creative solutions, think out of the box; we don't expect every partner to roll out the programme in exactly the same manner. In Kanpur you met girls who work as data entry operators. After two years if they want to upgrade their skills, nothing will stop them. Planting the seed of empowerment is the crucial point," says Vikas.

Her words bring to mind the image of young Tarannum, who works as a trainer at one of the Datamation centres. One was surprised to find her in jeans, with of course a dupatta thrown around her. When quizzed, she grinned and said, "I wore jeans because dadi is not in town, but had to throw my burqa over the dress as always."

But the NGO has given girls like Tarannum much more... the confidence to lead a life of dignity and economic independence.

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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