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1. Introduction
The most important goal for the international community in the beginning of the
21 century is the alleviation of poverty. The Millennium Development Goals sets
“Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” as Goal 1 and targets to “reduce by half the
proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.” Relentless efforts have been
made globally to uplift the poor in order to achieve the target by 2015.
Conventional poverty alleviation projects take the form of service delivery, such asprovision of housing, employment, vocational skills training and small loans. In
addition to these services, empowerment becomes an important component in enabling
the poor to break away from the cycle of poverty by increasing their capabilities.
Empowerment is a process in which the weak in society gain physical, psychological,
social, economic and political power. The power of which these people are deprived
differs, depending on the context in which they live. Therefore, the process of
empowerment is not uniform, and as a result, so are the types of intervention.
Empowerment, together with gender mainstreaming, is also a key word in genderand development, following the fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.
It goes without saying that empowerment is a focal point for any on-going projects for
women. Various approaches have been adopted to empower women, ranging fromhealth projects for physical empowerment and education projects for social
empowerment, to income generation projects for economic empowerment.
Presently, the most popular approach is to empower women economically, sinceeconomic empowerment of women certainly contributes to poverty reduction. At thesame time, it is reported that by gaining economic power, women gain confidence anddevelop psychologically, and their status in the family and community subsequently
improves. This is why projects for women, such as literacy education, vocational
training and family planning, are increasingly combined with micro credit, following
the success of the Grameen Bank project.
As opposed to this trend, the Mahila Samakhya Programme, which is conducted by
the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the Government of India, adopts a
problem-solving approach to empower women through education. Targeting women of
low social classes in rural areas, the programme intends to create an environment where
women and girls can avail themselves of educational opportunities without difficulty.
Women in rural villages, who are organised into groups, learn and take actions toremove obstacles which stand in the way of promoting female education.
In order to examine how women are empowered in the Mahila Samakhya
Programme, this study selected Andhra Pradesh where the programme was started in
1993 by the implementing body, the Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samatha Society (APMSS),
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as it is one of the states in the advanced stage of programme implementation. The
number of participating women has increased from 6,403 in two districts to 171,646 in
fourteen districts. Women‟s groups in rural villages are gradually united as larger groups
and are then federated at the mandal 1 level. Twenty-eight federations of women‟sgroups now conduct various activities independently of the Mahila Samakhya
Programme.
One federation, Swatantra Bharata Mahila Sangham in Makthal mandal in
Mahbubnagar district, was chosen for fieldwork, since it is one of the first twofederations established in Andhra Pradesh and is very active in solving problems thatwomen face, promoting education, and redressing gender discrimination. The federationin Makthal is considered to be a model case in the programme.
Fieldwork was conducted between 5th and 10th of January in 2011, and visits weremade to the head office of the APMSS in Secunderabad, the district office in
Mahbubnagar, and three programme villages in Makthal, as well as the state
government office in charge of the Mahila Samakhya Programme. Information wascollected from the APMSS‟s staff regarding the implementation of the programme andfrom women of the federation regarding reasons for federating and issues on which they
are working. The objective was to analyse the development process from a women‟sgroup to a federation and the empowerment process of women as individuals and asgroups.
This working paper consists of eight chapters. Following the introduction, chapter
2 presents an analytical framework of empowerment. Chapter 3 provides an outline of
the Mahila Samakhya Programme. Chapter 4 illustrates the actual implementation of the
programme in the state of Andhra Pradesh, and chapter 5 explains programme activities
conducted by the APMSS. Chapter 6 contains the development process of Makthal
federation and its activities on the basis of the fieldwork. Chapter 7 analyses the processof empowering women of Makthal federation and the impacts of the federation‟sactivities on people beyond the participants. It also includes the future direction of the
Makthal federation. Chapter 8 discusses the challenges that the APMSS and Makthal
federation face in the implementation of the Mahila Samakhya Programme, including
recommendations and conclusions.

1

Mandal is an administrative unit below a district. It has a population of 50 to 70 thousands.

