Role of Women and Womenâs Organizations
Original sin in the Garden of Eden was women. She tasted the forbidden fruit, tempted Adam and has been paying for it ever since. In Genesis, the Lord said, âI will greatly multiply the sorrow and the conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over theeâ -The Holy Bible
Women in Ancient India
Indus valley civilization
- Worship of mother goddess highlights the respect to women as mother.
- Given equal honor along with men in society.
- Women enjoyed full freedom & treated pretty well.
Rig Vedic period
- Continued enjoying full freedom & equality with men
- The position of wife was an honoured one in the household
- Superior over men in religious ceremonies.
Later Vedic Period:
The marriage & educational rights remains same
- Power in religious ceremonies getting lowered.
- Religious ceremonies increasingly were conducted by the priests resulting in losing her pre eminent position in the household.
- This was the period during which  the importance of rituals increased and so did the importance of the Brahmans.
The importance of rituals increased in this period and so did the importance of the Brahmans.
- Desire for sons continued, sati was not prevalent.
- The position of women was not as high as it was in the Rig Vedic period.
- Female workers were involved in dying, embroidery and basket making.
Upanishads period:
- Marriage between the male of a higher caste and female of a lower caste prevailed during this period.
- The rules of Panini regarding Abhi vadana ( salutation as a mark of respect to elderly persons in the house ) shows that the presence of wives of the lower caste in a house and their association with ladies of a higher caste brought down the general level of womanly culture and led to a deterioration in their status.
During Sutras and Epics:
The bride is at a mature age, over 15 or 16. The elaborate rites indicate that marriage was a holy bond and not a contract. The Grihya sutras give detailed rules regarding the proper seasons for marriage, qualifications of bride and bridegroom.
- The women were allowed to sing, dance and enjoy life.
- Sati was not generally prevalent.
- Widow Remarriage was allowed under certain circumstances.
- The Apastamba imposes several penalties on a husband who unjustly forsakes his On the other hand, a wife who forsakes her husband has to only perform penance.
Evidence from epics
The Ramayan along with the Mahabarat and the puranas constitute the epic literature in India. During this period, a woman was considered to be a living commodity which could be kept on bet and could be sold or purchased. Example is Pandavas bid of Droupathi. But we also get quite contrary views from Ramayan and Mahabarata.
- Bhisma says that during this period women were respected.
- Sita is regarded as one of the five ideal and revered women in India, the other four being Ahalya, Draupati, Tara and Mondodari.
- There are references in Mahabarata which reflects that women used to guide men on religious and social questions.
- A woman was considered unfit for independence at any time as she required protection throughout her life.
During Maurya Empire
- The important documental evidence is Arthasastra by Kautilya, a brahman prime minister of Chandragupta maurya.
- States that women had property rights to the stridhan, which was the gift made to a woman at the time of her marriage by her parents and afterwards augmented by her husband.
- Stridhan was usually in the form of jewelry, which among many cultural groups was a convenient way of carrying surplus wealth, but could include certain rights to immovable property.
- Marriage was both a secular and sacred institution.
- Widows could remarry. When they did so, they lost rights to any property inherited from their deceased husbands.
- There is little information on lower class women other than some comments on laboring women and the need to give works as spinners to such disadvantaged women as widows and âdefective girls.â
During Gupta dynasty
The Gupta Empire is seen as the classical age of Indian culture because of its literary and artistic accomplishments. Some information on roles for elite women comes from the Kama Sutra, a manual about the many ways to acquire pleasure, a legitimate goal for Hindu men in the householder, or second stage, of their lives.
- Women were expected to be educated, to give and to receive sexual pleasure, and to be faithful wives.
- Courtesans were trained in poetry and music as well as the skills of sexual pleasure and were esteemed members of society.
- Courtesans were the one category of women who were likely to be educated and sometimes were known to have spoken Sanskrit.
Women in Medieval India
It is predominantly the history of Muslim rulers spreads over 500 years. During the medieval period the social life of women underwent great changes. Dependence of women on their husbands or other male relatives was a prominent feature of this period. Devoid of avenues of any education, having lost the access to Streedhana or dowry, they virtually became the exploited class with disastrous results for themselves and the nation. Another social evil that existed in society during this period was child marriage.
Muslim appeared in India as a warrior class. Their rule in India is divided into two Eras;
- The Era of Delhi Sultanate
- The Mughal
Era of Delhi sultanate
- The only women who had ever occupied the thrown of Delhi was Razia Sultan.
