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| Kudumbashree - 7 |
Woman-power in Power
“Had it not been for Kudumbashree, I would not be where I am now,”says Ms. P. K. Jayalakshmi, the only woman minister in the UDF lead State government and MLA from Mananthavadi.
Ms. Jayalakshmi, who belongs to a Scheduled tribe, was born in the ancient Kurichya family Palot in Kattimula, Valat. At the age of twenty she stepped into Kudumbashree by organizing twenty tribal women of that locality and marked the beginning of a unit there. It was in 2000. It was as the secretary of the unit called ‘Bhagyashree’ that she, a minister today, began her life of social activities. Later Bhagyashree was selected as the best Kudumbashree unit of Thavinjal Panchayath. For five years Jayalakshmi worked actively in the Kudumbashree unit.
Later Jayalakshmi became a representative of the people and today she is giving a shining performance as the minister for Youth Welfare. “Kudumbashree is a saga of victory. I am proud of having been a member of Kudumbashree which has played the main role in our state’s march towards progress. It did create a wave of development in the villages. This great movement which has become a model for the whole nation is also a parallel developmental system in the state. Kudumbashree is growing so fast, thanks to the great support and the encouragement of the state government and the three-tier Panchayath system.
Thousands have crossed the threshold of power by converting the great support Kudumbashree gave into great strength and Ms. Jayalaksmi is just one among them.
Not six, but six thousand they are!
Another revolution Kudumbashree has made is that many women who proved their strength in the shade of fellowship entered the corridors of power.
Today about six thousand of the elected women representatives of people are the members of Kudumbashree. This comes to more than half of the total women representatives. In the 2010 election to the local governing bodies 11,773 Kudumbashree members contested and 5485 won. Many of them are making excellent performances in various capacities including that of the President.
It was no mere turn of luck. Hard work blended with regular and systematic Kudumbashree activities had emancipated them from poverty. At the very beginning itself they had attained the integrity to achieve what they wanted. The positive qualities of integrity and the one community feeling which they had grown at the NHG-ADS-CDS levels led them to efficient leadership and from there to seats of power. Reservation for women also paved the way to power for those who had learnt to shed their stage-fright and the courage to face the public and respond to situations.
Valsala Sebastian the CDS Chairperson in Alappuzha where the first form of Kudumbashree was experimented left Neighbourhood Group as the elected municipal counselor. Many came as her successors.
Active Participation - the Secret of Success
CDS Chairperson of Edakkattuvayal, where four of the five Panchayath members are from Kudumbashree, Ramani Ayyappan revealed the secret of success: Success is not something so difficult for an active CDS member. Such members will be active in the Employment Guarantee Scheme and other welfare schemes. People will be ready to vote for those who are always in contact with them and help them get all kinds of government aids. Women can make interpersonal linkages inside and outside their groups.
She adds that it is quite natural for those who achieve success through hard work to win people’s love and respect. This also may be one of the winning factor.
A Star From the Railway Track
Susy (name not real) was standing near the rail track when the workers of the Employment Guarantee scheme came to clean up a local area. She was waiting to jump before the next train and commit suicide; the problems of life had made her so desperate. Those workers brought her back to life and made her a member of the NHG. Susy marched ahead with those who inspired her with courage to overcome the problems of life and ultimately became the CDS Chairperson.
The success of life is not just in getting the seat of power. For the majority of the lakhs of Kudumbashree members the sweet success of life is to live well. With the help of Kudumbashree which promotes self help and mutual help, success comes easily.
The story of Susy is not just an isolated instance. The tear-soaked life experiences of the twenty lakh Kudumbashree members were collected in writing by the organisation. From this a lakh was selected and published in 1072 collections. To read them is to taste the salt of tears because they are the true stories of women from the rock bottom of the society.
Those Who Learned to Fish
“Give a fishing-rod to the hungry, not a fish”, says a Chinese proverb. This is exactly what Kudumbashree does.
The style of functioning of Kudumbashree is three-level empowerment. The proclaimed objective is the economic and social and women empowerment. Kudumbashree has built itself on three pillars of self-sustenance – micro finance, entrepreneurship and empowerment. Its social security schemes were aiming at means of living for, and economic well-being of women and their families.
As far as the poor are concerned the first step in empowerment is the eradication of starvation. The unemployment of those who are capable of working is one of the root causes of poverty. So the first war-strategy was to make a direct attack on unemployment and poverty. Those means of living that could deal with crucial problems like poverty were acceptable to women as the ventures were familiar and based on the indigenousness, tradition and values of the country. Through these micro enterprises the women earned a substantial income to overcome poverty.
The training centers were the ‘Neighbourhood Groups’, the basic units of Kudumbashree. The confidence, finance and subsidies including the instructions and training for the ventures inspired women to come forward with courage. Those steps were towards financial self-reliance. The joint responsibility of the members brought success. Thus the social foundation of steady development was expanding.
An amount of Rs.6500 crores has so far been distributed to the members as loans through this movement which led poor women to better living conditions. The small savings fund which the members brought has grown into a grand thrift fund of 1500 crores, which is treated as members’ own bank.