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2. Analysing Approaches to Empowerment of Women
The term, empowerment, has been a buzzword in the field of development sincethe 1990s. However, there is no consensus on the definition, and what is perceived as
empowerment among academics and practitioners varies depending on the context inwhich the term is used. This section will present the concept of empowerment on which
this working paper is based, drawing ideas from the past studies.
2.1. Understanding empowerment
Empowerment is generally understood as “giving someone power or authority to
do something.” In years past, power and authority granted were considered official.
Empowerment meant that the Pope could grant secular authority to kings or feudal lords
in Medieval English, and was used as a legal term, granting public authority or legal
power in the 17th century (Kukita and Watanabe, 1998: 5; Ito, 2002: 241). When social
reform movements, such as the civil rights and feminist movements, took place in the
United States in the 1950s and 1960s, the meaning was widened to include a social
process of acquiring power.
This broad concept of empowerment was formalised by Paulo Freire in his seminal
work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970). The Latin American educationist developed a
new approach to educating the illiterate, which was centred on conscientisation. Whilelearning literacy skills, learners are encouraged to recognise their positions in society
and the discrimination they face and to take action to change the situation. Thisapproach has had great impacts on development thinking.
Chambers (1983) argues the need for learning from poor and uneducated people
who are at the bottom of society in his influential book, Rural Development: Putting theLast First. He proposes a change in priority in development policy planning. Oakley
and Marsden (1984) advocate participation, by which they mean that people who aretargets of projects should be able to make decisions on issues related to their lives.
Amartya Sen (1999) presents the capability approach in the analysis of poverty. He
argues that poverty does not concern only economic aspects and that it is necessary to
pay attention to the dignity of human beings. People have to develop their capabilities toutilise their entitlements. The capability approach has been supported by international
development agencies, and empowerment of the poor has become an importantcomponent in alleviating poverty.
As the concept of empowerment becomes popular and is used in various ways, its
definitions become varied, since the contexts and the ways in which people are
disempowered are various. There is, however, commonality. The target for
empowerment is those who occupy the weakest positions in society―those who are
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oppressed or are discriminated against. The objective is to achieve social justice byacquiring and protecting rights and changing relations in society. The process of
empowerment includes physical, psychological, social, economic and political aspects.
In this working paper, on the basis of the previous studies, empowerment isdefined as follows:
Empowerment is a process in which the socially weak gain physical,
psychological, social, economic and political power in order to transformsociety. In the process, they acquire abilities to take action, regain confidence
and dignity, are released from control by others, and become able to makedecisions on their own issues.
2.2. Empowerment as an important concept in development and gender
It is said that in development and gender, the term, empoderamiento(empowerment in Spanish) appeared the first time at the second World Conference on
Women in 1980, and was widely used at the third World Conference on Women in1985 (Meguro, 1998; Ito, 2002). An NGO, DAWN (Development Alternatives with
Women for a New Era), had a great influence on shaping the concept on empowermentof women. They argued from the perspective of poor women that it is important forindividual women to become capable and then act collectively, in order to participate indevelopment processes.
In 1994, empowerment was stated in a public document for the first time in the
Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference on Population andDevelopment. Chapter 4 of the Programme of Action is devoted to Gender Equality,
Equity and Empowerment of Women and begins with the statement that “Theempowerment and autonomy of women and the improvement of their political, social,economic and health status is a highly important end in itself.”
In the following year, the Beijing Platform for Action was adopted at the fourthWorld Conference on Women. Its mission statement clearly mentions that “The
Platform for Action is an agenda for women‟s empowerment.” In the same year, theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) developed new indices: Gender
Empowerment Measure (GEM) and Gender Development Index (GDI). Thus, since the
Beijing conference, empowerment, together with gender mainstreaming, has been usedas the main concept to achieve gender equality, and the means to assess progress madein countries and regions via GEM and GDI have been available.