- Sultana Razia was not only a wise ruler but also a women of Dauntless courage.
- She set the role of model for politically empowered women in India.
The Mughal Era:
- In Mughal Era India saw the rise of some eminent muslim women. 2.1 Qutluq Nigar Khanm
- Qutluq Nigar Khanm Babarâs mother gave wise counsel to her son Babar, during his arduous campaign for the recovery of his fatherâs heritage.
- Gulbadan Begum:Â Gulbadan Begum was a women of exceptional poetic talent who wrote Humayun namah.
- Nur Jahan: Nur Jahan took an active part in the state She was the greatest muslim queen of India. She was very embodiment of beauty and military valour
- Chandbibi:Â Chandbibi, who appeared on the ramparts of the fort of Ahmednagar dressed in male attire and put heart in the defenders of that town against the powers of Akbar himself.
- Tara Bai:Â Tara Bai,the Maharata heroine who was the life and soul of Maharata resistance during the last determined onslaught of Aurangazeb.
- Mangammal:Â Mangammal, whose benign rule is still a green memory in the South, and Ahalya Bai Holkar, to whose administrative genius Sir John Malcolm has paid magnificent tribute.
Women in Bhakti Movement
The liberal current, which to some extent widened the horizon of women, was the Bhakti movements, the medieval saintsâ movements. Female poetÂsaints also played a significant role in the bhakti movement at large. Bhakti movements which flourished during the medieval age gave rise to a new class of man and women who cared little for gender bias.
- In many cases, they rejected traditional womenâs roles and societal norms by leaving husbands and homes altogether, choosing to become wandering bhaktas.
- In some instances they formed communities with other poet saints.
- Their new focus was utter devotion and worship of their Divine Husbands.
Famous women during this period:
- Janabai:Â Janabai was born around the 13th century in Maharashtra in a low caste sudra family. She was sent to work in the upper caste family of Namdev, one of the most revered of the bhakti poet saints.
- Akkamahadevi:Â Akkamahadevi, also known as Akka or Mahadevi was a bhakta from the southern region of Karnataka and a devotee of Shiva in the 12th century CE.
- Mirabhay: Mirabai, or Mira is said to have been born into a ruling Rajput Mirabaiâs poetry tells about her vision of Lord Krishna when she was a child; from that point on Mira vowed that she would forever be his bride.
- Bahinabhai: Bahinabai was a poet saint from 17th century Maharashtra. written in the form of abangas, womenâs songs that accompanied their labors, especially in the fields. Her writings are particularly autobiographical, recounting her childhood, puberty and married life.
Women in Modern India
Modern India refers to the period form 1700 A.D. to 1947 A.D.Women in modern India have largely been influenced by the programs of reform and upliftment which brought about a radical change in their position.
During the British period:
The learning of the English literature by a section of the Indians which helped them to assimilate the western democratic and liberal ideology, an ideology subsequently utilized by them to start social and religious reform movements in India.Prior to this period, the status of women was in an unpromising state.
- The idea of imparting education to women emerged in the British period.
- After the Bhakti Movement, the Christian Missionaries  took interest in the education of the girls.
- The Hunter Commission too emphasized on the need for female education in 1882.
- The Calcutta, Bombay and Madras institutions did not permit the admission of girls till 1875.
- It was only after 1882 that girls were allowed to go for higher education.
- Since then, there has been a continuous progress in the extend of education among females.
At the end of the Nineteenth Century women in India suffered from disabilities like:
- Child marriage,
- Practice of polygamy,
- Sale of girls for marriage purposes,
- Severe restrictions on widows,
- Non access to education
- Restricting oneself to domestic
- Childbearing functions.
Social Laws:
Several evil practices such as the practice of Sati, the Purdah system, child marriage, female infanticide, bride price and polygamy had made their life quite miserable. The place of women had come to be confined to the four walls of her home.
Child Marriage:
The practice of child marriage was another social stigma for the women. In November 1870, the Indian Reforms Association was started with the efforts of Keshav Chandra Sen. A journal called Mahapap Bal Vivah (Child marriage: The Cardinal Sin) was also launched with the efforts of B.M. Malabari to fight against child marriage. In 1846, the minimum marriageable age for a girl was only 10 years.
- In 1891, through the enactment of the Age of Consent Act, this was raised to 12 years.
