REPORT OF THE WORKSHOP SOCIAL MOBILIZATION, CREDIT AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT BACKGROUND: UNDP and the ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) organised a workshop to debate the links between social mobilisation, micro-credit and women’s empowerment to understand whether, and under what conditions social mobilization and micro credit programmes can lead to women’s empowerment. This workshop was organised in the light of the popular perception that micro credit programmes are the panacea for poverty reduction and automatically leads to women’s empowerment. The co-organizers felt that it was time that this assumption was tested out in the Indian context, leading to concrete lessons for policy makers, planners and implementing agencies. To add rigor to the analysis of the links between these three variables, eight studies on the links between micro credit, social mobilization and women’s empowerment were commissioned by the co-organizers across India. The findings from the case studies were used as launching pads for the deliberations in the workshop. This workshop was held on 10th and 11th of January, 2002. 42 participants from Indian government, NGOs, researchers, UN organizations, private sector participated The workshop began with a note of welcome, and introduction on the part of representatives from UNDP, ICICI and Ministry of Rural Development. This was followed by presentations (on the first day) on the findings from five of the seven studies commissioned by UNDP and ICICI. Each of the presentation was followed by discussions to sharpen issues raised in the paper, chaired by experienced facilitators. The first day concluded with an excellent synthesis by a Senior Fellow of the Center for Women’s Development Studies (CWDS). The second day morning was devoted to collectively pulling out lessons flowing from the presentations, as well as from the participants’ own experiences. Three broad themes were chosen for the group discussions: concept of women’s empowerment, links between micro credit and poverty reduction and how best to make it work, and the potential and limitations of micro credit for women’s empowerment. The workshop concluded with the Gender Adviser of UNDP summing up lessons from the deliberations on the links between micro credit, social mobilization and women’s empowerment. The detailed workshop schedule is attached as Annexure 1, and materials circulated as Annexure 2 1.0 INTRODUCTORY SESSION Dr Neera Burra, Assistant Resident Representative, UNDP welcomed the participants and thanked ICICI- the co-organizers of the workshop- and SAPAP, Regional Office that supported part of the study. Explaining the need for the studies and the workshop, she pointed that South Asia is the poorest region in the world, with women constituting 60% of the poor in the region. Poor women not only live in poor households, but also face poverty in gender specific ways. Amongst poor women, dalits, landless and tribals constitute a significant proportion. Unequal distribution of land and resources is one of the key reasons for their poverty and subordination. Experience over the last five development decades has shown that economic growth does not automatically lead to improved well being or improved status of the poor and, more so, poor women. Realizing this, around mid 1970s several South Asian governments introduced micro credit programmes for poor. In the beginning micro credit programmes were targeted at individual households. Soon the thrust shifted to group based micro credit programmes, with a focus on forming women’s self help groups. Government, NGOs and donor agencies have initiated thousands of women’s groups in South Asian countries. The underlying assumption behind the proliferation of these programmes is that micro credit programmes are the panacea for poverty reduction, and that they also facilitate women’s empowerment. However, little systematic research has been done on whether these assumptions hold good in the Indian context. It is this gap the series of studies commissioned by UNDP and ICICI tried to address. Specifically, the focus of the studies was on exploring the following key questions: Can micro credit programmes reach all sections of poor? Do they really mitigate poverty- both its dimensions and causes? Have they had an impact on expanding women’s independent asset base and empowering them? Does income enhancement through micro credit programmes lead to improved education of children? Or does women’s participation in such programmes lead to children being pulled out of school to assist with the increased workloads? To study the above issues, studies of micro credit programmes of seven different organizations were commissioned. The detailed terms of reference was fleshed out in a workshop held last year with researchers and organizations participating in the study, building upon the framework developed by UNDP. In this workshop, empowerment was defined as a dynamic process of change enabling women to take control over their lives. It was felt to be multidimensional in nature, encompassing women’s control over their labour, mobility, body, income, assets, political spaces and intangible resources and their access to intangible resources. Poverty was defined as access to basic needs required for well-being, and there are household and gender specific dimensions to poverty. Findings from five of the seven studies are presented in the workshop. Dr Neera Burra hoped that the findings as well as deliberations in the workshop would feed into pollicies of major poverty alleviation programmesinthecountry. Mr. Bikram Duggal, Manager, ICICI, shared that the ICICI has recently established a Social Initiatives Group (SIG) within the organization with the vision of building the capacity of the poorest of the poor to benefit from, and build, the larger Indian economy. The SIG focuses on three areas: health, education, and livelihood. The micro financial services of ICICI, which he coordinates, are a key component of its livelihood-related activities. It encompasses credit banking, and insurance services; and a key objective of these services is to extend financial services to the poor through out the country. A key assumption is that such micro financial services contribute to poverty reduction,

economic growth and women’s empowerment. So far it has not systematically tested if this assumption is valid, and under what conditions. It is to bridge this gap that it decided to jointly collaborate with UNDP to commission six research studies on this theme. Mr. Duggal re-iterated that empowerment was an ongoing, complex and multidimensional process. He opined that the Consultants were encouraged to examine the parameters already listed

by Dr Neera Burra at three levels: individual, collective and wider levels[1]

.

Moving on to the objectives of the workshop, he observed that the workshop has threefold objectives: to disseminate the findings from the six studies, to synthesize lessons on the link between micro credit, social mobilization, poverty reduction and women’s empowerment, and to identify future research questions. In particular he pointed to the need to differentiate between the impact of social mobilization and micro credit. He hoped that the studies and the deliberations from the workshop would be useful for policy makers, planners and practitioners from different development organizations. Along with the participants he finalized the workshop structure. Dr Kalyani Menon-Sen, Gender Adviser, UNDP added that there are two other contexts within which the studies were commissioned. Firstly, the Indian women’s movement was debating on the validity of the linear linkage between micro credit, women’s empowerment and poverty alleviation. It is hoped that the studies would throw light on whether such a linear linkage really exists between these three elements. Second, the Government of India, is in the process of finalizing its Tenth Five-Year Plan. The UNDP’s planning cycle is in concurrence with the planning cycle of the government, and it is also planning its next phase of collaboration with the GOI. Most poverty reduction and women’s empowerment programmes of UNDP and GOI have a strong micro credit component. Hence the findings of the study on the linkage between micro credit, poverty reduction and women’s empowerment will feed directly into the next planning cycle. In particular on what works, what can be made to work with additional inputs and what cannot be made to work. Ms Asha Swarup, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, shared that she had joined the Ministry of Rural Development as Joint Secretary just a month back, and hoped that lessons from the workshop would help her in redesigning poverty alleviation programmes of the Department as well in finalizing the rural development component of the Tenth Five Year Plan of the Indian Government. She observed that as per the guidelines provided, there was very little maneuverable space in SGSY. Though the programme has great potential, flexibility like in the case of NGOs is a must. She hoped that the workshop would point to what lessons from NGO and UNDP experiences can be brought into the government programmes like SGSY. 2.0 PRESENTATIONS OF STUDIES As mentioned studies of micro credit and social mobilization programmes of seven organizations were commissioned across India: South Asia Poverty Alleviation Programme (Andhra Pradesh), Share Micro Finance Programme (Andhra Pradesh), DWCRA (Andhra Pradesh), Lokadrusti (Orissa), Swayam Sikhshan Prayog (Maharasthra), The Activists for Social Alternatives (TN), Dhan Foundation (Tamil Nadu). Apart from SAPAP and DWCRA which were implemented through quasi governmental/governmental organization, all others were NGO initiatives. As we shall see they also represent a range of different models to micro credit programmes. Findings from five of the six studies are

presented in this workshop (other than Dhan Foundation and DWCRA[2]

). Each presentation began with an introduction to the project by representatives from the organization, followed by presentation of findings by the Consultant. The floor was then thrown open for discussion. At the end of the day, Dr Joy Ranadive of the Center for Women’s Studies, New Delhi synthesized lessons and issues flowing from the studies. South Asia Poverty Alleviation Programme (SAPAP) Study by Ranjani.K.Murthy, K. Raju, Amitha Kamath with SAPAP research team The organization and project area The UNDP supported South Asia Poverty Alleviation Programme (SAPAP) commenced in Andhra Pradesh (AP) in 1996 as a demonstration programme in social mobilization for poverty reduction in South Asia. AP is one of the poorest Indian states, with over 30% of the population living in poverty. Poverty levels are higher amongst dalits, and in Telengana and Rayalseema area, which was chosen by SAPAP (3 districts) for implementation. The SAPAP strategy for poverty reduction comprised of three pillars: organization of the poor, skill development and capital formation. Amongst the poor, its focus was primarily on women who were organized into groups at three levels: SHGs at hamlet level, Village organizations (VOs) at village level, and Mandal Mahila Samakhyas (MMS) at Mandal level. The skill-building component focused on strengthening managerial & technical skills and social awareness of members and SAPAP staff. To promote capital formation, groups were linked to banks, MFIs like BASICS, DRDA etc., in addition to building capital through internal lending of savings. By the end of the project period, 864 habitations were covered through 500 groups covering 74,000 women members. The groups were formed into 540 VOs and federated into 20 MMS. This model is now being replicated across the state through the AP District Poverty Initiatives Project (DPIP). The AP SAPAP project was implemented through state and district project units comprising of committed IAS officers, staff from NGO and government backgrounds (after a selection procedure). Scope of the study, sample and methodology The terms of reference for the study, methodology, and sample were evolved collectively with AP, SAPAP staff. The

aim of the research was to discern the impact of SAPAP on women’s (dalit) empowerment and poverty reduction, and promoting learning by all stakeholders leading to appropriate policy change. Specifically the study sought to draw lessons on links between micro credit, poverty reduction and women’s empowerment, and how these could be strengthened. As women’s empowerment was never the objective of AP SAPAP, the study is not an assessment of achievement of its objectives. The study examined poverty impact in three respects: targeting and covering, access of household members and women/girls to basic needs, and access to means to overcome poverty. It examined empowerment impact also at three levels: power of individual women to have control over their lives (power to), power of women groups to negotiate collectively with different societal institutions (power with) and strategic gender and caste awareness of women (power within). The methodology adopted included comparisons of members and non-members (NM) perceptions and lives, members lives before and after joining groups, groups’ negotiation powers and articulation over a period of time, and husbands’ and leaders’ perception of the groups. A combination of semi-

structured questionnaires, gender aware participatory tools[3]