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2.3. Process of and five aspects of women’s empowerment
Past studies on empowerment present analytical frameworks that divide theprocess of empowerment into stages and look at several aspects. On the basis of theliterature review, this working paper examines the empowerment of women in threestages and from five aspects, namely physical, psychological, social, economic andpolitical (see Figure 1).
The first stage is for women to become aware of their oppression. Marginalised
women often take this situation for granted and do not consider it a problem. They are
not aware that they are being deprived of their rights and power. Women, who are
undoubtedly accustomed to occupying an inferior position to men or elders, do notpossess their own identity, but instead identify themselves by their relationship withothers, such as someone‟s wife or someone‟s (usually an eldest son‟s) mother (Sen,1990). For these women, the first step is to understand their position in the family
structure and society and identify the reasons behind their disadvantaged situation. Thisis psychological empowerment.
In the next stage, women acquire the ability to take action. Many on-going projects
for women take the form of delivering services: health service for their physicalempowerment; literacy education to gain knowledge and information for social
empowerment; and vocational skills training and micro credits to earn income for
economic empowerment. In this process of acquiring knowledge and skills, women also
grow psychologically. Empowered women can improve the welfare of their families andcommunities, for example by increasing the knowledge about nutrition or starting small
enterprises. Such contribution can be acknowledged by others. At this stage, thesituation demonstrates a positive-sum outcome. Few conflicts are expected between
those who traditionally hold power and those who gain power.
At the third stage, women, after recognising problems and acquiring the ability tosolve problems, take action to challenge the existing imbalance of power. Demand forredistribution of power is zero-sum. Those who hold power feel threatened, and those
who demand power are likely to face resistance. Therefore, individual women in weak
positions organise themselves and network with other stakeholders. By collective
actions, they are able to voice their demands and seek participation in decision-making.
Empowerment takes place in groups as well as individuals to achieve politicalempowerment.

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Figure 1. Process of Empowerment
Process
Aspect(1) Becomingaware(2) Building
capacity(3) Taking
actionFinal goals

Psychological
Physical- Can make own decisions

Social- Transform society

Economic
Political
IndividualGroup

Source: Created by the author.

