31 Mahila Samakhya

Poornima Chikarmane

epgp books

 

Content Outline:

 

1.    Learning Objectives

2.    Introduction

3.    Critical Pedagogy: Setting the context

4.    Mahila Samakhya: The origins

5.    Salient Features of Mahila Samakhya

6.    The Structure and Functioning of Mahila Samakhya

7.    The Mahila Sangha

8.    Some Important Activities of Mahila Samakhya

9.    Conclusion

 

1. Learning Outcomes

 

 

After completion of this module the learner will be able to:

 

1.Understand the philosophical basis, structure, functioning and activities of the Mahila SamakhyaProgramme

2.    Critically appreciate the significance of empowering educational processes

 

 

2. Introduction

 

 

Mahila Samakhya is an adult education programme that seeks to empower women in the course of collective educational processes. It is a unique educational effort of the Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India. Mahila Samakhya is an example of the conscientization approach to literacy that was propagated by the Latin American educationist, Paulo Freire. Mahila Samakhyawas initiatedin certain districts of the country that exhibited high levels of female illiteracy and exclusion of women from the public sphere. Women who had never entered the school system, those that had to exit for some reason and those who were constrained from entering it, were central to Mahila Samakhya. That was over twenty five years ago. The programme has come a long way since. Not only has it expanded geographically, but it has also emerged as a strong transformatory force in the regions where it operates.

 

 

 

3. Critical Pedagogy: Setting the context

 

 

The module on approaches to literacy carried a brief introduction to Paulo Freire. It is important to understandsome key elements of Paulo Freire’s thinking and approach in order to fully appreciate Mahila Samakhya. Paulo Freire was a Brazilian educationist and thinker, who contributed to the theory and practice of education in the twentieth century. He was born in 1921 and died in 1998. His teaching career started in Brazil, but later spread across continents to the United States of America, Europe and Africa. Having grown up in poverty, and experienced hunger and deprivation, Freire grew up questioning the society in which he lived as well as the education system in which he studied and later taught in. While much of his work was related to the education of adults in literacy programmes, the concepts and the methods are applicable to school education of children as well. Freire wrote many books, the first of which was Education as the Practice of Freedom. His seminal work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed was written in 1968.

 

Freire envisioned education as a transformatory process that leads to progressive empowerment of the powerless. According to Freire, the illiterate learner, who lives within the oppressive social, cultural and economic structuresis disempowered. She is in a state of powerlessness but she is a being with the creative potential to liberate herself from that state. The learner is therefore not the object of the educational process. She is not an empty vessel into which the teacher deposits knowledge, a process that Freire critically referred to as the banking concept of education. In the banking concept, the all knowing teacher is the giver and the ignorant learner is a recipient of knowledge. The relationship is unequal. It weighs heavily on the side of the teacher.

 

In Freire’s understanding every learner has the capacity to think, and the capacity to act. The teacher and the learner together embark on a journey of discovery, of reflection on the lived experience of the learner. For Freire, teaching adults to read and write is not a mechanical process of learning the alphabet. Rather, it is a political process of moving from powerlessness, a being subordinate to the other, to an increasing sense of self as one who shapes her own life. The critical analysis of the situation is what enables the learner to explore the possibilities of acting to change the situation. The critical analysis begins with the reflection around the meanings of key words and asking questions. This is the problem posing model in which the learner, questions, explores, unpacks, reviews, unfolds, challenges her own and others beliefs, rules, customs and practices, and structures, social relationships and social reality. For example the key word might be ‘stove’, with the discussion around what it is used for, who uses it and why, when is that person not allowed to use it and why, and so on and so forth.The discussion may well lead to the exploration of gender inequalities, menstrual purity and pollution, spatial segregation within the household, caste inequalities, hunger and poverty. The word could be ‘food’ or ‘kitchen’ or ‘farm’ or ‘work’, that comes from the learners lived experience. It might be codified as a picture, a text or a story or a news item that is read out, a poem or even a film, or a real life incident, that might trigger the discussion. Conscientisation then is the process in which the individual develops an awareness of the factors that shape her socio-economic-cultural reality and her own capacity to transform it. This kind of educational process is not meant to make the learner adapt and adjust to her life situation, but to change it. It is education that emancipates and liberates. The teacher facilitates the process and in doing so is also the learner. There is an equal relationship between the teacher and the taught. This process of reflection – action to transform – reflection is what Freire refers to as praxis and this process is continuous. The process is also collective, it takes place in a group and it is dialogical, meaning that is a not a one way stream of the teacher as speaker and learner as listener as in a classroom, but interactive.