, focus group discussions and review of records[4]

was adopted by the research team comprising of 47 staff (after training) and the consultant. Totally, 293 members, 157 non members, 83 SHGs, 11 VOs, 6 MMS, 9 Schools and anganwadi centers and 7 Village health Centers were met with individually or in groups. The sampling was based on the criteria of generalizability (of size) representativeness and similarity (of members and non members). Findings: The findings on poverty and empowerment impact are summarized in Table 1 below. The AP SAPAP’s performance with respect to targeting, improving members’ access to basic needs and access to resources to overcome poverty has indeed been impressive. So has its ability to expand individual women’s power to control their labour, mobility, movable resources, and political processes. As a group the members have been able to change rules of credit markets and engage with government departments involved in social service delivery. Another key achievement is that members are more aware of strategic gender and caste concerns. Major gaps are its inability to reach all sections of the poor, expand poor HH’s and women’s independent access to immovable assets and enhance women’s control over their bodies and reproduction. Norms on reproductive work are yet to change. Empowerment is lower amongst non dalit than dalit members. A concern is the fact that women’s participation has been accompanied by increase in the work load of women and children (after school hours), and a decline in men’s economic responsibility.

Table 1: Poverty and Empowerment Impact of AP, SAPAP Poverty/ empowerment

Achievements Areas for strengthening

Poverty Targeting and coverage - targeting of women, poor,

landless, dalits, Muslims, WHH and seasonal migrants

Dimensions of poverty: HH/gender - 69% report reduction in income

and human poverty - Members’ access to basic needs

better than NMs’ leading to lesser seasonal migration & greater infant survival.

- Lesser deterioration in access to basic needs

- Gender bias in access to basic needs reduced and lower than in NMs

Access to means to reduce poverty: HH/gender - Improvement in HH and women’s

access to resources, wages and employment, and control over income

- Release of mortgaged assets - Members’ independent access to

movable resources and credit greater than NMs

- Lesser members report decline

Targeting and coverage - Weak targeting of women < 25 years

and differentially-abled. - Elderly poor women and chronic

migrants out of the ambit of micro credit interventions.

Dimensions of poverty: HH/gender - Though reduced, persistence of poverty

- food, nutrition, housing, education - Some members still report deterioration - Gender inequalities persist, in particular

with respect to food and workload - Improved income not translating into

improved access to gas and toilets. Access to means to reduce poverty: HH/gender - Sizable still landless, work in low

wages, and unemployed - Women rarely own land and housing,

and earn 55% wages as men - Dowry- a vulnerability factor - Substantial and higher leakage than

NM on alcohol - Burden of earning shifting to women.

Empowerment Power to-individual empowerment - be mobile, have friends - save and own jewels - to call and visit parents - embark on non traditional

productive activities - take part in political process

Power to-individual empowerment - influence wages - make men share domestic work - exercise control over body (domestic

violence) and reproduction - be free of menstrual restrictions - access staff positions in VO & MMS

Lessons and recommendations The study points to the lesson that micro credit interventions can reduce poverty and empower women i) if it is accompanied by gender aware social mobilization, adequate capital formation, and transformative capacity building, and if ii) combined with strategies to expand land rights, returns to wages and produce, and access to social security schemes for those outside the ambit of micro credit. It also points to the centrality of the role of state in service provision as well as efforts to sensitize men if the potential of micro credit interventions is to be realized. Another lesson is that issues of gender, poverty and empowerment are interlinked, yet distinct agendas. Addressing gender dimensions and causes of poverty requires an empowerment approach. However, women’s control over their body, reproduction and public political processes requires strategies beyond the gender and poverty agenda. Yet another lesson is the centrality of addressing caste-based discrimination for both women’s empowerment and dalits’empowerment. On poverty reduction strategies, a key lesson is the importance of combining income enhancement with leakage (e.g dowry and alcohol) reduction strategies. An institutional lesson is the need for target free, participatory, pro-poor, semi autonomous and gender sensitive institutional structures. It is recommended that micro credit programmes should place women’s empowerment and reduction of feminization of poverty firmly on its mandate. Specific interventions should be designed for addressing issues of land rights, low wages, weak social security, and domestic violence against women, as well as arresting dowry and alcohol leakage. A strong component of social mobilization (including sensitizing men), capital formation and transformative capacity building should be built it. A minimum period of 15 years is required if micro credit interventions cum social mobilization are to have a dent on poverty and women’s empowerment. At the policy level, the government should reserve places for women’s groups in markets, groups should be given powers to monitor local organizations (with Gram Panchayats), replicate AP Mutually-aided Cooperative Societies and expand marital property rights of women. Observations from the floor: The presentation was appreciated by several participants, and at the same time threw up several questions. Most questions sought clarifications on the operational aspects of the micro credit activity in response to which the research team clarified that the investment in capital formation and capacity building was Rs 10,000 and Rs.1000 per member respectively. In the beginning loans were more consumption oriented and later diversified to production loans. The criterion for activity selection was left to the member, and often risk reduction was a key consideration leading to selection of multiple livelihoods. A substantive comment was whether the research team had examined the links between globalization and poverty in the area, and how far the project has addressed this. This was not a central focus, and may be well worth including in future research. A cursory remark is that being a very backward belt commercialization and sale of agricultural produce to export markets is still at a nascent stage. Another question was as to how women and husbands reported being happy when women were still facing domestic violence. The study team observed that domestic violence- though not eliminated- had reduced, and women’s perception of their happiness was shaped by several other factors as well. Further, the weightage given by outsiders and community women may not match, and there is no easy answer to this dilemma. The husbands were happy because the programme was bringing in concrete economic benefits, which overshadowed women’s growing independence. Whether this will continue if women fundamentally challenge property relations and violence remains to be seen. Lokadrusti Study Carried out by Shashi Rajagopalan The NGO and project area:

- work free of violence - Members’ power to influence

above greater than NMs Power with- collective empowerment - to influence families to send

girl children to school - to influence credit market - to release bonded labourers,

and reduce caste violence in work place

- to break caste barriers in group

- to influence village services - to vote, contest GP elections - to make claims on govt.’s

health, livestock & education. Power within- strategic awareness - groups able to articulate

strategic gender objectives - husbands’ perceive members

to be more independent - members’ happier now & than

NMs

- control male alcohol consumption Power with- collective empowerment - to influence division of domestic work,

violence and property rights - to intervene in commodity, wage and

insurance markets - to eliminate caste discrimination

outside group - to link with unions and movements - to strengthen accountability of Gram

Sabhas - to link with government departments

focusing on traditionally male domains, as well as police & legal aid

Power within- strategic awareness - son preference persists - gender and dalit perspective