- In 1930, through the Sharda Act, the minimum age was raised to 14 years.
Female Infanticide:
It was particularly in vogue in Rajputana, Punjab and the North Western Provinces.
- Colonel Todd, Johnson Duncan, Malcolm and other British administrators have discussed about this evil custom in detail
- Some laws were enacted against this practice in 1795, 1802 and 1804 and then in 1870. However, the practice could not be completely eradicated only through legal measures.
- Gradually, this evil practice came to be done away through education and public opinion.
Purdah System
The condition of women among the peasantry was relatively better in this respect. Purdah was not so much prevalent in Southern India.Voices were raised against the practice of Purdah during the 19th and 20th century.
- Through the large scale participation of women in the national freedom movement, the system disappeared without any specific legislative measure taken against it.
- Struggle against the Caste System and the related Legislation Next to the issue of women emancipation, the caste system became the second most important issue of social reforms.
- In fact, the system of caste had become the bane of Indian society.
Sati
The sati system was one of the worst systems that were practiced before the independence revolt in 1857. It is the system in which the girl used to die with her husband in case the husband dies before the girl.
- It was a social funeral practice among some Indian communities in which a recently widowed woman would immolate herself on her husbandâs funeral
- From about 1812, the Bengali reformer Raja Rammohan Roy started his own campaign against the practice.
- On 4 December 1829, the practice was formally banned in the Bengal Presidency lands, by the thenâągovernor general, William Bentick.
Womenâs Liberation Movement
Social movement: It is defined as an organized effort by a group of people, either to bring or resist change, in the society.
Objective:Â Womenâs movement is a variant of social movement & it aims to bring changes in the institutional arrangements, values, customs and beliefs in the society that have subjugated women over the years.
Origin:Â British rule led to spread of English education and western liberal ideology resulted in a number of movements for social change & religious reform in 19th C. Womenâs movement is linked to both social reform movements & the nationalist movement.
A) Social reform movements:
- Brahmo Samaj:Â It was founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1825 & attempted to abolish restrictions and prejudices against women, which included child marriage, polygamy, limited rights to inherit property. Education was seen as the major factor to improve the position of women.
- Civil Marriage Act, 1872 was passed, which permitted inter-caste marriage, legalized divorce and fixed 14 and 18 as the minimum age of marriage for girls and boys respectively
- Raja Ram Mohan Roy played an important role in getting Sati abolished
- Prarthana Samaj:Â It was founded by MG Ranade & RG Bhandarker in 1867. Its objectives were more or less similar to that of Brahmo samaj but remained confined to western India. Justice Ranade criticized child marriage, polygamy, restriction on remarriage of widows and non-access to education.
- Arya Samaj:Â It was founded by Dayanand Saraswati in Unlike the above two it was a religious revivalist movement. It advocated reform in the caste system, compulsory education for men and women, prohibition of child marriage by law, remarriage of child widows. It was opposed to divorce & widow remarriage in general.
- Social reformers mentioned above eulogized the position of women in ancient India. However radicals like Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Jyotibha Phule and Lokhitwadi Gopal Hari Deshmukh accused the caste system responsible for the subjugation of women in society.
- Similar movements began in Islamic community as well. Begum of Bhopal, Syed Ahmad Khan & Sheikh Abdullah in Aligarh and Karmat Hussain in Lucknow spearheaded a movement to improve womenâs education.
B)Â Â Freedom Movement:
âWomen is the companion of man gifted with equal mental capacitiesâ -Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhiji took interest in collective mobilization of women to fight for political freedom as well as for their social and political rights. He felt that women were most suited for Satyagraha as they have great qualities appropriate for nonviolent struggle.
Women participated in the freedom movement because they were inspired by patriotism and wanted to see the end of foreign rule. It is debatable as to how far this participation liberated them. While women who picketed shops, marched in processions or went to jail or threw bombs did not question male leadership or patriarchal values, it did generate in them a sense of self-confidence and a realization of their own strength. The first woman to participate in the nationalist movement during salt march was Sarojini Naidu who later became the first woman president of the Congress.
Womenâs participation in the national movement helped in breaking several of the old barriers of tradition and custom. Womenâs organization side by side raised their voices for removal of social injustice meted to them, which resulted in passing of the resolution on Fundamental Right of equal rights for both the sexes at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress in 1930.