 

 

4. Mahila Samakhya: The origins

 

 

Four decades after India attained independence, universal education was still a distant dream. Less than half the total Indian population above the age of 7 years was literate in 1981 (Census of India). In terms of absolute numbers, it amounted to 305 million illiterate persons in the country. The literacy rate was 56 per cent for men and a dismally low 30 per cent for women.

 

Mahila Samakhya was initiated 1988, as an attempt to redress some of the social, economic and cultural constraints that keep women out of the education system. In 1986, the newly formulated, National Policy on Education, attempted to correct the gender imbalances in access to education. The Plan of Action formulated in 1992,identified women’s empowerment as a critical pre-conditionfor their participation in the educational process (Chapter XII, pp 105-107). The parameters for women’s empowerment through education were specified as:

 

§  Enhancing self-esteem and self-confidence of women;

§  Building a positive image of women by recognizing their contribution to the society, polity and the economy;

§  Developing ability to think critically;

§  Fostering decision making and action through collective processes;

§  Enabling women to make informed choices in areas like education, employment and health (especially reproductive health);

§  Ensuring equal participation in developmental processes;

§  Providing information, knowledge and skill for economic independence;

§  Enhancing access to legal literacy and information relating to their rights and entitlements in society with a view to enhance their participation on an equal footing in all areas.

 

 

5. Salient Features of Mahila Samakhya

 

 

Mahila Samakhya (confederation of women) is premised on the belief that women can be active agents in changing their own life situations. The learner and the specific socio-cultural context in which she lives, is central to the programme, on account of which there is a great deal of flexibility in the design and implementation of activities. The programme engages socially and economically marginalised girls and women in collective educational processes that are empowering and transformatory. It provides the space for collective reflection, critical analysis, engenders confidence and self worth so that women feel increasingly and progressively empowered to influence or to take the decisions that affect their lives.

 

The participatory approach of Mahila Samakhya was evident right from its inception. It was formulated in 1988, through a consultative and deliberative process with government officials, educationists and women’s groups. From a modest beginning in 1988-89, as a pilot programme in ten districts in the three states of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat, Mahila Samakhya now extends to 130 districts in 11 states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

 

  1. The Structure and Functioning of Mahila Samakhya

 

Mahila Samakhya is housed in the Ministry of Human Resource Development and not in the Ministry of Women and Children or Social Welfare. The entire programme is implemented through Mahila Samakhya Societies that are established in the states where it is functional. Although the societies have representatives of government, non government organisations as well as programme personnel, they are autonomous. The Mahila Samakhya is therefore somewhat insulated from the rigid target driven approach of most government programmes. The role of the implementing Mahila Samakhya Society and its functionaries is to facilitate the formation and sustainable functioning of the membership based Sanghas and Federations, such that they take on a life of their own and sustain, leading to the withdrawal of the Mahila SamakhyaSociety. A more detailed picture is provided in the Organogram. The MS organogram is quite different from the usual ones that show the leaders, the directors at the apex. This one has the Sangha at the apex. Everything else flows from and to the Sangha, which is membership based.

 

Figure1. Mahila Samakhya Organisational Structure

 

Mahila Samakhya quite literally means a confederation of women. The collective is focal point, the site of empowering processes if you like, of the Mahila Samakhya Programme. This focus on the process aspects of the collectivisation marked a radical departure from usual government programmes in which the individual is the target.