articulation weaker in non dalit groups

Lokadrusti is an NGO working with rural poor (in particular tribals and dalits who constitute 50% of the population) in the severely drought prone Nuapada district of Orissa. The district came into existence in 1993, prior to which it was part of Kalahandi district of the same state. Lokadrusti was formed in 1985 as an informal forum of researchers and students from the Jawaharlal Nehru and local universities. Its research into the causes of drought in the area revealed that it was largely man-made, and not caused due to physical environmental factors. The informal forum registered itself in 1988, and during the first phase of its intervention it focused on community mobilization for increasing agriculture production. With experience its strategies widened further to include watershed development, water harvesting structures, seed banks and rural marketing in the area of agriculture, education (including bridge schools) and health (herbal medicine and training bare foot workers) in the sphere of social services, bank linkage and savings and credit groups programmes in the area of micro finance, and lastly, grain banks, which is seen as both a savings, risk reduction and marketing strategy. Its community mobilization efforts also gained further depth. As of now women’s organizations exist at the village, cluster, and project area levels (federation). The Federation runs a women’s bank, and also engages in advocacy vis a vis Gram Sabhas and government organizations. Scope of the study, sample, and methodology: The study focused only on assessing the impact of the micro credit component of Lokadrusti’s programme. The sample covered by the researcher comprised of 7 of the 17 cluster level organization, representing 43 of the 146 villages in which the NGO works. Twenty village level meetings were held by the Researcher, covering around 55 of the 326 SHGs formed by the NGO. 55 women members were met individually, out of a total of 3721 members. SHGs were selected from all the three Blocks in which Lokadrusti works, including Boden blocks were it has been working for a longer time. The methodology adopted for research included semi structured interviews, focus group discussions, and examination of records. The researcher spent a total period of 15 days in the field Main findings and recommendation: The findings from the study on impact on poverty and empowerment at the individual and collective level are summarized in Table 2. As can be seen the micro credit programme has led to significant and positive changes in the lives of women at individual and collective level especially in the economic sphere, though there are areas for improvement. The consultant’s main observation pertained to the fact that immense potential for economic empowerment was generated by the fact that the NGO was working with 14000 women in 200 villages. In 10 years they would have saved Rs 22 crores, which was higher the district level lending by commercial banks that stood at Rs 19 crore. However, in reality now the lending through the group was lower than the group savings, and lower than bank lending. The onus of following up on repayment seemed to fall more on Lokadrusti than the groups. In her view the groups were not managing their finances properly. Similarly, though the women can play an immense role in commodity market (already transactions in Bond market had gone up by Rs 19 lakhs annually), this potential is yet to be realized through effective value addition activity. She strongly recommended greater investment in organization development, long term vision building and respect for borrowed funds so that the potential for capital appreciation and returns in the commodity market could be realized. Table2: Empowerment Impact of Lokadrusti

Empowerment/poverty Achievements Areas for strengthening Individual level

- Improved mobility - Self confidence, - Widening of interests - Access to financial

services - Building of own savings - Competence in public

affairs - Enhanced status in family

and community - Reduction in child labour

and increase in children in school.

- Reduction in migration[5]

- Competence in organizational management

- Long term vision building and planning - Sufficient respect for borrowed funds

reflected in low repayment rates

Collective level

Community: - Saturation policy of

forming SHGs in each village leading to a collective force

- The SHGs were respected by the community

- Women were accepted as leaders

- Women represented their interests and interests of other women as a class

- Women took up issues of

Community: - caste hierarchies continued to persist

within the village as a whole, though within the group they were breaking down

Financial and Commodity Markets:

- loans from groups were lower than savings and bank loans were greater than group loans

- Potential role of women in agricultural produce processing and

Observations from the floor pertaining to the case study There were several observations pertaining to the study. Those who knew the organization observed that the research would have been richer if it had focused on the impact of non-micro credit interventions of Lokadrusti. The grain banks and seed banks had strengthened the food security of women and their families, and their coping strategies when faced with poverty. It also reduced the time which women spent in going to purchase grains. The herbal garden, barefoot health workers training and medicine- rotation programmes had also improved the well being of women, in ways which would not have been possible through income measures alone. A government official observed that Lokadrusti had made a greater dent on poverty than district government departments because it was not limited by the boundaries of departmental thinking. It also had a more grounded perception of poverty than the government that was limited by the poverty line approach. Farmers with even 10 acre of dry land were poor in this area, but fell outside the poverty line as per the method adopted by the government to identify the poor. Yet another question that emerged from the floor was whether micro credit was the best intervention in non-monetized economies. Was the high degree of default partly a result of the shortcoming of micro credit as an intervention in such a context or lack of collective accountability mechanisms as pointed out in the study? The fact that the repayment was high in the case of grain and seed bank points to the possibility that the reason was the former. Further, was the fact that the women did not rotate their own savings much, but relied more on bank credit, a strategy that reflected their lesser willingness to take risks with their own funds or was it a reflection of poor financial management skills? Were the high rates of default a result of faulty repayment schedules or delayed repayment, or lack of accountability as pointed out by the study? These are questions that may be worth exploring in-depth. Another pertinent issue raised was how far the poorest in this area could be reached without altering land relations in the area. Absentee landlords held most of the land in the area, and most families were exploited tenants. Some were unable to even save, and fell outside the purview of micro credit intervention. Differing attitude of banks to rich and poor clients The Lokadrusti presentation also generated broader debates on the bankers differing attitude towards poor and rich clients. They were unwilling to re-lend to the poor even when they repaid on time, while this did not apply to the rich clients. Defaults amongst the poor were often cited as reasons, when default rates were higher amongst the rich clients and middle and large scale industries. The primary reason for lack of continuous credit flow to the poor is hence lack of commitment on the part of most bankers.

SHARE Micro Finance Limited (SML) Study carried out by Dr Anuradha Khati Rajivan The Organization SHARE Micro Finance Limited (SML) is a for profit Non-Bank Finance Company registered in 1999 by the NGO SHARE with the objective of providing financial and support services to poor women thereby enabling them to use their skills for income generation activities for poverty alleviation. SML emerged out of SHARE’s experiences in the early 1990s of managing vocational training programme for the rural poor in Andhra Pradesh, in the course of which it realized that providing skill training without micro finance support has limited impact. From 1992, the organization attempted to replicate the Grameen Model, and by 1999 there were around 3582 groups covering about 17910 members. Groups in a village started meeting in a common center, and 17 branches were set up to cater to the financial needs of members. It was then felt that an independent financial institution was needed to access large amount of funds from the banking sector and operate in a commercially variable manner. This led to the formation of SML which functions independently of SHARE and has its own staff. SHARE India MACS (SIM) supports it with respect to thrift and savings and mobilization. All SML members also have to be members of SIM. The focus of SML and SIM is on poor women as they are seen as more credit worthy than men. In-fact the recovery rate of SML loans has stood at 100%. Scope The following research questions were explored as part of the study: · What is the extent to which women’s empowerment takes place through process of formation of women’s

groups around micro credit? Is it influenced by the objective of micro finance promoting institution (as they come

violence, but with varying degrees of success

- caste barriers are breaking down within the group

Government - Women were sought after

at block and district government meetings for drought mgmt.

Markets: - Expansion of turnover in

commodity markets

marketing yet to be tapped Collective accountability - high degree of loan defauls - loan defaults were harder to tackle by

a village when a whole caste group was in default

with differing objectives)? · Are incomes generated in women’s hands through micro credit? · Are there benefits beyond incomes that flow? To what extent? Are these benefits from credit access per se, or

the process of social mobilization? · To what extent is the nature of social mobilization itself, and the kind of capacity building that takes place in the

process important in determining the type and extent of women’s empowerment? Methodology and sample The methodology adopted included intensive field investigations and direct observation of borrowers and others. Qualitative changes were given importance over qualitative ones. Instead of large sample surveys, in-depth interviews were held with 86 member borrowers, 27 husbands/community members and 32 non-members. In addition, discussions were held in branch level workshops where 210 members participated from 68 centers covering 401 groups. SML personnel were also met individually and in groups to get their points of view. Findings The empowerment and poverty impact of SML at individual, collective and wider levels are summarized in Table 3. As can be seen the project has enhanced women’s control over their lives significantly, especially with respect to women’s access to and control over resources, mobility, returns to productive labour, self-confidence and esteem. They consequently have greater fall-back position in the event of marital conflicts. Interestingly, they no longer view children as assets for future, but as sources of present expenditure leading to smaller families. As a group, women are now recognized as an entity to reckon with by government and banks. Equally the findings point to several areas for improvement with respect to the private sphere of sharing of domestic work and women’s control over body (violence reduced, but persists) and reproduction. Women are also yet to make political processes accountable to women. The empowerment impact has been higher amongst members who joined the groups a long time back, over recent entrants. Table 3: Empowerment Impact of SHARE Micro Finance Limited

Empowerment Achievements Areas for strengthening Individual level

Awareness: - Greater self confidence and

worth - Greater interest to seek

information - Greater investment in girl child

education Resources - Greater control over their

assets, earnings and income - Greater say in family

expenditure - Husbands consult them more

than before on decisions on resources

Work and mobility - Improved access to gas stoves

and fans, reducing drudgery - Increased independent

expenditure on themselves - Low wage workers to owner

mangers with diversification - Men have started helping in

women’s productive work - Improved mobility, and ability

to stay alter for meetings Body and reproduction - Reduced domestic violence

and violence at work place - Universal access of women to

contraception

Resources: - Personal expenditure tends to be

small in amount Work and mobility: - Increase in work load, but women

are yet to complain - Men yet to share domestic work - Danger that men’s assistance in

productive work, could be at the cost of women’s control over the activities.

