Prepared by Dr. Anita Dighe
Director, Distance Education
Himgiri Nabh Vishwavidyalaya
September 22, 2008
Background The last decade has seen a growing importance of the term `empowerment.' While the term has been used for the poor and the deprived groups, it has now been used even more extensively with regard to women's programs. As a matter of fact, most state governments now consider it desirable to offer women's empowerment programs in order to alleviate poverty and to bring about women's development. Considering the widespread use of the term, it was decided to understand what the term connotes for such government programs and to understand how the term has got translated into programs that are run by the government as well as by non-government organizations (NGOs). What kinds of programs are these? Are training programs organized for women? What is the nature of such programs? Do they use technology for ensuring reach of such programs? What would be the appropriate technology that could be used to ensure that such programs reach out to large numbers of women? How do they measure success? In what ways have these programs affected the lives of women? It was thought necessary to ask such questions to understand whether technology based learning could play a role in the empowerment of women, particularly of poor rural women.
It was keeping these questions in mind that the Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver, commissioned Himgiri Nabh Vishwavidyalaya, Dehradun, to undertake an environmental scan in the first phase, to ascertain what is currently happening for empowering women (including poor and marginalized women) in the state of Uttarakhand. It is envisaged that based on the highlights of phase one, phase two will be undertaken that will widen the scope of the study more broadly in India and to identify key elements that will be included to build up a model that could then be scaled up and out through technology mediated learning and shared for use by all in South Asia. Specifically, it is envisaged that the model will enable women at the local level to access learning opportunities through partnerships that will allow them to identify their needs and participate effectively in activities that will improve their lives and their children's lives.
The women's empowerment at local level (WELL) model will include the following broad concepts: - How to form a women's group;
- How to sustain a group;
- How to set priorities for action;
- How to elicit information with respect to various areas such as facilitating women's involvement in local Panchayat matters, agriculture, school management (for primary or secondary school), income generation, health.
It is envisaged that phase three will focus on receiving inputs and validation from activists and professionals in this area in India as well as representatives from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka first through email discussions and followed by a Round Table event.