A Poor Village Women’s Saga Of Empowerment

By Moin Qazi

11 January, 2016
Countercurrents.org

Centuries ago, a king, while travelling through his domain came across people living in dark caves. He was horrified at the gloom and ordered every family to be given lamps and oil to fuel them. Fifty years later, he visited the area again and found the caves in darkness. The lamps had been forgotten or were broken. The oil had run out. The king ordered more oil, new lamps. But when he returned to the area the following year the caves were dark once more. The king summoned his minister, a wise old man, and asked for an explanation. ‘Ah,’ said the minister, ‘You gave the lamps to the men. You should have given them to the women.’ The king followed his minister’s advice and the lamps have kept burning ever since!
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Blindside the narrow turn off the Nagpur–Chandrapur highway, about 100 km from Nagpur, and Wanoja remains a name. Take a hard left and find a village, that doesn’t exist on Chandrapur district’s political and physical map but finds place of pride on Maharashtra’s rural development map.Wanoja, with a population of little over 1,500, has propelled into the limelight by emerging top dog and won a prize in Warora taluka’s cleanliness competition under the State-wide Sant Gadgebaba Gram Swachchhata Abiyan. And since then, good news is no longer at a premium for the village. The moving force behind the turnaround of fortunes, chorus villagers and the administration, are women from the Self Help Groups (SHGs) who have pulled Wanoja out of the sludge of local politicking.

Kamal Mhaski was one of the most active SHG women, who has led the development crusade. With loans and voluntary cooperation from bank staff these poor, but talented, women have propelled their unknown villages on the rural development map of Maharashtra. Kamal Mhaski is a 48-year old SHG leader from Wanoja village in Chandrapur district. Her group Maharani Mahila Bachat Gat was formed in 1996, and has survived the various swings in the local economy. She comes from an agricultural family. Her association with State Bank of India has entirely transformed her life. Eighteen years back when Kamal first approached us for a loan , she lived in a small house which was made of clay and had a thatched roof. It was around this time that I visited the village and explained to her the importance of joining a Self Help Group. With great hesitation she agreed, and she timidly applied for a loan. We sanctioned it straightaway because we were confident of her business acumen. Her business quickly increased fivefold. Since then, there has been no looking back for her. It was as if the Self Help Group programme was introduced in her village for transforming her life. In a period of fifteen years Kamal has acquired assets worth Rs. 26 lacs. It all started with a small 2-acre farm, which Kamal owned when she formed a Self Help Group. She purchased jersey cows under a subsidy scheme of the government. She was able to save enough to build a capital of Rs. 15,000/- The leadership of the group provided Kamal the confidence needed to enter into the political arena. She was able to get the woman members secure housing grants sanctioned under a government sponsored housing programme. She also got subsidy for a well dug in her farm. The leadership of the group provided Kamal the confidence for exploring the political space. Fed up with a plaguing monsoon and the challenge of a rocky earth that required wells to be sunk up to 50 feet she mustered courage and started work. With intensive follow up at the local block office she was able to get subsidy sanctioned and the bank readily agreed to finance the deficit amount. The well was ready in six months.

Kamal handled the earnings very judiciously enlarging her farmland with an average addition of 2 acres of land every year Kamal had a plot of barren land with low fertility which she had acquired at a low cost. Kamal got Rs.1.25 lacs for the excavated earth. It was a fortune out of the blue. She invested this amount in fixed deposits. But the more exciting idea was still to come. The excavations had turned the plot into a huge tank. Kamal decided to get about this piece of land till one day a few officers from the Department of Fisheries at Chandrapur came to know about the huge tank filled with rainwater in an interior village. They were already in search of an enterprising villager who could be financed for taking up fishery. These officials visited the village and met Kamal and her husband. Kamal was excited with the idea of a fish farm. Despite her husband's initial reluctance she decided to have a go. What followed was a story of real fortune as Kamal netted almost Rs.2 lacs in two years. She used this money and her fixed deposits to buy more land. She now owns 26 acres of land, a decent house and a Maruti Van. Her group members also journeyed along a path of slow and steady progress. All of them salute Kamal for providing inspiring leadership and above all the love of an elder sister. The group looks forward to celebrating its 10th birthday next year. Negotiating the murky world of corruption

For Kamal who had tasted success quite early and continued to blaze a trail of several other successes, there has been no looking back; not even a pause or a comma for the growth brigade. Kamal has now forayed into floriculture, with tract of rajnigandha and marigold in full bloom. Floriculture is now the main revenue earner contribution both to the frontline and bottom line .Kamal has invested substantially in properly contouring the land to allow for flow of water to the remotest plant .the well is a huge abyss which grows deeper each year with further excavations to come with receding water tables. She has put up angle –iron barbed wire fencing to keep out both animal and human intrusion. This ,she says is far more effective miles of shoddy wooden fences that keep sagging and are prone to damage by termites and rains. As a result, Kamal Mhaski's income increased by Rs.2 lakhs. Today, she has 26 acres of agricultural land, and also leads the milk business of her Saving Group, which is doing well.

“I had never thought that my life would change so much,” says Kamal. “Ten years ago, my husband was convinced that I could not do any business. He firmly believed that only men were cut out for activities like farming, business, industry etc. According to his male thinking, women's field of activity was confined to look after the house, carry on daily chores of cooking and looking after the children.

“But today I am proud that the entire village looks up to me for guidance and leadership. Though I started these four activities of business on my own, I am handling them because of the self help group. My life has been totally transformed through the association with the bank. Today I am totally independent!”

Kamal Mhaski mentions with great pride. “My father always believed that it would have been far better if I were born a son. But today he realizes how lucky he is to have me as a daughter.”

Moin Qazi is a well known banker, author and Islamic researcher .He holds doctorates in Economics and English. He was Visiting Fellow at the University of Manchester. He has authored several books on religion, rural finance, culture and handicrafts. He is author of the bestselling book Village Diary of a Development Banker. He is also a recipient of UNESCO World Politics Essay Gold Medal and Rotary International’s Vocational Excellence Award. He is based in Nagpur and can be reached at [email protected]