- Children’s work load increased during out of school hours

- Women yet to start ride bicycles, mopeds and vehicles

- Coming home late for meetings is accepted, but not for other reasons

Body and reproduction - Domestic violence persists - Responsibility for contraception

primarily on women, and only follows after giving birth to a male child

- Gap between desired & actual fertility

Awareness: - Son preference continues - A few members vote as per

husband’s decisions

Collective Level

Community: - Village communities have

started to recognize women’s groups

Government/bank - Groups place demands to

government and in some cases have succeeded in mobilizing

Political participation - Limited participation of groups in

Gram Sabhas - Women yet to emerge as vote

banks, wooing takes place on caste lines

Government/bank linkage - Government and banks yet to

Lessons The positive changes that have taken place through SML can be attributed to the strategy of combining social mobilization with access to micro credit, rather than the latter per se. Further, the objective of the organization and nature of social mobilization seems to have a bearing on the kind and level of empowerment that takes place. SML’s focus is on credit for income generation, but not on direct orientation on women’s empowerment, changing men’s attitudes, deepening democratic participation and addressing strategic gender concerns. Hence it is social mobilization that has triggered off a process of economic empowerment, but has not had an impact on the social and political variables listed above- though there is enormous potential for the same. Thus it is important to combine micro credit interventions with social mobilization activities with a social, economic and political empowerment focus. The study also points to lessons for SGSY on poverty reduction strategies. Multiple livelihood and individual activities seem to work better for the poor than single and group based activity as stipulated under SGSY. Recommendations: The main recommendation to SML flowing from the study, is the need for an explicit strategy to widen the scope of women’s empowerment. Awareness generation on empowerment and gender amongst both the staff of the facilitating organization, as well as men and women is a must for the potential unleashed by the economic process so far to be fully realised. It is not necessary that this support should be provided by SML, it could perhaps be better provided by SHARE’s non-profit wing in tandem with SML. Comments from the floor: The participants expressed that the study effectively captured several qualitative dimensions of empowerment. There were a few comments on the fact that husbands were asked to sign before a loan was issued to the women. The consultant clarified that this was not a strategy to perpetuate patriarchy, but to ensure that husbands shared the responsibility for repayment and also to ensure that in the event of the member going away for pregnancy he looked after the asset well. It was also not necessary that husbands alone should undertake this joint responsibility, but any relative (male or female) of the member could sign. The challenge is to involve men, without allowing them to take over. SWAYAM SHIKSHAN PRAYOG Study Carried out by Soma Kishore Parthasarathy and the Research team of SSP The organization: Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) began in 1988 is a self education network facilitated by the rural programmes of Society for Promotion of Area Resource Centers (SPARC) to promote self learning amongst women’s SHGs and NGOs working on issues of micro credit and livelihoods. In the wake of the earthquake in Latur, its focus widened in 1995 to include gender aware and community based reconstruction programme. More recently, SSP has sharpened its role and defined itself as a facilitator in the learning process of women, with the specific aim of building core social, economic and political competencies of grass-roots women’s collectives and elected members of Panchayat in the context of local planning and governance. The promotion of savings and credit groups is viewed as a core strategy towards achieving its objectives. At present it has built partnerships with 646 women’s SHGs covering over 11,472

women members in five districts[6]

of Maharashtra. These women’s groups address gender issues and issues of food security, water and sanitation, health, education and community infrastructure. The headquarters of SSP is in Mumbai and its operations are managed by decentralized district level resources teams (DRTs). At the village level, SHGs and Mahila Mandals formed by the government are formed into Sakhi Gaon (Village friends) committees, these in turn are networked into clusters of 10 Sakhi Gaons wherein information centers are hosted. Groups are also part of Taluk (an administrative unit) level federations, whose board members are elected by the women themselves. DRT supports the federation, while cluster workers support cluster groups and village groups.

programmes Political participation - More genuine women

candidates contesting Gram Panchayat elections

recognize SML for linkage and benefits - Systematic attention to linking

groups with banks and government wings like ICDS, PDS, water supply, sanitation

Wider level Markets: - Decline in money lender

interest rates - Diversification of rural economy - Growth of service sector Poverty profile - Changing as more WHH are

benefiting from SML - Greater consumption of

vegetables and fruits by poor

- Not all poverty groups have been reached.

Scope, methodology and methods The study sought to capture the women members’ own perceptions of their empowerment at individual and collective levels. Four parameters were used to discern empowerment impact: I) awareness/participation in benefits, ii) agency, iii) women’s sphere of influence and negotiation and iv) their institutional presence. In addition, the study has endeavored to capture perceptions of those supporting or associated with the learning and networking process. Another focus has been to examine the approach adopted by SSP so as to identity enabling or/and limiting elements of the approach. Like the SAPAP study, the terms of reference of the study, the research approach, the checklist of questions and methods to be adopted were decided collectively following discussions with team members at Mumbai and district levels. It was constantly redefined along the way. The actual research was carried out collectively by the Consultant together with a team of members from DRTs, after pilot testing the checklist of questions and methods developed. The research team adopted focus group discussions and interviews for the study. Together they met 30 groups (comprising of 500-600 women), 100 individual women members, 2 organization leaders, 18 organizational staff, 15 community leaders, and 8 staff of government officials. Findings: The awareness of members, their agency, sphere of influence and negotiation and institutional presence has indeed widened through their participation in SSP network as members of groups, clusters, and federations. Their participation has expanded their access to (and control over) information, resources, mobility, and political and local planning processes. Members value the access to information more than concrete economic benefits. Increasingly women are playing a key role in local governance and planning (e.g water management). A unique aspect is how the older and mature groups form and support the younger ones. Widows have been reached effectively, but not younger women, labourers and migrants. Issues of inclusion and exclusion, women’s health and rights, class (wages) and caste concerns, leakages on alcohol, and issues of domestic violence perhaps need greater attention in the coming years. Another concern is the fact that the burden of repayment falls solely on women though men benefit equally. Table 4 lists the empowerment impact at greater length at individual, collective and wider levels at greater length. Table 4: Empowerment Impact of Swayam Sikshan Prayog

Empowerment Achievements Areas for strengthening Individual level emp.

Awareness/information: - Groups are perceived by members

and non members to be solving women’s problems

- Increased access to information and knowledge, and this is more valued than savings

- Non members perceive members to be more aware, knowledgeable, and in leadership positions

- Enhanced awareness on own health problems

- Women members prioritize girls education and nutrition with access to resources

- Daughters and husbands perceive positive changes in their mothers/wives

Linkages: - Able to establish direct contacts

with banks Mobility - Able to travel distant places, and

gain mobility. Resources: - Enhanced access to basic needs

and to buffer to ward off crisis - Very poor non members have been

assisted in accessing loans - Improved family income - Decline in indebtedness to money

lenders - Increase in asset ownership of

women members, and control over self acquired assets

Exclusion and drop outs: All non members saw the benefit of joining the group, but could not join due to: - Migration - Lack of time to attend meetings

(laborers) - heavy restrictions (young women) Some very poor women left after joining due to inability to save Some left because they expected immediate returns Resources: - As yet women not willing to assert

control over family income - Women still dependent on money

lenders for larger loans - Onus of loan repayment still

largely on women Awareness - Need for an empowerment

perspective on women’s health

Collective Level emp.

Government Group members negotiate with

Ability to intervene in family - The extent to which the groups

Lessons and Recommendations A key lesson from what has worked is the need for creating spaces and structures for women to access information and credit, learn from each other, and to influence decision-making processes. However, such spaces may not automatically lead to dramatic changes in the personal sphere. It is recommended that focused planning is undertaken with the groups to build upon the economic empowerment which has taken place, so as to enhance social status in the personal domain. The time may also be ripe for weaving in an empowerment oriented health programme with the groups. ACTIVISTS FOR SOCIAL ALTERNATIVES (ASA) Study Carried out by Dr D Kalpana The organization Activists for Social Alternatives (ASA) was founded in 1986 with a focus on dalit women’s empowerment in Tiruchirapalli district of Tamil Nadu. Poverty levels are high in this district due to decline in soil fertility and persistent drought. 24% of the population are dalits, and dalits constitute an even higher percentage of the poor. As amongst dalits, women are doubly oppressed, the organization decided to specifically focus on this group. A significant proportion of its staff (30%), Board members (50%) and SHG members (35%) are dalits. In the initial years the focus of ASA was on mobilizing dalit women around atrocities against their community members. Over a period of time, it realized that social and political empowerment would not be possible without an economic component. It hence started a range of economic interventions including watershed development, wage struggles, and release of bonded

labourers. Micro credit interventions were added in 1993, and are now operational in five districts of Tamil Nadu[7]

. The Grameen model is adopted by ASA, and as of August, 2001 20,430 members have formed themselves into 4068 groups of around five members each. 957 centers and 18 branches support the activities of these groups. 16549 women have availed loans from the groups to the tune of Rs 12.97 crores. Recently ASA has also introduced life insurance and social security schemes. Scope of the study: The main objective of the study was to discern the poverty and empowerment impact of micro credit and social mobilization activities of ASA, as well as to throw light on the role of economic empowerment for overall empowerment of women borrowers. A second objective is to examine whether greater incomes for the poor translated into a situation where children are removed from school and put into work. To study these aspects the perspective and approach of ASA, the design and implementation of micro credit programme, and the actual changes in lives and

government for basic services, housing/land allotments Group members take responsibility for maintenance of infrastructure and monitoring of village services, followed by complaints if necessary. Groups engage in micro planning- water Political participation and leadership: Group members are seen as speaking in one voice, and as autonomous, some women are members of anti-violence committees Groups attend Gram Sabha meetings, and make them more accountable and sensitive to women’s concerns Women emerging as vote banks, and their views are taken into account by and candidates Women members have started contesting elections backed by groups Women members voting more consciously

deal with issues of dowry, harassment, social restrictions varies with their maturity