In the current financial year Kudumbashree aims at loans to the tune of 1200 crores through a 100 percent bank linkage. This is just the bank loan for the ventures for which the members invest.
The Changed Agendas
In Kudumbashree the community based organizations are created under the leadership of Local Self Government. The Kudumbashree CBOs are seamlessly integrated with Panchayath Raj System and the strength of Kudumbashree is the support of Panchayaths. The activities of Kudumbashree made a total change in the agenda of the Panchayaths. Today the situation is that Panchayaths cannot help standing without Kudumbashree for development.
The village sabhas (assemblies), the basic unit of Panchayath System are active now because of the presence of Kudumbashree women. These women have learnt to say aloud what the poor need. When that collective voice got the needs approved the result was the local development.
Woman-power, never going down
If the Kudumbashree projects, micro-projects and group-farming helped in the economic and social empowerment of women and their families, the good result emerging out of it was women empowerment. Kudumbashree adopted a style of functioning which took into consideration the social condition of women in every area - work, health, environment, education, power and freedom of travel. This was a process of empowerment based on rights. Kudumbashree proved that proper training, knowledge and opportunity will enable women to do any work.
A mission which Kudumbashree has begun, a special gender self learning programme, is to help women recognize her identity and to gain her own space in society. ‘Nirbhaya’ movement executed by the Social Welfare Ministry, which aims at protecting women and children from harassments and abuses as well as creating a general awareness among the public goes ahead in co-operation with Kudumbashree. Under this scheme a crime-mapping is done all throughout the state. In the first phase, in co-operation with Kudumbashree a project named Women Friendly Village is tried in 77 panchayaths.
Snehitha Gender Help Desk is a new Kudumbashree arrangement to help and provide temporary protection to women and children who become victims of attack and abuse. Snehitha centres are at work in Thirvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Malappuram districts. There is also a complaint box system called ‘Koottukari’ (Friend). A platform for women to participate in active discussions on various issues, is provided in the form of Shreesakthi online Portal; there is also a community theatre for cultural activities in every CDS.
K. B. Valsala Kumary, the Executive Director says that the great success of Kudumbashree is that it has been able to create a large section of women who have attained knowledge and gained confidence. Those who have been the victims of the physical violence of their alcoholic husbands have today earned even the respect of those very men. She also points out that it is the ‘Neighbourhood Groups’ and their small saving schemes which have ousted the ruthless moneylenders from villages.
Active in the Area of Voluntary Service also
Kudumbashree as a mission is gaining momentum in its role as a social service organization also. It is active in the area of working for social justice with such movements as Ashraya – the destitute identification, rehabilitation and monitoring project, Buds Special Schools for mentally challenged children, Balasabha, and Gender Corner to ensure gender justice. Surely, the tenderness of motherly minds imparts strength to the Charity Movements.
Kudumbashree has become the meeting ground of women who mark their space in the development map of Kerala. This mission is growing, having won a number of national and international awards to embellish its success.
THE END
Golden Feathers of Recognition
Kudumbashree which has created new models of success in the areas of poverty eradication, women empowerment, secure means of living, and social security is today the largest women and social empowerment movement in India which had membership strength of over 39 lakhs. It has proved that changes can be made and most importantly women became change agents.
It is Kudumbashree in which the Central government found the model for Ajeevika, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). An expert committee headed by former Union Minister Mr. Mani Shankar Iyer in a report submitted some months ago recommended Kudumbashree as the model for the empowerment of three tier Panchayath system in the country.
The Central Government has approved Kudmbashree as the Model Resource Organisation for development schemes. Announcing this, Mr. Jayaram Ramesh, the Union Minister for Rural Development made it clear that this was to make other states avail of the knowledge of experience and technical perfection of Kudumbashree. Following this the representatives from Rajasthan, Delhi and Gujarath came to Kerala to study about the functioning of Kudumbashree.
Including the latest HUDCO National award for providing an excellent model for improving living standards, Kudumbashree has won more than a dozen National and International Awards.
From Neighbourhood Groups to CDS
(The total number of Kudumbashree members)
| District |
CDS |
ADS |
Neighbourhood Groups |
Members |
| Alapuzha |
79 |
1371 |
19203 |
302453 |
| Ernakulam |
101 |
1809 |
20062 |
314524 |
| Idukki |
53 |
822 |
11827 |
161770 |
| Kannur |
87 |
1683 |
18355 |
304394 |
| Kasargod |
42 |
825 |
9717 |
166469 |
| Kollam |
75 |
1430 |
20141 |
280136 |
| Kottayam |
78 |
1321 |
15019 |
231682 |
| Kozhikode |
84 |
1551 |
26293 |
455461 |
| Malappuram |
110 |
2325 |
24143 |
406217 |
| Palaklad |
96 |
1743 |
20384 |
291585 |
| Pathanamthitta |
58 |
914 |
9368 |
147653 |
| Thiruvananthapuram |
83 |
1593 |
28287 |
445429 |
| Thrissur |
100 |
2018 |
22090 |
346132 |
| Wayanad |
26 |
482 |
8939 |
112525 |
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| Total |
CDS=1072 |
ADS=19892 |
Neighbourhood Groups=253828 |
Members=3966430 |
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