KameshwariJandhyala worked with the MS programme, Andhra Pradesh for twelve years. Reflecting on the experience of empowering education, she wrote,

The focus on collectives was in itself a conscious decision and a departure from the usual focus in most development and poverty alleviation initiatives on the individual as a beneficiary. Given the fact that MS was seeking to conscientise and enable women to examine the roots of their marginalisation and try to pull those roots out, this daunting task it was felt could only be attempted through group solidarity and support. This was especially so in the case of the target group the programme was focusing on, poor rural women, the most marginalised and with the least voice. The lessons from the women’s movement in highlighting the need and criticality of group solidarity in arriving at this strategy cannot be understated. Today, of course the significance of groups and collectives has been recognised as an effective strategy for reaching varied social/ community groups and hence forms the basis of most development initiatives.

 

 

 

7. The Mahila Sangha

 

 

The basic unit of organisation is the Mahila Sangha, the village level women’s collective which is facilitated by the Sahayogini who is responsible for a cluster of ten villages. Sanghas federate at block level. The Sangha is a space where women congregate to discuss the problems and issues that they feel are important. Village women are members of the Sangha. Each Sangha has about 25 members. It is a space for sharing their concerns. The agenda is set by the members. There are no tangible benefits on offer and no enticements. Discussion is just one part of the process. The other is the action to change the situation. The kinds of issues that the Sangha members work upon together are very varied. They range from access to entitlements, government schemes and services such as rations, old age pensions, NREGA job cards, midday meals and BPL cards. Road construction, school buildings, community washrooms and other projects also feature in the list of issues. Reflection is one part of the process, collective action to resolve the problem is the other. In his seminal work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire says that it is not enough for the oppressed to sit together and talk, they must critically examine social reality and act to change it.

Participation is learnt behaviour as is democratic practice and the Sangha is the ground where these are nurtured. Membership of the Sangha is a novel experience for women who have never had time to be themselves, or a space to call their own and who have been conditioned to play a secondary role in the household and the community. Women have little opportunity to interact with the outside world in cloistered communities. For example in some parts of UP where the custom of ghunghat is widely prevalent, women’s presence in community spaces is very limited. Coming together, sharing, discussion and analysis of social reality develops the critical awareness that Freire refers to as conscientisation. Praxis, the process of reflection and action and reflection is empowering. Empowerment is therefore not an end state but a continuous process. In this context literacy is not an end in itself. It is a tool that women recognize as a basis of power and seek out as a means to understand the outside world better.

 

 

While referring to changes in their households, Sangha members reported that “the females are now asked their opinions in the household decisions”; “husband now helps in household work”; “the harassment has reduced in our homes”; “before 2003 we used to think men are great compared to females but after joining the sangha we learnt what are the things are equal to both, the roles and responsibilities of women. Before, we would not come outside to do any work and we would not even open our mouth in front of our families. We practiced purdah in front of males and elders. Now we believe we should participate in decision making”; “my sister Mazanbe would not go out of the house without permission but now she has the confidence to go to market and medical shop.” (Mahila Samakhya 2014: A National Review pp.23-24)

Documentation of personal experiences of participants and anecdotal evidence is very important in innovative programmes such as Mahila Samakhya. However, numbers also tell their own stories that validate or negate the effectiveness of the interventions. During the quarter of a century of its existence, Mahila Samakhya has been studied by many people and organisations. Reports of state and national reviews are also freely available on the internet. We shall periodically refer to the numbers from the findings of the National Review carried out in 2014 by the Ravi J. Mathai Centre for Educational Innovation at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Overall, there are 55,402 Sanghas in which there are 14,41,928 members.As mentioned earlier, Mahila Samakhya tries to reach disadvantaged and marginalised sections of the population into the educational fold. The 2014 review found that in keeping with this focus, a third of the members are from among the Scheduled Castes, 21 per cent from the Scheduled Tribes and 26 per cent from the Other Backward Classes and 8 per cent from the minorities.Tilting the balance in favour of women from vulnerable groups does not mean the exclusion of women from other groups. As the groups consolidate and gain in confidence, they have been known to drawn in women from the other social groups, which also indicate a measure of their growing acceptability and power in the village.