Legislative Acts
Parliament from time to time has passed several legislations to empower women & to provide them a legal basis in their fight for equality & justice. Some of them are:
- Sati (Prevention) Act 1987Â â The practice of Sati which was first abolished in 1829, was revised and made illegal in 1887. It provided for a more effective prevention of the commission of sati and its glorification and for matters connected therewith.
- Amendment to criminal Act 1983â This Act talks about domestic violence as an offence, rape is also made a punishable offence.
- Special Marriage Act 1954-Â It has been amended to fix the minimum age of marriage at 21 yrs for males & 18 yrs for females.
- Hindu Succession Act 1956â Equal share to daughter from property of father, while a widow has the right to inherit husbandâs property. An amendment in this Act in 2005 enabled daughters to have equal share in ancestral properties.
- Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA), 1986â Suppression of Immoral Trafficking in women and girls Act (SITA) 1956 was amended in 1986 & renamed ITPA. SITA was enacted to prohibit or abolish traffic in women and girls for purposes of It was amended to cover both the sexes & provided enhanced penalties for offenses involving minors. However the system has failed to crack the mafia working both at interstate and international levels.
- Dowry Prohibition Act 1961â Now court is empowered to act in his own knowledge or on a complaint by any recognized welfare organization on dowry Indian Evidence Act is also amended to shift the burden of proof to husband & his family where bride dies within 7 yrs of marriage.
- Maternity benefit Act 1961â An Act to regulate the employment of women for certain period before and after childbirth and to provide for maternity benefits like paid leaves for 6 months.
- Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971â Legalize abortion in case if fetus is suffering from physical or mental abnormality, in case of rape & unwanted pregnancy within 12 weeks of gestation period & after 12th week, before 20th week if the pregnancy is harmful for the mother or the child born would be severely deformed.
- Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986â This Act prohibits indecent representation of women through advertisements or in publications, writings, paintings, and figures or in any other manner and for matters connected therewith.
- Domestic Violence Act 2005-Â It seeks to determine domestic violence in all forms against women & make it a punishable offence.
- Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013Â â In the backdrop of Dec 16 gang rape, this Act was passed amending the CrPC. The new law has provisions for increased sentence for rape convicts, including life- term and death sentence, besides providing for stringent punishment for offences such as acid attacks, stalking and Through the revised Bill, the government has amended various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Indian Evidence Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Constitutional Provisions for Women in our Constitution
- Article 14Â â Men and women to have equal rights and opportunities in the political, economic and social spheres.
- Article 15(1)Â â Prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex etc.
- Article 15(3)- Special provision enabling the State to make affirmative discriminations in favor of women.
- Article 16â Equality of opportunities in matter of public appointments for all citizens.
- Article 23â Bans trafficking in human and forced labor
- Article 39(a)-Â The State shall direct its policy towards securing all citizens men and women, equally, the right to means of livelihood.
- Article 39(d)-Â Equal pay for equal work for both men and women.
- Article 42â The State to make provision for ensuring just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
- Article 51 (A)(e)-Â To renounce the practices derogatory to the dignity of women
- Article 300 (A)-Â Right of property to women
- 73rd and 74th Amendment Act 1992-Â Reservation 1/3rd of seats in local bodies of panchayats and municipalities for women.
Though at the time of our independence our constitution guaranteed social, economic & political equality, rights & protection to the Indian women however in reality we have still not been able to provide their due status in the society which has had led to the resurgence of issue based movements earlier in 1970s & has gained momentum again recently like anti dowry movement, anti-rape movements etc.
Indicators of Womenâs Status in India
There are different forms of violence on women, which act as threats to womenâs independent identity and dignity. Forms of violence are:
- Female foeticide & infanticideâ According to a survey by British medical journal, Lancet, nearly 10 million female abortions have taken place in India in the last 20 years, which is rampant amongst the educated Indian middle class as well. There are organizations like Swanchetan, which are working towards educating & bringing awareness in people against the ghastly act.
- Rape, sexual harassment & abuseâ It acts as a deterrent to womenâs freedom & perpetuates the notion that women are the weaker sex. Every 2 hours, a rape occurs somewhere in India! The recent Dec. 16 Delhi Gang rape case, shook the entire country and led to protests all across the country, setting up of Justice Verma panel & helped in the fast track judgment of the case. However rampant cases of rape of Dalit women, acid attacks, eve teasing go unnoticed.
