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STATISTICS:


•	In developed regions, 20% of population is older than 60 - by 2050 it will have reached 33%.

•	In developing regions the share of population is older than 60 will increase from 8% to 20%. Support ratios (number of working people in relation to retired persons) have been declining.

Women’s Well Being in India
Shashi Tyagi

India

GALLERY

CONVERSATION

A message from Alka Singh (coordinator, women empowerment activities at Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti (GRAVIS) or Center of People's Science for Rural Development): During my six year long association with the development sector and interventions for women empowerment, I realized that empowerment is not a position or status. Empowerment is what gives a person an opportunity to work and express and I believe we all are in search of that opportunity. Gender inequality is a critical issue and I observed a different face of gender-based discriminations after coming to work with GRAVIS for rural women in the Thar Desert. Women in this region need an opportunity to develop their potential and enable to secure their rightful place in economic, political, social and cultural spheres. The popular presence of the self-help groups as a GRAVIS tool has established a unity amongst the women to work further towards ameliorating their position in society. It has also provided them the opportunity to become both aware of their rights, abilities and capabilities as well as to exercise and expand them. The women have realized the significance of the larger world that lies ahead of them. The impact of the groups can be sensed through this particular incident. On 8th March, 2005, the women celebrated International Women’s Day by holding rallies. In one particular district, two Muslim women walked eight kilometers between their village and the nearest village – which they had never visited before. Sagar Devi, a widow and a member of one of the self help groups in the area, approached me and requested to speak to the participants in the rally. Sagar runs a roadside 'tea and snack' stall in Bari seed- a village surrounded by sand dunes and few resources. She had taken loans from her self-help group in order to start her business and wanted to share her story with all the women who had come to the rally. It is always a proud experience to introduce the rural women who have taken advantage of the opportunities offered to them like Kasaumbi Devi, a thirty-two year old Village Health Worker also known as the 'Dai Mata'. The confidence with which she speaks of her work after having received training is appreciable. In her own words: “I usually attend four or five deliveries in a month. After receiving training I am more respected. I am now requested to attend deliveries even by those castes who are seen as higher castes. I am now even permitted to travel up to houses, which are up to ten kilometers away. If I am able to get materials from any source, I will have the confidence to administer medicines and treatments to the mothers. I don’t have the financial backing to do it on my own.” *** GRAVIS was founded in 1983 by a group of Gandhian activists lead by Laxmi Chand Tyagi and Shashi Tyagi. They began their efforts from a small hamlet in village Gagadi, sixty kilometers away from the Jodhpur city in the Thar Desert of India. After the initial phases, the work of GRAVIS expended and resulted in the opening of several more field centers over the years and the expanding the miniscule liaison office at Jodhpur into the administrative head quarters of the organization. Though the content and size of the field programs operated by GRAVIS have increased tremendously over time, the philosophy, commitment and approach have remained the same. Women in the Thar face tremendous discriminations. A majority of them are malnourished, suffer from several health problems, are overworked, undervalued, have little freedom, very little access to education, are not involved in decision making and often are recipients of various forms of abuse. Discrimination begins even before a girl child is born. Although techniques to determine the sex of the fetus and sex selective abortion have been declared illegal, there have been hints of the continued prevalence of these practices. Incidents of infanticide have been noted in rural Rajasthan. In addition, rural women of the Thar often suffer a great deal due to persisting social evils such as child marriages, the veiling system, the dowry system and their poor hold on property rights. Although there are substantial laws enacted for women to protect them against atrocities, offenses and discriminations, women in rural areas do not benefit from these laws because of poor knowledge of these laws. Denial of basic human rights to women in the Thar is an issue of serious concern for organizations working on human rights. Over last two decades, GRAVIS has put major focus on this issue through its programs and interventions. GRAVIS has taken the initiative to organize women into self-help groups, which is the basic unit of gender development in all our interventions. On March 8th every year GRAVIS organizes rallies and several other events where women can gather and share their thoughts. This year, GRAVIS organized three rallies in three in which about one thousand two hundred women participated. The women's day rally provided women with an opportunity to share their experiences, joys, challenges, failure, successes and hopes for the future. Women who had been attending events regularly shared their experiences, which was an encouraging experience for those who had started participating recently.

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Natalia (United States)
The story about the midwife in the self help group is very inspiring. GRAVIS sounds like a great organization. How can I find out more about it? Is there a website where I can get involved?

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Tonya Redfield
United States

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