Creating Space For Poor Women In India
By Moin Qazi
27 November, 2015
Countercurrents.org
I’ve got the children to tend
The clothes to mend
The floor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to feed
The garden to weed
I’ve got shirts to press
The tots to dress
The cane to be cut
I got a clean up this hut
Then see about the sick
And the cotton to pick
Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brow again
Maya AngelouA woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture, and transform.
—Diane Mariechild
In India the Self-Help Group (SHG) concept has gone beyond merely financing petty loans to women. It now embraces the concept of space for and inclusion of women in decision-making and in setting the development agenda. Development credit plus is being advocated Self-help groups are essentially village banking groups of 12-20 women in India. Their activities are largely savings-led but also include the accessing of credit from banks and often also the operation of joint enterprises (such as snack-food businesses)or community projects (such as village sanitation facilities}
We interviewed clients in their place of work (usually also their home), accompanied by their loan officer, hoping to capture a snapshot of their world — to experience life through their eyes. We were lucky to have the loan officers with us, because the strength of the relationship between a client and their loan officer is impressive — far more robust than any bank .the loan officers travel long distances, often on public transportation, to meet clients in their homes. This is a dedicated group of individuals, especially when you consider that they often manage upward of 100 clients, all of whom are spread across the countryside.
Many of bank’s clients grew up with an intense mistrust of financial institutions, which stems back to a series of financial collapses. One of the employees told us how her mother used to hide money in sacks of corn to save. One day she woke up to a collapsing financial system and a worthless stash of paper bills. Others told us of banks that would collect deposits, only to close one day and swallow their client’s money, never to be seen again. Stories like this are commonplace, which means loan officers have to build trust slowly and deliberately.
Each village we entered was more picturesque than the next The villages were often small, and always tightknit. This is part of why the banks focus on rural lending — these small villages are bound together by a social fabric, and the thought of taking a loan that can’t be repaid is unthinkable for many clients — the shame would be immense. Before a client ever takes a loan, members of the community share what financial knowledge they have, educating their neighbors about interest rates, repayment terms, and credit history. When a loan officer gets to a village, many clients often already know the right questions to ask. As a result, rural repayment rates are often higher than urban—communities work together to keep each other focused.
The women have the drive, ambition, and capability to create streams of income for themselves, but they often need a lump sum to get started. The farmer I mentioned above might need a loan to buy her cows, to expand her home, or to build her hostel, and there often isn’t any other way to access this startup capital. a loan officer with whom we spent several days, told us about NGOs and small, local nonprofits that used to provide small amounts of working capital, but they slowly closed their doors over the years — charity alone wasn’t enough to meet the need. It’s banks that fill the gaps and provide these rural entreprenenurs with the resources that they need to thrive.
I often hear talk about the Third World versus the first, and this dichotomy serves a purpose, but it also pigeonholes our thinking. We can’t try to bring the Third World into the First; the systems of measure just don’t equate. The measure of success is always relative to the native culture, which is why it’s so important to work with local partners who are part of the culture and thus know what success looks like in rural India . We aren’t trying to bring the populations we serve into the First World, whatever that means. We are trying to ease the hardships of life using the same financial tools that we benefit from in the developed world. At the end of the day, access to responsible, regulated financial products makes life easier and helps make dreams a reality — just ask a business owner, home owner or student whom you know. Why can’t we all have access to the same set of tools?
Bankers have been fascinated by the sheer desire of women to excel. The perception that the poor do not have skills or will not be able to survive on their own is a myth. All you have to do is to provide them access to capital and opportunity and see them take off. During all these years of my association with the rural sector, I have come to know that development is fuller when put in women's hands, especially the poor, who know best how to use the little money they have. Studies have shown that, when a woman receives money, her extended family usually benefits, as any profit percolates down and brings about the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people. Lending women money gives them power in a country where they have traditionally wielded very little. Women spend money in ways that help the village as a whole. Women pay more attention to the children, to the household, and to the future. The SHGs saw a modicum of prosperity and happiness creep into the lives of poor women. The women moved from shadows to sunshine and received a fresh start on life. This newfound awareness would certainly play a crucial role in shaping the future generation of these women. These women's genes will certainly mutate to produce a new generation of more confident, bold, and aggressive women. The intellectual and supporting mother is perhaps the key to the unravelling of the palimpsest.
"My husband has started to consult me on all matters at home", says Durga with confidence that is as strong as the concrete structure that overlooks her house. Such work has a snowballing effect. The women seem to have started cutting into political and social space as well.This economic independence, she says, has considerably altered her family's internal structure, with particular implications for decision-making in the household. Her two sons, who are also contributing to the family's portfolio, now come to her in order to debate relevant issues and take joint decisions.
As women have gained new skills and knowledge, their feeling of self-worth has increased, and they have gained the necessary confidence to take a more vocal stand at the household level. As Anusaya Ledange explains: “In the beginning we didn't know anything. Before we organized ourselves in a SHG we used to believe everything and agreed with everything our men told us. Now we have learned to express our opinions and views and now our men even ask us about what we think.” The male household heads now seriously regards women's views on marriage partners for their daughters. Though male family members continue to choose a suitable match for the family's sons, many women report having the 'final word' in decisions on their daughters' marriage partners, a position which was previously unthinkable.
The confidence women have gained through training and through the solidarity of the self help group allow them to counter criticism at the individual level. 'Even if someone opposes me, I can reply with confidence” says Minakshi.
Another trait common to all societies inside the crucible is the new assertiveness and social progress being made by women. The need for the second income to fulfill all aspirations, increased education levels, increased work opportunities and the effect of women who have broken out of the mould and who are independently powerful, have all contributed to fuelling this. The legitimacy and pragmatic acceptance of consumption as one of the central themes of life and living is another common theme across the many as. The biggest common theme of change inside the crucible is the idea, that Life is now a product to be experienced, not a condition to be endured.
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]