Labour Market: - Class issues are yet to be

addressed, in particular low wages - Groups still hesitant to address

alcohol consumption by men, or the nexus which is involved in its sale

Leadership - Few dalits in leadership positions

of federations and groups

Wider level Non-members access to information also improved.

situations of women members were examined. The methods used included a combination of focus group discussions and interviews with staff of ASA, self help groups (40), individual members (31) and their relatives, Center/Branch leaders, non-members and members of other kind of SHGs, bankers and other indirect stakeholders (Panchayat Presidents, School headmasters, Village Health Nurses and Anganwadi workers). With SHG members alone PRA methods like social mapping, wealth ranking, gender analysis matrix, mobility and happiness mapping were used. In five villages an attempt was made to examine who was included and left out of the groups. Records from 5 of the 18 branches and 40 SHGs were also examined. Findings and lessons The poverty and empowerment impact of ASA’s micro credit interventions are summarized in the Table 5. As can be seen the project has had a significant impact on poverty reduction of member households and on expanding individual members’ control over resources, labour and mobility. The women members have also started entering the public domain of Gram Panchayats. In particular its integration of gender and dalit perspective is impressive. However, as a collective the groups are yet to reach a stage wherein they can bargain in the market, or make claims on the state or local bodies. Another concern is the higher malnutrition amongst members’ children than non members’ children pointing to the possibility that women’s participation may be at the cost of attention paid to children’s nutritional status. Table 5: Poverty And Empowerment Impact Of Activists for Social Alternatives

Poverty/ Empowerment

Achievements Areas for strengthening

Poverty - reach of dalits (32% members and leaders)

- reduced household vulnerability to calamities

- reduced dependence on money lenders

- improved household income - members access to basic

needs better than non members

- All the poor not covered. - Exclusion of those unable to

partake in savings and IGPs - Rich and very rich are also

members - Malnutrition higher amongst

members’ children than non members

- Low Literacy levels of members - Child labour yet to be eliminated

Individual level emp.

Resources: - freedom to make large and

small purchases - enhanced control over income - asset ownership amongst

WHH Labour and mobility: - improved mobility - non traditional skill acquisition - transition from non workers

and unskilled to skilled workers Body: - Women report enhanced

control over reproductive decision making

General - Enhanced household decision

making

Collective Level emp.

Political participation - Groups motivated 175

members to contest elections (51%) won it

Caste: - breaking down of caste barriers through formation of mixed caste groups

Marketing - Linkages of groups with markets

weak Bank and government Linkages - Weak bargaining capacity of

federations. - Convergence with schools, health

and nutrition centers Leadership/Political participation - Groups yet to play a role in

making Gram Sabhas accountable - Rotation of group leadership weak Dependency: - Many groups still dependent on

ASA for maintaining records

Lessons: The poverty impact of the micro credit intervention can be attributed to the effective targeting system (based on housing index), sensitivity of staff and Board members to dalit and gender issues, easy loan documentation procedures, investment in training of group members and close monitoring of asset creation. The policy of forming mixed caste groups has also facilitated effective social integration. Another worthy lesson from the programme, is the policy of giving interest free loans to poor women who are interested in contesting elections for meeting costs of deposits for filing in papers. Equally there are lessons from areas for strengthening. The policy of linking staff salaries to recovery has increased effieciency of the micro credit programme, but not the empowerment impact. It may be useful to link salaries to both recovery rates as well as credit plus interventions. Investment in literacy is a must if groups’ dependency on NGO is to be reduced. Greater emphasis may be placed on convergence between groups and local organizations, as well as group activities like running of PDS. Discussions from the floor: One key question that emerged from the floor was on the issue of whether women’s SHGs should take over running of the PDS system. One opinion from the floor was that such an approach would encourage the State to abdicate its role and hand over social services to women’s groups. Another opinion was that women’s SHGs should run such services only to show alternative ways of managing such services, or as a group income generating activity. 3.0 GROUP WORK ON LESSONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS As mentioned the group work was around three themes: the concept and process of women’s empowerment, the limits and potential of micro finance for poverty reduction and the limits and potential of micro finance for women’s empowerment Concept and Processes of Women’s empowerment: This group pulled out lessons on the concept, processes and elements of women’s empowerment, as well as on the nature of social mobilization and institutional structures and processes required for empowerment. Concept of empowerment: The group members felt that the term empowerment meant different things to different stakeholders. Some organizations used the term in a liberal sense, while others in a more transformative way. The participants in the group discussion saw empowerment as a process of transformation. This process normally unfolds with the poor and oppressed groups understanding the nature of their oppression in different institutions and social relations. It also entails expansion of spaces for the oppressed groups to make strategic choices within different institutions and social relations of society. Specifically, women’s empowerment begins when women start unpacking how social relations of gender, caste, class, ethnicity and religion interlock in different institutions of society to keep them in subordinate position. It also entails women expanding spaces and breaking barriers in society. The process of women’s empowerment leaves no social relation or institution unchanged. The process of empowerment is subjective and the weightage given to indicators of women’s empowerment may vary across groups. For women from the community even the ability to wear matching sari and blouse can be empowering, while outsiders may not view this as an indicator of women’s empowerment. It is important for outsiders to capture and respect women’s own indicators of empowerment. Empowerment is an ongoing and dynamic process. It is not a static state that one has achieved or fully arrived at. Money, education and empowerment: The group then deliberated on whether access to money and education was central to the process of women’s empowerment. Drawing upon the presentations and from their own experiences, the participants felt that in contexts where money had gained predominance as a measure of value (much of contemporary India), women’s access to and control over money was central to their empowerment. This however need not be the case in small pockets of India which were not fully monetized like in area where Lokadrusti works. Women’s access to and control over the non monetized means of exchange- grains and goats- seemed more important. Moving on to the issue of education, the ability to read and write was felt to be absolutely necessary, but not sufficient, for women’s empowerment. Poor women are often exploited and denied access to information because they cannot read and write. Even within SHGs, if most members cannot read and write, it is difficult for them to effectively monitor records and transactions. On the other hand, the ability to read and write does not automatically empower women. Many well educated women face domestic violence and are dis-empowered. Within SHGs, the ability of most members to read and write, does not automatically mean that they control the record keeping and financial transactions. This brings one to another critical element of women’s economic empowerment: the ability to control finance (both within the family and in SHGs) and record keeping. Limits of micro finance in facilitating women’s empowerment: While micro finance interventions, if accompanied by social mobilization, play a key role in women’s empowerment, the group strongly felt that there are limits to how much such interventions by themselves can empower women. The presentations amply highlighted the need for combining micro finance with interventions to expand independent land rights of poor women, promote higher and equal wages and non-farm rural livelihoods. Income generation activities need to be supplemented with activities to arrest leakages on dowry, alcohol and other areas. However, even if such interventions are added to micro finance services, they cannot reach all sections of the poor. Elderly poor women, for example, fall outside the ambit of micro finance as they have little ability to engage in productive activities or save. They need effective social security services. Some

sections of differentially abled poor also fall into this category. Nature of social mobilization for women’s empowerment: The group felt that the process of social mobilization is central to women’s empowerment. However, any kind of social mobilization of women cannot foster women’s empowerment. Group formation has to begin with affinity and common interests. Class, rather than caste, homogeneity amongst women members is central to effective social mobilization. If the process of social mobilization is to empower women, it should begin with common issues. Micro finance should come in later and only if felt to be a critical need. Further, the experiences in the presentations suggest that it is important to organize a critical mass of women, and federate them at different levels: village to district. Isolated small groups of women dispersed over different villages cannot make claims on government or influence policies and planning process. Neither can they intervene effectively in market places, or challenge social norms that disadvantage women. Role and structure of intermediary organizations: Intermediary organizations have an important role to play in creating conditions for the process of women’s empowerment to unfold. Their role, however, should change with time. They should work towards making the groups at different levels function independently of them through building their capacity and linking them with banks and government, and with social movements. They should strive towards establishing structures like in the case of SSP so that the women themselves (rather than intermediary organizations) can represent their interests vis a vis policy makers and planners. Whether this implies withdrawal of the intermediary organization is a context specific question, but gradual weaning away of dependence of groups on such organizations is a must. To be able to play such a facilitating role it is important that intermediary organizations are “non-profit” and autonomous in nature and offer a range of services apart from micro credit. The SHARE experiences suggests that there are limits as to how much “for-profit” organizations can foster women’s empowerment. However, the fact that they are non-profit does not automatically mean that they can foster women’s empowerment. Their staffs have to be sensitive to gender and social relations, their activities should be wider than just micro finance interventions, and they should be process rather than target driven. The AP, SAPAP study suggests that whether the organization is governmental or non- governmental is less important, but it should function autonomously and in a non-bureaucratic way, and have the freedom to draw its staffs from both government and outside. Future research and documentation agendas: The group had several suggestions on future areas of research and documentation related to women’s empowerment on which little information was available. These include: · Individual and collective strategies to expand land and asset base of women

· Individual and collective marketing strategies of women’s groups[8]

· Collective interventions of women in labour market to enhance wages, secure better conditions of work, and secure labour contracts.