- Domestic violence and dowry deathsâ Violence on women in the family were considered family problems and were never acknowledged as âcrimes against womenâ until recently. It is prevalent in all classes of
- Prostitution-Â A large number of women destitute or victims of rape who are disowned by family fall prey to prostitution forcibly. There are no governmental programs to alleviate the problem of society.
- Objectification of womenâ Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 prohibits indecent representation of women through advertisements or in publications, writings, paintings etc. However a whole lot of indecent representation of women is done through literature, media, paintings etc upholding the âright to freedom of expressionâ.
Demographic Profile of Women in India
As per World economic forum survey, Indiaâs Global Gender Gap Index 2011 ranking is 113 out of 134 countries with neighbours like Bangladesh at 69 & China at 60.
- Sex Ratio âSex ratio is used to describe the number of females per 1000 of males. As per census 2011 sex ratio for India is 940 females per 1000 of males, e. females form a meager 47% of the total population. The State of Haryana has the lowest sex ratio in India and the figure shows a number of 877 of females to that of 1000 males while Kerala has the highest of 1084 females per 1000 males
- Health â Studies on hospital admissions and records have shown that males get more medical care compared to girls. 2% of the female population is absolute anaemic. 12% of the female population of the country suffers from repeated pregnancy (80% of their productive life is spent in pregnancy) & lack of nutrition.
- Literacy â The female literacy levels according to the Literacy Rate 2011 census are 65.46% where the male literacy rate is over 80%. While Kerala has the highest female literacy rate of 100% , Bihar is at the lowest with only 46.40%
- Employment â Of the total female population 21.9% are a part of Indian workforce. Majority of women are employed in the rural areas and in agriculture. Amongst rural women workers 87% are employed in agriculture as laborers, cultivators, self-employed
like hawkers etc i.e in the unorganized sector which almost always remains invisible. Despite the equal remuneration Act 1976, women are paid lower wages, occupy lower skilled jobs, have less access to skill training and promotion.
- Political status â Though India had a women Prime Minister Late Ms Indira Gandhi, women are not fairly represented in the Parliament & other State & Local bodies. With only around 9 per cent women in upper house and around 11 per cent in the lower house of parliament, India ranks 99th in the world in terms of female representation among However 73rd & 74th amendments to the constitution have ensured the participation of women in PRIs with a reservation of 1/3rd for women. Today more than 30 million women are actively participating in the political decision-making process at the grass root.
Factors affecting Womenâs Work Participation
âWithout economic freedom other aspects of women equality would not be realizedâ â Jawaharlal Nehru
Womenâs work participation rate in general has been declining over the decades. The decline has occurred due to several factors:
- Absence of comprehensive and rational policy for womenâs emancipation through education, training and access to resources such as land, credit and technology etc.
- The perception of male as the breadwinner of the family despite the fact that in low income households womenâs income is crucial for sustenance. This perception adversely affects womenâs education & Employers also visualize women workers as supplementary workers & also cash in on this perception to achieve their capitalistic motives by keeping the wage low for women.
- Structural changes in the economy e.g decline in traditional rural industries or industrialization.
- Lack of assets (land, house) in their own name in order to have access to credit and self- employment opportunities
- Huge demand of time and energy of women for various tasks at home like child bearing and rearing etc in addition to participation in labour force leave them with little time for education, training and self-development
- Division of labour based on the gender between men and women & technological advancements work against women. They are the last to be hired and first to be sacked.
- programs to increase employment and productivity are focused more on men & women are seen as beneficiaries rather than active participants
Womenâs Organizations
Due to womenâs movement several legislations were passed like Equal Remuneration Act, Minimum Wage Act, and Maternity Benefit Act etc. to ensure equal status to women in society & more importantly at work. However illiteracy amongst the major women workforce (87% of women are employed in unorganized sector), fear of losing employment & lack of awareness of the laws enacted to protect them, make it difficult for women to benefit from them.
A few organizations are working to give voice to the women workers for improvement in their working conditions:
- Self-Employed Womenâs Association (SEWA)-Â SEWA is a trade union. It is an organization of poor, self- employed women workers in the unorganized sector of the country. They are the unprotected labour force as they do not obtain benefits like the workers of organized sector. SEWAâs main goals are to organize women workers for full employment.
- Working Womenâs Forum (WWF)-Â The forum is committed to poverty reduction and strengthening of economic, social and cultural status of poor working women, through micro-credit, training, social mobilization and other interventions to poor .
