FOCUS
Indian women
&
International Women’s Day
Come 8th March, suddenly women all over the world take centre stage. Passing show continues year after year, same speeches, same rallies by girl students and same spectacle of honouring some ladies, The IWD comes at the day break on 8th March and curtains are wrung before 12 midnight. So its just another day, and its business as usual the next morning.
Despite being just any day, such days, when it comes to public domain as IWD, they do leave a bit of its imprints and somewhere along the line make a small difference in the otherwise moribund thinking of both men and women. These symbolic days, when properly and meaningfully observed make us realise, how much the world has travelled in empowering the lady as a mother, as a daughter, as a sister and as a wife. Every role a woman plays has its own significance.
Not withstanding all those traditional role a women dones, what really should concern all those who are interested in the welfare or the good of women, is the true empowerment.
How does the empowerment comes? Looking back over the 64 years of past independent India, in the evolution of girl child into adolescent and adulthood and then to womanhood, how has she evolved in free India?
History of Modern India informs, in 1947 Sarojini Naidu became first woman governor of Uttar Pradesh. 1947 was the year the nation became politically independent from its colonial masters. So, women have been at the forefront of recognition. Following her was Vijaylaxmi Pandit, who became India's 1st lady Ambassador to Russia. But both these ladies were already very prominent people. Sarojini Naidu, was a highly educated person and was associated with Mahatma Gandhi in freedom struggle, was elected president of Indian National Congress in 1925 itself. And Ms. Pandit was the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru. Thus in an evolving free India, those who were born good, did better, but those who were not born with silver spoon, how have they done in our mother India is an ever ringing question.
Of course, during all its 64 years, those who managed to get educated, especially from the middle class, did scale up the ladder of progress, both economic and social. In 1949, a lady from Coorg, Chonira Belliappa Muthamma became the first IFS woman diplomat, similarly in 1957, Anna George became the 1st lady IAS of free India. In 1972, Kiran Bedi became first woman IPS officer.
Thus, there have been instances of women doing very well. Its truly a long list. They have indeed made India very proud.
While it is true that a section of our women did scale upwardly mobile, because of the opportunities that came their way, vast majority of women are still in the margins of 'India Shining'. They can only see the 'Shining India' without really experiencing it, and there is a huge section out there.
What is also unfortunate is that, these well placed women who have done well, enjoying the growth trajectory and making better use of it, have done little to promote the welfare of those of their less fortunate sisters, with a miniscule exception.
A run-through the list of names of political and corporate who’s-who, would inform that these women are doing exceedingly well in an India, where vast majority of women are either doing manial work or working in areas of socio-economic empowerment without any recognition and appropriate compensation. Thus are cheated of developmental fruits.
Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), which employ over 100,000 women-both as Anganwadi workers and their helpers, has been a fairly success story. It was started to address the malnutrition among infants and their lactating mothers from the poorer sections of our society. A comprehensive study carried out for three decades of ICDS programme up to 2008, has thrown up interesting data, which shall require to be taken up and implemented. The programme provides a package of services comprising supplementary nutrition, immunisation, preschool education, health check-ups, nutrition and health education and referral services to children below six years of age, besides expectant and nursing mothers.
ICDS organisation structure has 8 levels above Anganwadi workers (AWW). Of these 8 levels, three levels are before AWWs-Supervisor, Astt. CDPO and CDPO-are directly connected with ICDS. CDPO is the acronym for Child Development Project Officer. But it is AWWs who are the real life line of this whole programme. Without them, ICDS will simply collapse. Yet how does the governments-both in States and Centre-look after these AWWs is a question of monumental failure and injustice.