· Collective strategies to combat the practice of dowry, and promote dowry free marriages. · Review of programme overlaps and contradictions between different micro credit programmes of the

government and how these can be addressed. Micro Finance: Lessons On Potentials And Limitations For Poverty Reduction Exploring the links between micro finance and poverty reduction, the second group pointed that micro finance interventions (broader than micro credit) can play a key role in poverty reduction, albeit under several important conditions. Firstly, micro finance institutions/promoting institutions (MFIs) need a clear understanding of who the poor are, processes leading to their poverty, and the livelihood strategies of the poor. Poverty is seasonal in much of India. To cope with poverty, the poor adopt multiple livelihood strategies. Infact the poorer an individual or household is, the greater the number of livelihoods they adopt. Most MFIs, on the other hand, are oriented to single activity lending, and assume that income accrues uniformly across seasons. Second, MFIs need to integrate risk reduction activities into their strategies. The livelihood strategies and the lives of the poor are as it is highly risky. The poor are hence averse to taking further risks through high-risk but profitable enterprises, as failure can plunge them into starvation. Risk reduction, however, is not a priority of MFIs. Calculations of profit assume greater important by MFIs. MFIs hence need to integrate effective strategies for social risk management. They need to study existing mechanisms of the poor to reduce risks and strengthen these. Third, the overall legal and policy environment needs to be pro-poor. State responsibility for providing child care, health and education services is a must if micro credit interventions are to lead to reduced poverty. Further, a policy of strengthening linkages of poor and their groups with banks, government and other organizations need to be in place. Fourth, MFIs need to understand that there is no blue print approach to organizing group based micro credit and savings activities. The Grameen Bank model, SHG model and the SEWA Bank model are just a few examples of the different models that exist. MFIs need to allow these thousand flowers to bloom, while at the same time ensure that the self-help and self-learning component in each is nurtured.

Fifth, MFIs need to adopt effective indicators of poverty reduction for monitoring and evaluation. Their horizons have to expand beyond indicators of capital appreciation and recovery. Indicators of poverty reduction should focus both on means, measures like income, asset or employment enhancement, as well as actual improvement in access to basic needs. Sixth, the range of financial services offered by MFI should be sensitive to the needs of the poor. As of now MFIs offer the same services to the poor as the rich (loans), but on a smaller scale (smaller per capita loans). It should not be that way. The needs of the poor and different poverty groups are different. As mentioned there is a need to integrate loans with risk reduction strategies, capacity building strategies and linkage building strategies. Seventh, NGOs, bankers and government involved in micro finance activities need to be sensitive to the economics of activities in which the poor are involved. Bankers are much more conversant with economic enterprises of the rich rather than the poor. For example, they are rarely familiar with economics of the enterprise of a cobbler, where there is scope for value addition and arresting leakages. Eighth, bankers need to support capacity building of the poor and their groups. At present, with few exceptions, capacity building is carried out by NGOs or by the government with the assistance of special donor funds. Bankers rarely support capacity building efforts, though the returns to lending to groups of poor have been high. Banks are therefore being subsidized by donors including government. It is time that this pattern changed, and bankers provide grants for capacity building as well. Micro finance: Potential and limitations for women’s empowerment The third group tried to address the following key questions: Is micro credit transformative? What are the preconditions if micro credit interventions are to foster women’s empowerment? Is it necessary or sufficient for women’s empowerment? The group held the view that micro credit approaches normally reflect an Incremental view of poverty reduction and empowerment, and not Transformative. Most “micro” credit programmes (entailing small loans) are targeted at women while “macro” credit programmes (entailing large loans) at men. If credit interventions are to contribute to women’s empowerment, there are several preconditions. They should provide its members with a minimum access to credit of Rs 15,000, and not just small amounts of credit. Further, credit interventions should be combined with several “non credit” or “credit-plus” interventions. First amongst them is investment in group building and capacity building. Group building efforts need to recognize that SHGs are one amongst the structures for women’s empowerment. Other structures need to be built on these like federations, occupational groups and social movements. Capacity building is another pre-requisite if credit programmes are to have an empowering impact. Capacity building efforts should focus not just on strengthening technical and managerial skills, but also on raising gender and social awareness, expanding access to information and strengthening negotiating and networking skills. A second set of credit plus interventions that are essential for women’s empowerment pertain to issues of expanding women’s access to resources, markets and information, and their returns to their work. Group economic activities are better than individual focused ones for the above purposes, as they create a force by themselves and enable women to resist family pressures and challenge community norms. There is also a need to evolve strategies to change the social relations of women’s work, that is they need to be enabled to move from being wage labourers to self-employed entrepreneurs. Thirdly there is a need to strengthen linkages between groups of women and macro-economic processes and empowerment programmes. Poor women need to be linked not only to micro markets and local organizations, but also to processes at the macro level like policy formulation and planning. Further it is imperative that groups are linked with other strong empowerment programmes in the state and at the national levels. Finally, for such credit plus process to be unleashed a minimum of 10 years of sustained effort is required. It is hence necessary to move beyond the short-term project syndrome. While taking into account the above pre-conditions and credit plus interventions increase the empowerment potential of micro credit. However, it does not mean that there is a linear link between micro credit and women’s empowerment. Infact linking the two agendas can limit achievement of both empowerment and micro credit objectives. The group also identified several areas for further research related to the issue of micro credit and women’s empowerment: · Structures, functioning and ownership of federations · Sustainability: its meaning and contributing factors · Micro credit and empowerment processes in different contexts: monetized and non-monetized, tribal and non

tribal · Linkages between groups and mainstream institutions

· The pros and cons of forming micro credit groups along caste based lines · The similarities and differences in the ways in which women’s organisations and struggle based groups are

handling micro credit programmes Discussions from the floor The participants observed that expanding women’s rights to land had figured in most presentations and group work. It may be a good strategy to enhance groups’ ownership of land and common property resources, rather than that of individual women from the point of view of collective empowerment as well as to ensure that other family members do not appropriate land. The participants emphasized the need for collective interventions in markets with respect to agriculture, non-timber forest produce and non-farm produce. It was observed that federations of SHGs needed to link with unions and movements, and perhaps foster other organizational structures like unions and cooperatives if necessary. The point made earlier that if micro credit interventions are to reduce poverty and empower women, there is a need for state provision of social services was re-iterated. Another precondition (though not a sufficient condition) was that anti poor policies like allowing use of agricultural land for industrial purposes should be reversed. 4.0 SYNTHEIS OF THE DELIBERATIONS As mentioned in the introduction, Dr Joy Ranadive, Senior Fellow, CWDS offered a synthesis of the presentations of the first day, while Dr Kalyani Menon-Sen, Gender Adviser, UNDP pulled out lessons on the deliberations of the entire workshop. The valuable insights of both are presented below. Synthesis by Dr Joy Ranadive, CWDS Dr Joy Ranadive began by complimenting the research teams that carried out the studies She observed that together the studies of the first day brought out experiences in diverse states, different institutional situations and different socio economic contexts. The findings were hence rich and offered several lessons: Perspective · Micro credit for what purpose? The studies have pointed out that the purpose of micro credit can be varied from

maximizing returns to financial institutions, to poverty reduction and women’s empowerment. The link between micro credit, poverty reduction and women’s empowerment was the themes for discussion at the World Micro Credit Summit held in Washington in the 1990s. It is important to remember that poverty reduction and women’s empowerment should be put on the mandate of micro credit interventions if they are to make a dent on these two aspects.

Lessons on micro credit and poverty reduction · The distinction between consumption and production loans, and the greater value placed on the latter for

poverty reduction is not valid. Often it is assumed by government and bankers that only production loans play a role in poverty alleviation, and consumption loans constitute a leakage of resource. However, this dichotomy ignores the fact that food and nutrition, education and health are necessary for maintaining human resources, and hence is as productive as loans for livelihoods, income generation and micro enterprises. Infact resent research done by IFPRI, Washington has come to the conclusion that credit for food is critical for survival.

· Need to be realistic about the reach of micro credit programmes: Almost all the presentations have highlighted

that while micro credit programmes have definitely reached the poor, reaching the poorest has indeed been very difficult. Perhaps the strategy should be to increase the ability of the poor to make space for the poorest by generating employment. Even then a few groups in poverty are outside the ambit of micro credit- young women, elderly women, chronic migrants, differentially abled etc. One needs to be realistic about the reach of micro credit programmes

· Micro credit interventions may not be appropriate in non-monetised economies. The Lokadrusti case highlights

that in non monetized economies the poor may not have the ability to save in cash or absorb cash credit. Given the remoteness of such areas neither can it be assumed that increase in cash income will lead to improvement in well being. It may be important to introduce savings in the form of grains and seed, and introduce micro services like grain bank, medicines, herbal gardens, etc.

· Need for regional research methods on impact of micro credit interventions: the studies have adopted various

methods for assessing impact, including before and after comparisons. The before and after comparisons hinge on memory recall, which may at times not be accurate. Though expensive and time consuming, it may be more accurate to study the well being and empowerment of a few members/non members, households and SHGs at different points in time.

· Need for investment in transformative capacity building: As the saying goes, give a person fish he/she is always

dependent on you, while if you teach the person to fish he/she can be independent. Almost all the case studies have pointed to the need for teaching “poor women to fish” i.e. to build their capacity to independently manage the micro credit interventions, and question social relations critically. The ASA experience suggests that functionalliteracy is also a critical component in which capacity needs to be built.