 

8. Some Important Activities of Mahila Samakhya

 

 

NariAdalats/Nyay Committees

 

Caste Panchayats or KhapPanchayats are the traditional community based structures of adjudication. The courts are the modern structures. The former may not actually deliver justice and access to the latter is difficult for impoverished rural women. Besides, the presence of women in justice structures is negligible. The Nari Adalat is an alternative community adjudication structure that first started in Mahila Samakhya, Gujarat to deal with family disputes. Domestic violence, extra marital relationships, child custody, separation, property matters are adjudicated in a gender sensitive manner. Members of the legal committee of the sangha volunteer on the Nari Adalat. There are 481 Nari Adalatsin 9 states that have handled 30,481 cases. On account of its effectiveness, the Nari Adalat innovation has been institutionalised by the Gujarat State Women’s Commission.

Mahila Shikshan Kendras (MSK)

The MSKs cater to school drop outs above the age of 14 years. They offer a residential accelerated learning programme over a period of 8 to 12 months.The syllabus for classes I to V is taught, along with gender awareness and life skills. Upon completion of the 12 month period, many of the girls enter the mainstream education institutions. Some opt for the open school system and take those examinations. There have however been difficulties in negotiating college admissions after completion of class X.

 

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas

 

Sangha members are provided training to visit the residential schools, under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Their role is to interact with the girls and to resolve issues that were bothering them. These members referred to as Sumitrashelped to bridge the gaps between the school administration and the students.

Adult Literacy Programme

The future of Mahila Samakhya was in doubt in December 2015 when the government planned to merge it into the Rural Livelihoods Mission. A hundred thousand post cards from women participants in the Mahila Samakhya Programme landed in the post box of the Prime Minister of India to persuade him to continue the programme. This demand speaks to the difference that Mahila Samakhya has made to the lives of women and girls in the areas where it is operational.

 

Participation in institutionalised democratic spaces

 

Historically women have been excluded from public institutions and public spaces. The home and family is the accepted domain, even where women are engaged in economic activities outside the home. Participants in the MahilaSangha programme are actively involved in institutionalised democratic spaces such as the gram sabhas and the gram panchayats and school management committees. Almost all the sanghas (96 per cent) reported regular participation in the gram sabhas and 86 per cent of the individual members surveyed during the 2014 review process reported regular attendance at the gram sabhas. It is also interesting that more than half the sanghas had members who had stood for and one elections, and had even occupied positions of Sarpanch and ward committee members.

Linkages with government programmes

Enabling access to government programmes and entitlements is an important component of Mahila Samakhya’s work. Getting voter identity cards, ration cards, ensuring water supply during drought, securing work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment programme are some of the works that have been facilitated by the Mahila Sanghas or the federations.

 

 

  1. Conclusion

 

Mahila Samakhya is a good example of an adult education programme that keeps women learners at its centre. While the focus is clearly on the underprivileged sections of society that experience exclusion and deprivation, the programme itself is not exclusionary. It does not reach out only to the Dalits or the minorities or adivasi communities. All women within its operational area are encouraged to join the Mahila Sangha and to benefit from the collective efforts to address the problems. Organisational work however, often begins from the sections of the village where the most marginalised reside. Any woman in the area is free to join if she finds some benefit in being part of the collective. This inclusive approach is very important in building bridges between women from different socio-economic strata.

Mahila Samakhya emphasises women’s agency, their power to choose and decide. It facilitates women’s collectivisation to challenge unequal social relations, discriminatory practices, inequality, social practices and rules in order to change them so as to be more equitable and just. Mahila Samakhya enables women to access resources, be they in the form of self help groups, government schemes and benefits, waged work or land entitlements. It also facilitates women’s participation in the structures and processes of democratic decision making. The structure of Mahila Samakhya allows for participation and leadership development at different levels, at the level of the sangha as well as at the level of the state level federations and inter-state activities.

 

 

 

you can view video on Mahila Samakhya

 

References

 

Web resources: