MAHILA SAMAKHYA
EDUCATION FOR WOMEN'S EQUALITY
 

FORWARD

Provision of educational opportunities for women have been an important part of the national endeavour in the field of education since independence. Though these endeavours did yield significant results, gender disparities persist with uncompromising tenacity, more so in rural areas and among disadvantaged Communities.

The National Policy on Education (NPE, 1986) as revised in 1992 was a landmark in the field of policy on women's education in that It recognised the need to redress traditional gender inbalances in educational access and achievement. The NPE also recognised that enhancing infrastructure along will not redress the problem. New guidelines for policy makers and educationists were charted :-

Education will be used as an agent of basic change in the status of women In order to neutralise the accumulated distortions of the past, there will be a well conceived edge in favour of women...... This will be an act of faith and social engineering..... The removal of women's illiteracy and obstacles Inhibiting their access to, and retention in elementary education will receive overriding priority, through provision of special support services setting time targets and effective monitoring.... (Chapter IV, Page 6, Paragraph 4.2 and 4.3; NPE- 1986, Government of India).

The Programme of Action (POA, 1992) which translates the above guidelines into an action strategy, in the section "Education for Women's Equality (Chapter-XII, pages-105-107), focuses on empowerment of women as the critical precondition for their participation in the education process.

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The Mahila Samakhya Project was initiated in 1987-89 to translate the goals of NPE and POA into a concrete programme for the education and empowerment of women in rural areas, particularly of women from socially and economically marginalised groups.

Mahila Samakhya (Education for Women's Equality) was launched in Karnataka, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh in 1989 with Dutch assistance. The project was extended to Andhra Pradesh at the end of 1992. By 1996 the project was being implemented in 2574 villages of 16 districts in the four States.

The Mahila Samakhya programme is also being implemented in 2252 villages in UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. In U.P., under the UP Basic Education Project six districts are covered by Mahila Samakhya. In Bihar, Mahila Samakhya, which is an integral part of the Bihar Education Project, is being implemented in seven districts. In Madhya Pradesh and Assam MS programmes have been set up and are funded by the District Primary Education Programme and are working in three districts each respectively.

EXPERIENCE OF THE PROGRAMME

A critical focus in MS is recognising the centrality of education in empowering women to achieve equality. To move towards this objective, MS has adopted an innovative approach which emphasises the process rather than mere fulfilment of targets. It seeks to bring about a change in women's perceptions about themselves and the perception of society in regard to women's "traditional roles".

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Education in MS is understood not merely as acquiring basic literacy skills but as a process of learning to question, critically analyse issues and problems and seek solutions. It endeavours to create an environment for women to learn at their own pace, set their own priorities and seek knowledge and information to make informed choices. This essentially involves enabling women, especially from socially and economically disadvantaged and marginalised groups, to address and deal with problems of isolation and lack of self confidence, oppressive social customs, struggles for survival, all of which inhibit their learning. It is in this process that women become empowered.

The experience of the programme over the past seven years, in different regional contexts, has validated the MS approach as an effective means to mobilise and organise women, and in enabling them to take charge of their lives. This has resulted in many other sectoral programmes seeking to link with MS or adopt/adapt MS strategies.

A foundation for empowerment at the grassroots level has been laid with the organisation of cohesive mahila sanghas (women's collectives", though different in form and size, but which are committed to collective action to address their own issues.

Sanghas in all the States have taken initiatives to address issues/problems ranging from:

- meeting daily minimum needs

- improving civic amenities

- gaining control over their health

- actively accessing and controlling resources

- ensuring educational opportunities for their children especially girls

- entering the political sphere

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-to articulating their concerns and tackling social issues like violence against women, child Marriage

- seeking and obtaining literacy and numeracy skills for themselves

The outcomes of this empowering educational process of enabling women to question, conceptualise, seek answers and to collectively act to redress problems have been many :-

- a demand for literacy has been generated

- recognition and visibility within the family, community and block levels has increased -- leadership qualities have been developed and a cadre of village level organisers and activists are emerging

- the strength and ability to demand accountability of government delivery systems has been demonstrated

- participation in Panchayati Raj bodies has increased

- and an awareness of the need to struggle for a gender just society is being strengthened.

OBJECTIVES:

i) To enhance the self-image and self-confidence of women and thereby enabling them to recognize their contribution to the economy as producers and workers, reinforcing their need for participating in educational programmes.

ii) To create an environment where women can seek knowledge and information and thereby empower them to play a positive role in their own development and development of society.

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iii) To establish a decentralized and participative mode of management, with the decision making powers developed to the district level and to Mahila Sangha which in turn will provide the necessary conditions for effective participation.

iv) To enable Mahila Sangha to actively assist and monitor educational activities in the villages - including the primary school, AE, NFE Centres and facilities for continuing education.

v) To provide women and adolescent girls with the necessary support structure and in informal learning environment to create opportunities for education.

vi) To set in motion circumstances for larger participation of women and girls in formal and non- formal education programmes, and to create an environments in which education can serve the objectives of women's equality.

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BASIC PHILOSOPHY AND PRINCIPLES OF MS

As the project is steered towards its objectives, guidance will be sought from certain inviolable principles which must be followed at all stages of implementation.

1. All processes and activities within the programme must be based on respect for women's existing knowledge, experience and skills.