Lessons on micro credit and women’s empowerment · Empowerment is a process, and is about transforming power relations: The studies point to the fact that

empowerment is a process that seeks to remove barriers that allow for equal participation of women. It is a dynamic process, and not a static goal which one reaches if one arrives at a particular state. Empowerment cannot be understood without understanding and changing power dynamics. It entails tilting the power equation in social relations of gender, caste, class played out in different societal institutions. It is a process of expanding not just access to resources, but also mental spaces- in particular the ability to question and challenge hierarchies

· There is no linear relationship between access to credit and women’s empowerment: Access to money is a

precondition to women’s empowerment, but not a sufficient condition. Creating spaces to alter the mental map of women is important. This requires access to critical information, as amply highlighted by the case study of Swayam Shikhsan Prayog.

· Need for paying attention to who bears the onus of work and repayment: Wherever micro credit interventions

are not accompanied by attention to changing power relations within the family, the onus of work and repayment may fall on women. The case studies reveal that is not uncommon for women’s workload to increase through micro credit interventions. In SHARE there was an attempt to get spouses also to sign before a woman took loan, but this need not necessarily mean joint sharing of burden of work or repayment. In Lokadrusti, the NGO seems to have taken on the onus of repayment as members perceived the money to belong to the NGO rather than themselves. On the whole, it seems important to ensure that men and women within households share the burden of work and repayment equally.

· Need to ensure that micro credit interventions do not shift responsibilities for service provision from the state to

women: There is a line of thought that group based micro credit interventions are part of a larger globalization and privatization agenda; as part of which the state is handing over provision of services (like PDS, maintenance of roads and infrastructure) slowly to self help groups. As most SHGs comprise of poor women members, indirectly the burden is being shifted to poor women. Are herbal gardens promoted by NGOs through SHGs an example of self-help or shrinking health services of the government is a key question. It seems important that SHGs make the state accountable and show a few replicable models of provision of services, but not assume responsibility for provision of services.

Institutional lessons · Profit maximization and social mandates often do not go hand in hand: Micro finance is heralded as one

instrument that can simultaneously make sense economically and reduce poverty and empower women. However, the presentations clearly reveal that this is not possible. The SHARE study suggests that the goal of profit maximization cannot be achieved without compromising achievement of social mandates. NGOs (while not incurring loses) should not transform them into profit making MFIs, but keep in mind their social mandate.

· Need for gender and socially aware intermediary organizations: To further social mandates, NGO staff’s

capacity needs to be built on several areas, of which financial management is just one aspect. Perspective on poverty, gender and caste also needs to be strengthened.

General lessons: · Need for context specific models for micro credit interventions for poverty reduction or empowerment: The

presentations have highlighted that there is no one blue print of micro credit interventions. Models should evolve in a context specific rather than pre-determined manner. Often only successful models are documented and disseminated. It is equally important to document and learn from failures so that they are not repeated elsewhere. This seems to be a gap in literature in this respect.

· Need for reflection on the interface between Panchayat as a platform for women’s empowerment, and micro

credit interventions and groups with a similar purpose. Many a times the groups are expected to play roles similar to Panchayats in terms of monitoring local government institutions. There is no clear answer, but this is an area where greater thinking is required.

· Need for broad basing leadership, and attention to relations between leaders and non leaders within groups

Often attention is paid to who has access to leaderhsip positions in groups, and who does not. But the question of the relationship between leaders and non-leaders is not addressed. It is important that leadership is not vested in few people, and that democratic decision-making systems are adopted.

Synthesis by Dr Kalyani Menon Sen, Gender Adviser, UNDP

Wrapping up, Dr Kalyani Menon Sen, Gender Adviser, UNDP observed that the deliberations offered several insight on the relationship between micro credit, poverty and empowerment. The presentations and deliberations suggest that while there is some relationship between the three components, the assumption that this is a linear or simplerelationship, which seems to be the starting point for the design of many micro-credit programmes, is not justified. The non-linear relationship is reflected in the fact that every micro credit programme does not reduce poverty or empower

women. Neither it is true that if micro credit programme are allowed to continue for a long period, these two objectives will ultimately coalesce.

The incomplete relationship between micro credit and women’s empowerment is indicated by the fact that even the best micro credit programmes impact more the economic aspects of women’s empowerment like women’s access to resources and returns to labour, than the social or political aspects. The impact is more visible in the public domain of work and community leadership, than the private domain of family in which violence and sexual abuse takes place, and in which strong norms on divisions of domestic work and childcare exists. It is true that certain positive momentum and change is generated when women who hitherto have not had the space to come together have such an opportunity through meetings to save and take loans. However, there are limits to what change can automatically take place through such spaces. Conscious strategies falling outside the ambit of micro credit interventions are required for fostering women’s empowerment.

Poverty reduction requires an understanding of the complex process of poverty and strategic interventions to address this complexity. The presentations as well as group discussions in the workshop have repeatedly shown that micro credit is just one amongst the many strategies to reduce poverty. Several non-credit interventions- ranging from land and asset rights, risk reduction strategies, and social security-are required to address this complexity. Hence there is also no linear or complete relationship between micro credit and poverty reduction.

Yet another lesson is that linking micro credit and women’s empowerment limits what both kinds of programmes can achieve. When women’s empowerment objectives are added to micro credit interventions, the effectiveness and efficiency of micro credit programmes gets reduced in terms of outreach, income enhancement, recovery, and other economic parameters. At the same time when micro credit programmes are added to women’s empowerment programmes, attention is taken away from the complex process of women’s subordination and what is required to transform these. Experience shows that micro credit programmes may contribute to women's economic empowerment, but to assume that they can unleash processes to foster social and political empowerment is misplaced. Perhaps policy makers now need to consider the option of designing separate programmes to meet these separate objectives.

Materials Circulated in the Workshop “Social Mobilization, micro credit and women’s empowerment” Andhra-Pradesh SAPAP Research Team, 2001, Abstracts of Some Research Findings from South Asia on Impact of Micro credit on Women’s Empowerment, Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty, Hyderabad, India. Gopalan, Prema, 2001, “The many facets of micro credit” in Humanscape, August 2001, Issue No 5 Johnson, Susan, 200?, Gender and Micro finance: Guidelines for Good Practice, Center for Development Studies,University of Bath, England Mayoux, Linda, 1999, From Access to Empowerment: Gender Issues in Micro Finance, CSD NGO Women’s Caucus Position Paper for CSD-8, 2000 Nath, Meenakshi, 200?, Thrift and Credit Groups in Andhra Pradesh and North Karnataka: A Review, Oxfam (India) Trust, Hyderabad Naponen, Helzi, 2002, The Internal learning System (ILS) for Participatory Assessment of Immediate and Wider Impacts of Micro Finance and Livelihoods Interventions, Paper presented by PRADAN in the workshop on Wider

Impacts of Micro finance held at BRAC, Bangladesh between 6th and 9th of January, 2002. Scully, Nan Dawkins, 200?, Micro Credit No Panacea for Poor women, Women’s Micro-credit Accountability Network, ?? Sebstad, Jennefer and Monique Cohen, 2000, Micro-finance, Risk Management and Poverty, Assessing the Impact of Micro Finance Services (AIMS), Management Systems International, Washington. Shabna, Sudhirendar, 2002, Micro credit: Globalization Unlimited, Hindu Business Line, 5th January 2002 United Nations Development Programme, 2001, Micro finance and HIV/AIDS: Summary Report on Partnership Building Projects, Regional Project on HIV and Development, UNDP-Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific, Kaula Lampur. Zaidi, Mohammad Asif and Dhrubaa Mukhopadhyay, 2002, Wider Impacts of Micro Finance through self help groups, Paper presented by PRADAN in the workshop on Wider Impacts of Micro finance held at BRAC, Bangladesh between

6th and 9th of January, 2002. List of Study Papers: ¨ A Case Study of Dhan Foundation ,submitted by Veena Padia. ¨ Awareness, Access, Agency: Swayam Shiksha Prayojan, submitted by Soma Kishore Parthasarathy and Research Team of SSP. ¨ The Lokadrusti case, submitted by Shashi Rajagopalan. ¨ The Activists for Social Alternatives Trust Tiruchirapalli, submitted by D.Kalpana. ¨ A case study of SHARE Microfin Limited, submitted by Anuradha Rajivan. List of participants: Ms.Agnete Ericksen Counsellor, Development NORAD, Royal Norwegian Embassy Shanti Path, Chanakya Puri New Delhi 110 021 Tel: 6873573/ 3532/ 3142 Dr. M. A. Momin Programme Officer CIRDAP Chameli House 17 Topkhana Road GPO Box 2883 Dhaka 1000