- Annapurna Mahila Mandal (AMM)-Â It works for welfare of women and the girl child. It conducts various activities that include educating women on health, nutrition, mother and childcare, family planning, literacy and environmental sanitation. It works for the empowerment of women and enables them to take their own decisions and fight for security and rights. The organization also promotes individual and group leadership.
Government Response
- Committees on the status of women in India (CSWI) â This was set up in a response to United Nationâs general assembly Declaration of Elimination of Discrimination Against Women 1967. It submitted its report in 1974, which stressed the fact that poor are not a homogenous group & highlighted the unequal burden of poverty on women.
- Draft National Plan of Action for Womenâ GoI has drawn up a national plan based on CSWI report. The plan accords priority to the need of concrete action in the areas of education, health, welfare and employment with special reference to weaker section of society especially women.
- It was only in 1980s that women were recognized as a separate group and a separate chapter viz âWomen and Developmentâ was included in the 6th Plan Document (1980-1985) for the first time. Then subsequently it was included in the 5 year plans to ensure that fruits of development & benefits of Govt. programs do reach women.
- National Commission for women 1991Â â The National Commission for Women was set up as statutory body in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 to:
- Protect and promote the interest and safeguard the right of women.
- Study all matters related to constitutional and legal safeguards provided for women, to review existing legislation & suggest amendments if necessary.
- Look into the complaints and take notice of the cases involving deprivation of women & provide support legal or otherwise to helpless and needy women.
- It recommended the Govt. to play an active role by incorporating a component of organizing in all schemes, project etc for the poor, to promote organization of women at a broader level.
- National Institute of Public Cooperation and child Development-Â NIPCCD, New Delhi is an autonomous organization under the aegis of Department of women and child development. Its objective is to :
- Develop and promote voluntary action in social development through training & capacity building of Govt. and Non-Govt. functionaries
- Take a comprehensive view of women and child development & develop and promote programs in pursuance of national policy of children.
- Develop measures for coordination of governmental and voluntary action in social development.
Women Empowerment Programs / Schemes by GoI
For empowering the women, various program have been initiated by GoI as below:
- Gender Budgetingâ This concept was first introduced in Australia in mid 1980s & India incorporated this in its budget since 2005-06.
- It is not an accounting exercise but an ongoing process of keeping a gender perspective in policy/ program formulation, its implementation and GB involves dissection of the Government budgets to establish its gender differential impacts and to ensure that gender commitments are translated in to budgetary commitments.
- Nirbhaya fund- In a tribute to the recent Delhi gang-rape victim of Dec 2012, government in the union budget 2013-14,announced setting up of a âNirbhaya Fundâ of Rs 1,000 crore for safety and empowerment of women.
- An all-women bank was also proposed to be set up by October, 2013 with an initial capital of Rs 1,000 crore for the purpose to facilitate women empowerment
- Working Women Hostelâ The objective of the scheme is to promote availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women, with day care facility for their children, in urban, semi urban, or even rural areas where employment opportunity for women exist.
- Support to training cum employment for women (STEP)-Â Ministry of Women and child development launched this program in the year 1986, for training and employment for women below poverty line in traditional sectors like agriculture, small animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries etc where women are employed on a large scale. Its basic aim is to upgrade skills of women for self and wage employment.
- Swayamsidhaâ It is an integrated program, seeks to empower women through awareness generation, achievement of economic independence through micro-level income-generating activities and by establishing convergence of various services such as literacy, health, rural development etc. It also aims at organizing women into Self-Help Groups, developing access to micro credit.
- Swa Shakti â This project aims at establishment of more than 16000 self-reliant women SHGs(Self Help Groups) having 15-20 members each & thereby enhance womenâs access to and control over resources for betterment of their lives. Also to sensitise and strengthen the institutional capacity of support agencies to pro-actively address womenâs need.
- Rashtriya Mahila Kosh â It is a national level mechanism to meet the micro credit needs of the poor and asset-less women in the Informal Sector. From inception in 1993 till February 2001, total credit worth Rs. 100 crore was sanctioned to benefit more than 400,000 women through 827 NGOs spread over the country. RMK has a very good recovery rate of 90 to 95 per per cent.
- Swadhar-Â This scheme aims to provide basic necessities to marginalised women and girls who are living in difficult circumstances without any economic or social support. Under this scheme women are provided with emotional support and The target group is mainly women who are victim of violence or survivors of natural disaster, trafficked women, and women without no families.
