W for Women, W for Welfare

It all started when my mom decided that my nana’s place was the ideal destination for a study-cation for the finals. It was the end of December and the ninth grade finals were then approaching fast. I was done with a substantial amount of my syllabus, so my mausa arranged a project with the Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) so that I could have the opportunity to see more of villages and learn more about them, saying that these are the years when I am developing my personality and these exposures shape it.

As I arrived at the village of Jajpur, I could not wrap my mind around how its fields rose from behind the suburbs surrounding Ranchi. The peace and quiet behind the noisy streets was slightly jarring, but pleasant at the same time. I was expecting it to be city-like as that was what I was told by the organization. However, I began questioning their definition of city-like upon reaching my destination. Sure, many people had television sets, women had a good and equal position in society, and everyone’s children went to school, but that’s where the similarities ended.

The mud houses, the open fields, the sound of honking replaced by laughter, the lingering smell of cow dung at places and everyone knowing and talking to everyone — I was new to this. My guides to this village, the members of the Women’s Self-Help Group, told me how the semi-circular designs on the walls were made with slippers. The end result was a beautifully textured wall which was light brown in colour and had a clay-like feel to it. We also went and took a round of the farms and indulged in peas straight from the fields. I was careful touching the small and delicate pea plants and plucking peas from there so as to not to damage this source of livelihood. They were some of the sweetest things I had ever tasted and my pea-loving tongue savoured them.

We all sat down and began the Self Help Group’s procedures, a set process followed when the women of this group meet on a monthly basis, only to find that I was late and had to pay a fine of ten rupees like other members who were late. Although they laughed it off, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed about it. They seemed to notice this and tried to put me at ease by urging me to ask questions about their village. Although there were many fascinating things about the village at first glance, my inner feminist rose and asked them questions about the Self-Help Group and its workings.

They explained that the group was created to serve the purpose of helping women manage the finances of the family. All involved women deposit the weekly savings of their families and whenever one of them needs money, they take a loan from the Group. It drew women out of the house and made it common for women to be seen engaging in handling the finances of the house and engaging in something society defined as a man’s job. This was a stark contrast with the previous state of the village when men dominated society and shouted at their wives for even talking to each other, claiming that they were only gossiping and talking nonsense.

Gutjora, the second village was secluded and hard to reach to such an extent that there was only a single bus and auto service 5 kilometres away from the village. However, this inconvenience did not come in the way of the village’s development. Their SHG (Self Help Group) had started a type of nursery system for only crops that were cultivated and sent them to different farms all across. They earned a lot of profits with this business and helped in not just the progress of women, but also in the development of the village.

This tour opened my eyes to just how secure the position of Indian women has become in society. We still hear about cases in which parents neglect educating their daughter and how baby girls are found lying on the streets because no one wants them, but do we ever try to look at the bright side of matters and how much they have improved? Our society is changing and the importance of equality is slowly but surely being recognized in each and every part of India. We have realized the importance of Michelle Obama’s words, “No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens.”