2. Every component and activity within the project must create an environment for learning, help women to experience and affirm their strengths, create time and space for reflection and respect individual uniqueness and variation.

3. Women and women's groups at the village level set the pace, priorities, form and content of all project activities.

4. Planning, decision making and evaluation processes, as well as all levels of personnel must remain accountable to the collective at the village level.

5. All project structures and personnel play facilitative and supportive, rather than directive roles.

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6. A participatory selection process is followed to ensure that project functionaries at all levels are committed to working among poor women and are free from caste/community prejudices.

7. Management structures must be decentralised, with participative decision making and devolution of powers and responsibilities to District, Block and village levels.

PROJECT COMPONENTS

THE SANGHA

Mahila Sangha is the nodal point of Mahila Samakhya and all activities are planned around the Sangha. The Mahila Sanga will provide the space where women can meet, be together, and begin the process of reflecting, asking questions, speaking fearlessly, thinking, analyzing and above all feeling confident to articulate their needs through this collective action. Where possible, they can try and seek solutions to their problems such as fuel, fodder, drinking water - by initiating action and interacting with the block and district administration.

A group of two or more women, called Sakhi or Sahayaki are trained to work as catalysts who facilitate the formation of the Sangha. The funds earmarked for the Sangha can be deposited in a saving bank/post office account in the name of the Mahila Sangha to be used collectively by women for upto three years. In the initial phase, a small honorarium may be paid to the catalysts - i.e., Sakhis. A decision as to whether to pay an honorarium or not is taken by the Executive Committee of the State Mahila Samakhya Society.

Funds for educational activities, creative Early Childhood Care and Education Centres for children and support services, where necessary, can be

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channelled through the Mahila Sangha. This would ensure direct accountability of these activities to the women members and would encourage women to monitor and take an active interest.

The long-term vision of MS envisages the development of strong, vibrant sanghas with a capacity for autonomous functioning. In such areas, the programme will no longer be directly involved and needs to phase out.

THE SAHAYOGINI

A sahayogini is the motivator, supporter, and guide for ten villages. The initial catalytic function of mobilising and organising women into sanghas, is done by the sahayoginis. She is the key link between the 10 villages and the support structure educational institutions set up at the district level.

As the sahayogini herself gains experience, her contribution to programme planning and implementation, training and coordination of activities with the district unit are more significant

EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS

MS addresses itself to enabling a greater access to education, generating a demand for education and to build capacities and strengthen women's abilities to effectively participate in village level educational processes. The Mahila Sanghas will be helped by the programme to secure primary education for children especially girls; to be active members in village education committees, PTCs/MTCs and, to take the lead in ensuring a better and responsive educational environment and opportunity at the village level.

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MS will facilitate the effective accessing of educational facilities; forge links between teachers (particularly women teachers) and the mahila sanghas; provide specialised inputs for vocational and skill development where necessary and address itself especially to the educational needs of girls, adolescents in particular.

Innovative educational interventions are encouraged to enable women and communities to become equal partners and take charge of educational processes. At the same time, MS endeavours to develop a gender sensitive pedagogy and learning materials, and other educational processes which could impact mainstream educational practice.

Mahila Shikshana Kendras have been designed to create a pool of aware, educated and trained women who could play an effective role in development and educational activities at the village level. These Kendras will provide condensed quality and gender sensitive education to adolescent girls who have never gone to school, school drop-outs, and adult women.

SUPPORT AND CONVERGENT SERVICES

Mahila Samakhya as a programme is not involved in the delivery of services and resources. As the mahila sanghas seek alternatives and solutions to problems of access to services and resources, the Programme assists and enables the mahila sanghas to effectively access, harness and utilise resources available at village, block and district levels, specially government sponsored programmes for women like DWCRA, ICDS, MSY, IMY, RMK including other programmes, coordinated by Departments of Education, Rural Development, Health and Women and Child Development.

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To sustain such access, a functional convergence at village level will be facilitated by forging links between Mahila Sanghas and government grass root level women workers, other development programmes, and women's groups.

TRAINING

Training provides the crucial vehicle for taking forward the MS processes, and for building and strengthening the values and vision of the programme.

Training in MS is viewed as an ongoing activity rather than as a series of one-time events. Each training programme, either for the project functionaries or sangha women, is itself a microcosm of the philosophy of the project. Traditional divides between trainer and learner are systematically broken down, both engaging in a learning process. Training is experimental and the starting point Is an acknowledgement of the experiences, strengths and potential of each individual. Experiences and insights gained in the implementation process feed back into subsequent training.

In the environment of mutual support and trust created in the training interactions, women learn to take decisions, assume leadership and evolve collective strategies to change their own destinies.

Training is done at several levels; to develop a gender perspective, sharpen the conceptual understanding of the programme philosophy and strategies, develop a critical faculty to respond flexibly to sangha needs, enhance specific skills like communication and process documentation. It is also done to develop specialised understanding in sectors like health, resource management, legal literacy, appropriate technology and non-traditional skills among many others.

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As the programme has gained in strength and experience, a pool of trainers and resource persons have emerged from within the programme. The involvement of MS personnel as trainers to other programmes has become a vehicle for dissemination of the MS perspective, strategies and resource support for other sectors.