The 8 levels starting from Minister up to Supervisor – are all looked after well by the government. They are all on government pay rolls as per their scale. They enjoy all that their employment offers without the responsibility of ground level management and action. It is the systematic exploitation of powerless by the organised men and women of the country. While those in the governmental system enjoy the salaries and perks, these AWWs and their helpers were started with some Rs. 175/- for AWWs and less than that for their helpers way back in 1975, as honorarium per month. The bureaucracy in its selfishness to protect their turf appointed them as honorary workers. Honorary workers shall entitle no benefits, that's the catch. Unemployed women, in both urban and rural area’s, accepted these terms without choice. But our ‘welfare oriented’ governments exploited these over 100,000 women for all these years. It was in 2010 that a section of these workers had Rs: 1750/- as their honorariums and Rs: 1000/- for helpers. Believe it or not, it took 32 years to reach there. But some of the northern states were paying only Rs 1000/- to AWWs, without including state component. Even this Rs. 1000/-, had to be bribed, to collect. In last year's budget, centre increased their pay by Rs 1000/- so also some states. Reportedly in Karnataka these AWWs are getting Rs. 3750/- and helpers Rs. 2500/-. It is indeed a sad story of over exploitation of these helpless women, who are currently over 10 lakhs. For the kind of jobs these AWWs are doing, and their superiors who are only lording it over them, with far higher pay and perks, is a story of exploitation of monumental proportion. (See Box)
There has got to be some comprehensive study by some interested, well-meaning individuals and corporate houses to bring to public domain, not only the massive contribution these AWWs have done in the overall well being of children and mothers, both expectant and lactating, but also the sacrifice they had to make by way of more work and less pay, when the government machinery works on reverse principles of more pay and less work and sometime even no work.
If AWWs are one of the more committed section who are involved in social development, there are groups like Self Help Groups among women, who are writing their own histories of achievements. Their contributions to their own welfare and therefore in general empowerment of women in the society around them, is already becoming stories of inspiration for others. Govts and society should support these groups in more ways for the increased impact they can have on the youth of the society. After all development should not mean, hand-outs, but true empowerment. Only when women are doing better, a society shall grow economically and socially more rounded. That is the true growth, not the double digit growth figure doled out for public consumption by the planning commission and finance ministries. These government functionaries only mouth inanimate figures which are as Benjamin Disraeli, a Victorian British Prime Minister had famously observed "There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies and statistics".
Writing on women and what they are doing, or what they are capable of, besides suffering they are enduring at the hands of society, those multiple dimension of their evolution, can be an exercise of mammoth proportion. Here only a small portion of it is discussed to keep the women in focus on this symbolic yet historic IWD.
Despite being just any day, such days, when it comes to public domain as IWD, they do leave a bit of its imprints and somewhere along the line make a small difference in the otherwise moribund thinking of both men and women. These symbolic days, when properly and meaningfully observed make us realise, how much the world has travelled in empowering the lady as a mother, as a daughter, as a sister and as a wife. Every role a woman plays has its own significance.
Not withstanding all those traditional role a women dones, what really should concern all those who are interested in the welfare or the good of women, is the true empowerment.
How does the empowerment comes? Looking back over the 64 years of past independent India, in the evolution of girl child into adolescent and adulthood and then to womanhood, how has she evolved in free India?
History of Modern India informs, in 1947 Sarojini Naidu became first woman governor of Uttar Pradesh. 1947 was the year the nation became politically independent from its colonial masters. So, women have been at the forefront of recognition. Following her was Vijaylaxmi Pandit, who became India's 1st lady Ambassador to Russia. But both these ladies were already very prominent people. Sarojini Naidu, was a highly educated person and was associated with Mahatma Gandhi in freedom struggle, was elected president of Indian National Congress in 1925 itself. And Ms. Pandit was the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru. Thus in an evolving free India, those who were born good, did better, but those who were not born with silver spoon, how have they done in our mother India is an ever ringing question.
Of course, during all its 64 years, those who managed to get educated, especially from the middle class, did scale up the ladder of progress, both economic and social. In 1949, a lady from Coorg, Chonira Belliappa Muthamma became the first IFS woman diplomat, similarly in 1957, Anna George became the 1st lady IAS of free India. In 1972, Kiran Bedi became first woman IPS officer.
Thus, there have been instances of women doing very well. Its truly a long list. They have indeed made India very proud.
While it is true that a section of our women did scale upwardly mobile, because of the opportunities that came their way, vast majority of women are still in the margins of 'India Shining'. They can only see the 'Shining India' without really experiencing it, and there is a huge section out there.