Bangladesh E-mail: cirdap@citechco.net Dr. D. Kalpana B2, Sri Aditya Apartments 4th Seaward Road Valimiki Nagar Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai- 600041 E-mail: cvsankar@yahoo.co.uk Mr. Ravinder Yadav Micro-credit Cell Oriental Bank of Commerce Rural Development Department II Floor, Rachna Building Rajendra Palace New Delhi - 110 008 Tel: +91 11 576 0544 Ms.Vanita Viswanathan Chief Executive Officer UDYOGINI 158/ B5, 1st floor Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi- 110 029 Tel: 6166272/ 6170816/ 6171438 Fax: 6171707 E-mail: udyogini@bol.net.in Ms.Jyoti Kumar Resource Person Action India 5/27 A, Jangpura B New Delhi – 110014 Tel: 4327470/ 4314785 E-mail: actioni@hotmail.com/ jyotisrivastava@yahoo.com Mr. Anirban Ghose Team Leader PRADAN K.P. Dutta Compound 60 Circular Road Ranchi 834 001 Bihar Tel: 0651 308552 Tel/Fax: 0651 200615/20164 E-mail: pradan_khunti@yahoo.co.uk Mr.Ranjan Panda Secretary Manav Adhikar Seva Samitee Dhanupali, Sambalpur- 768100 Orissa Tel: 0663-520962/ 404974/0633-520556® Fax: 0663-404000 E-Mail: ranjanpanda@yahoo.com/ manav1@sancharnet.in Ms. Anuradha Khati Rajivan ‘Uttara’ 3 Bay side, East Coast Road Kottiwakkam Chennai- 600041

Tel: 044-4511594 E-mail: gudy4shoes@yahoo.com Ms.Shibani Sachdeva Head India Operations PlaNet Finance India 12 Mistry Court Dinshaw Wacha Road Mumbai 400 0202 Tel: 022-2189623 Mobile : E-mail: ssachdeva@planetfinance.org Ms.Veronique Roux Representative - Delhi PlaNet Finance India E13/3Vasant Vihar New Delhi-110057 Tel:(011) 615 68 31 E-mail: vroux@planetfinance.org Ms.Ranjani K Murthy 16, Srinivsamurthi Avenue, Adyar Chennai- 600020 Tel: 4902960 E-mail: rk_km2000@yahoo.com/ rk_m@satyam.net.in Mr.K. Raju Chief Executive Officer Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty 5-10-188/2 3rd floor, Summit Apartments Hyderabad- 500004 Tel: 040-6660315/16/17/18 E-mail: krajuhyd@yahoo.com Mr. Bikram Duggal ICICI Limited ICICI Towers Bandra-Kurla Complex Mumbai- 400051 Tel: 022-6536283/ 6531414 E-mail: duggalb@icici.com Mr. Kartikeya Saboo ICICI Limited ICICI Towers Bandra-Kurla Complex Mumbai- 400051 Tel: 022-6536283/ 6531414 sabook@icici.com Ms.Bindu Ananth Assistant Manager ICICI Limited ICICI Towers Bandra-Kurla Complex Mumbai- 400051 Tel: 022-6536283/ 6531414 e-mail: ananthb@icici.com

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Mr. Kamal Nayan Badoni Rural Litigation & Entitlement Kendra( R.L.E.K) 21, East Canal Road Dehradun, Uttaranchal Tel.: 0135-740955/745539/746071 Fax: 0135-741931/746881 E-mail: rlekddn@nda.vsnl.net.in or rlek@vsnl.net.in Ms. Gauri Chaudhury Director Action India 5/27 A, Jangpura B New Delhi – 110014 Tel: 4327470/ 4314785 E-mail: actioni@hotmail.com Mr. Abani Mohan Panigrahi Member Secretary Lokadrusti Knariar(Gadramunda) Nuapada Orissa- 766107 Tel: 06671-32348/ 32147 Mr.G.D.Sharma Director (RD) Planning Commission Yojana Bhawan Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110 001 Tel.: 3717539(O) Ms. Asha Swarup Joint Secretary( Swarna Jayanti Gram Sarojgar Yogna) Ministry of Rural Development Room No. 273 Krishi Bhawan New Delhi 110 001 Tel: 3383553 Fax: 3388207 Mr Sanjeet Singh Deputy Secretary Ministry of Rural Development Krishi Bhawan New Delhi 110 001 Tel: 3383553 Fax: 3388207 Ms. Audiiti Mehtta 6/ 31 Shantiniketan New Delhi-110 021 Tel. : 6886414 ® Mr. Ajit. N. Kanitkar Programme Officer Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC) Embassy of Switzerland Chandragupta Marg, Chanakyapuri New Delhi - 110 021 Tel: +91 11 687 7819

Ms Meenakshi Nath Enterprise Development Advisor DFID India, British High Commission B 28, Tara Crescent Qutab Institutional Area New Delhi - 110 016 Tel: +91 11 6529123 extn 3406 Mr. Shamshad Khan Centre for Rural Education & Development Action 490, Awas Vikas Colony Domrauli, Mirzapur -231001 Uttar Pradesh Tel: 05442-62285(O)/62284(R) E-mail: shamshadk@satyam.net.in Ms. Shashi Tyagi Secretary Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti 458, Milkman Colony, Street No. 3 Pal Road Jodhpur (Rajasthan) Tel: 0291 741317/744549 Fax: 0291 744549 E-mail: gravis@wilnetonline.net Mrs. Mercy Clara Executive Director The Activists for Social Alternatives (ASA) Sathia Illam, 2A-10th Cross, Alli Street Annamalai Nagar Tiruchirappalli- 620018 Tamil Nadu Tel: 0091-431-763980 e-mail: asadev@eth.net Ms. Varalakshmi Vemuru Senior Social Development Specialist, SASES, The World Bank 70, Lodi Estate, New Delhi - 110 003, Tel: +91-11-4619491 (extn:) 127, Fax:91-11-4628074, em: Vvemuru@worldbank.org Ms S.D. Amitha Kamath Gender Co-ordinator Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty 5-10-188/2 3rd floor, Summit Apartments Hyderabad- 500004 Tel: 040-6660315/16/17/18 E-mail: amithakamath@yahoo.com Ms.Geetanjali Dhoundiyal Rural Litigation & Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) 68/1, Suryalok Colony Rajpur Road

P.O.Box no: 10 Dehradun-248001 Uttranchal Tel: 0135-740955/ 745539/ 746071 Fax: 0135-741931 E-mail: rlek@sancharnet.in Ms. Meenakshi Ahluwalia Programme Officer UNIFEM 223 Jorbagh New Delhi- 110003 Tel:011-4698297 Fax: 4622136 E-mail: walia3@vsnl.com/meenakshi.ahluwalia@undp.org Ms Joy Deshmukh- Ranadive Senior Fellow Centre for Women's Development Studies 25, Bhai Vir Singh Marg New Delhi-110001 Tel: 3345530/ 3365541/ 3366930 E-mail: cwds@ndb.vsnl.net.in/joyrahul@vsnl.com Ms.Soma Kishore Parthasarathy A 111, Shivalik, Malviya Nagar New Delhi- 110017 Tel: 011-6966334/6685539 E-mail: somakp@vsnl.com Mr.Udaia Kumar Managing Director SHARE Microfin Limited 1- 224/58 Rajeev Nagar Nacharam Hyderabad- 500076 Tel: 040-7158387/ 7158380 Ms.Mandeep Rai BBC 242 Wheelwright Road, Erdington, Birmingham, England. B24 8EH Tel: 0121 384 7817 E-mail: mandeep_rai@hotmail.com Ms Puravi Hegde Project Co-ordinator Planet Finance 12 Mistry Court Dinshaw Wacha Road Mumbai 400 0202 Tel: 022-2189623 / 0 98210 28854. e-mail: phegde@planetfinance.org Ms. Smita Sawant Programme Coordinator Swayam Shikshan Prayog CVOD Jain High School 84, Samuel Street, Dongri

Mumbai- 400009 Tel: 022-3700853 Ms.Prema Gopalan Director Swayam Shikshan Prayog CVOD Jain High School 84, Samuel Street, Dongri Mumbai- 400009 Tel: 022-3700853 E-mail: ssp2000@vsnl.com Ms.Achla Savyasaachi Sr. Programme Manager Sa-Dhan B-4/3133, Vasant Kunj New Delhi - 110 070 Tel: +91 11 613 2629 E-mail: sa-dhan@mantraonline.com Ms.Komal Mathur Freelance writer, editor, researcher B 115 Niti Bagh New Delhi 110049 ph: 98105-67934, 6867883, 6563850 E-mail:komalmathur@vsnl.net Mr Chiranjiv Chaudhury Deputy Advisor Ministry of Rural Development Krishi Bhawan New Delhi 110 001 Tel: 3383553 Fax: 3388207

[1]That is having an impact beyond members and members households involved in micro credit programmes.

[2] Unfortunately, DHAN representative and the Consultant could not come, and hence this study is not presented.

The DWCRA study is in the process of finalization. [3]

Including body mapping, happiness mapping, mobility mapping, caste discrimination matrix, wealth ranking, seasonality mapping and venn-diagramming. [4]

Of SHGs, VOs, MMSs, schools, Anganwadi centers and Village health sub centers.

[5] Migration prevalent now only in 2-3 villages while earlier it was common in 20-30.

[6] Lautr, Osmanabad, Solapur, Nanded and Amrawati districts.

[7] Trichy, Pudukottia, Sivagangai, Madurai and Dindigul.

[8] Including in the area of NTFP