What is also unfortunate is that, these well placed women who have done well, enjoying the growth trajectory and making better use of it, have done little to promote the welfare of those of their less fortunate sisters, with a miniscule exception.
A run-through the list of names of political and corporate who’s-who, would inform that these women are doing exceedingly well in an India, where vast majority of women are either doing manial work or working in areas of socio-economic empowerment without any recognition and appropriate compensation. Thus are cheated of developmental fruits.
Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), which employ over 100,000 women-both as Anganwadi workers and their helpers, has been a fairly success story. It was started to address the malnutrition among infants and their lactating mothers from the poorer sections of our society. A comprehensive study carried out for three decades of ICDS programme up to 2008, has thrown up interesting data, which shall require to be taken up and implemented. The programme provides a package of services comprising supplementary nutrition, immunisation, preschool education, health check-ups, nutrition and health education and referral services to children below six years of age, besides expectant and nursing mothers.
ICDS organisation structure has 8 levels above Anganwadi workers (AWW). Of these 8 levels, three levels are before AWWs-Supervisor, Astt. CDPO and CDPO-are directly connected with ICDS. CDPO is the acronym for Child Development Project Officer. But it is AWWs who are the real life line of this whole programme. Without them, ICDS will simply collapse. Yet how does the governments-both in States and Centre-look after these AWWs is a question of monumental failure and injustice.
The 8 levels starting from Minister up to Supervisor – are all looked after well by the government. They are all on government pay rolls as per their scale. They enjoy all that their employment offers without the responsibility of ground level management and action. It is the systematic exploitation of powerless by the organised men and women of the country. While those in the governmental system enjoy the salaries and perks, these AWWs and their helpers were started with some Rs. 175/- for AWWs and less than that for their helpers way back in 1975, as honorarium per month. The bureaucracy in its selfishness to protect their turf appointed them as honorary workers. Honorary workers shall entitle no benefits, that's the catch. Unemployed women, in both urban and rural area’s, accepted these terms without choice. But our ‘welfare oriented’ governments exploited these over 100,000 women for all these years. It was in 2010 that a section of these workers had Rs: 1750/- as their honorariums and Rs: 1000/- for helpers. Believe it or not, it took 32 years to reach there. But some of the northern states were paying only Rs 1000/- to AWWs, without including state component. Even this Rs. 1000/-, had to be bribed, to collect. In last year's budget, centre increased their pay by Rs 1000/- so also some states. Reportedly in Karnataka these AWWs are getting Rs. 3750/- and helpers Rs. 2500/-. It is indeed a sad story of over exploitation of these helpless women, who are currently over 10 lakhs. For the kind of jobs these AWWs are doing, and their superiors who are only lording it over them, with far higher pay and perks, is a story of exploitation of monumental proportion. (See Box)
There has got to be some comprehensive study by some interested, well-meaning individuals and corporate houses to bring to public domain, not only the massive contribution these AWWs have done in the overall well being of children and mothers, both expectant and lactating, but also the sacrifice they had to make by way of more work and less pay, when the government machinery works on reverse principles of more pay and less work and sometime even no work.
If AWWs are one of the more committed section who are involved in social development, there are groups like Self Help Groups among women, who are writing their own histories of achievements. Their contributions to their own welfare and therefore in general empowerment of women in the society around them, is already becoming stories of inspiration for others. Govts and society should support these groups in more ways for the increased impact they can have on the youth of the society. After all development should not mean, hand-outs, but true empowerment. Only when women are doing better, a society shall grow economically and socially more rounded. That is the true growth, not the double digit growth figure doled out for public consumption by the planning commission and finance ministries. These government functionaries only mouth inanimate figures which are as Benjamin Disraeli, a Victorian British Prime Minister had famously observed "There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies and statistics".
Writing on women and what they are doing, or what they are capable of, besides suffering they are enduring at the hands of society, those multiple dimension of their evolution, can be an exercise of mammoth proportion. Here only a small portion of it is discussed to keep the women in focus on this symbolic yet historic IWD.
J. Shriyan
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