2.4. Economic approach and social approach
At present, the most popular approach to empower women is economic. One
reason is that many women live in poverty and their economic empowerment isnecessary. Another reason is a belief that the status of women can be increased byengaging them productive work, in particular the work by which women can bringearnings from outside the home.
A typical example of the economic approach is the Grameen Bank project inBangladesh. Its success is internationally recognised, as shown by the fact that thefounder, Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. The Grameen
Bank aims to reduce poverty by providing micro credits to poor women and enablingthem to start small businesses. These women are empowered not only economically but
also socially and psychologically. It is reported, for example, that by leaving theirhouses and gaining confidence, women‟s status in villages improves (Hossain, 1988;
Karl, 1995; Tsuboi, 2006).
Similar reports are made of the women of SEWA (Self-Employed Women‟s
Association) in India. The SEWA‟s objective is to achieve economic and social security
for self-employed women. They organise themselves and negotiate with employees on
wages and labour conditions, which can otherwise be difficult for individual women.
The SEWA‟s activities have expanded from economic activities to health services,
literacy education, and banking and insurance services, in accordance with the needs of
its members. It is reported that women make demands, lobby and, in turn, gain politicalpower (Bhatt, 1989; Karl, 1995; Kaida, 1998; Ito, 2002). Their empowerment takes
place in economic and other aspects.
Thus, economic empowerment of women can lead to their social and politicalempowerment. They become able to express opinions, increase negotiation power andparticipate in decision-making, since their economic contribution is acknowledged by
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their families and communities (Karl, 1995; Medel-Anonuevo, 1995; NWEC, 1999;
Devi, 2002). However, there are arguments that women who gain economic power are
not necessarily empowered in other aspects. Reportedly, women give whatever theyearn to their husbands or male family members; they have no say in the use of theirearnings; and the power relationship within the family does not change (Karl, 1995;
Kiso, 1997; Hozumi, 1998; NWEC, 1999).
Another approach which is often used for empowerment of women issocial―mainly providing literacy education. Since women account for 64% of the total
number of illiterates in the world (UNESCO, 2010), literacy education is an importantand urgent issue that the international community is addressing.
One of the often-used models for literacy education is the one developed by PauloFreire, which was mentioned earlier. While people learn how to read and write thewords they use in daily life, they are conscientised, recognising their oppressed anddisadvantaged position in society. In this process, they also obtain the ability to analyseand solve problems, and take action. Many literacy projects report psychological andsocial empowerment: women become confident and proud, and gain respect from others
by becoming literate (e.g. Oxenham et al, 2002; Ota, 2005).
It is, however, well known that there are difficulties involved in managing adultliteracy projects. Adults tend to say that they are too old to learn and that they have little
time to study because they have too much work to do both inside and outside the home.
Many of them lack motivation and face various constraints. Those who have never been
to school have to start by learning how to hold a pen. Since they are not accustomed tositting and studying, they may not be able to keep their concentration in literacy classes.
When they do not see progresses, they may lose interest in learning.
In order to find effective ways to promote adult literacy in combination withlivelihood activities, UNESCO conducted an experimental project in the latter half ofthe 1970s. It examined the achievements in literacy education for three types ofprojects: (1) from literacy education to livelihood activities; (2) from livelihood
activities to literacy education; and (3) literacy education and livelihood activities inparallel. Of these, the second type was found to be the most effective (Oxenham et al,2002).
The participants in the projects were very interested in livelihood activities. Whenthey engaged in economic activities, they realised the need for literacy skills. They were
motivated to learn and were more likely to complete the literacy course. On the other
hand, in the beginning the participants‟ interest in literacy education was low. Even
though they started attending the literacy course, the incidence of dropping out was high.
Therefore, many on-going literacy projects are combined with vocational training
and/or provision of micro credits. Provision of economic incentives is considered to be
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essential to attract learners for literacy education.
Empowerment includes physical, psychological, social, economic and politicalaspects, all of which have to be achieved. However, the processes to achieve these
aspects of empowerment differ depending on the specific contexts in which people live.
It is not possible to adopt a single universal model. For example, for women who facerestrictions in their mobility due to socio-cultural and religious reasons, the economic
approach of providing work outside the home may not be viable. Moreover, economic
empowerment may not always lead to social and political empowerment, as mentioned
earlier.
This working paper, therefore, examines the Mahila Samakhya Programme which
adopts a problem-solving approach by organising women‟s groups. It focuses on social
empowerment through education and training and does not place particular emphasis on
economic activities. Nonetheless, it has been successful in political empowerment
which is considered to be most difficult to achieve.

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3. Outline of the Mahila Samakhya Programme
The Mahila Samakhya Programme (Education for Women‟s Equality) is a national
programme started by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the Governmentof India in 1988. It is presently implemented in ten states with the participants ofapproximately 800 thousands. This chapter will explain the background, characteristics,
management structure and progress of the programme.
3.1. Background of the Mahila Samakhya Programme
India is a vast country, having the second largest population (1.215 billion) in theseventh largest area (328.7million km2) in the world. It is also a diverse country in termsof language, culture, religion and ethnicity. The country‟s economy has rapidly grown
in recent years driven by the development of the service sector. In particular, thebooming IT industry is now transforming the agrarian society.
The benefits of economic growth, however, have not been distributed evenly to all:
28.6% of the population live below the poverty line (UNDP, 2010); 36.6% of the people
are not able to read and write and the gap in the literacy rate between men (76.9%) andwomen (57.4%) is one of the world‟s highest (UNESCO, 2010). Out of the country‟s
270 million illiterate, 64% are women.
Since independence, the Indian government has recognised the importance of
education, as the Constitution of India states that:“The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from thecommencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children
until they complete the age of fourteen years.” (Article 45)

The importance of female education is stated in the Article 4. (4) Equalisation of
Educational Opportunity (c) of the Education Policy 1968 that:“The education of girls should receive emphasis, not only on grounds of social justice,
but also because it accelerates social transformation.”

This policy acknowledges girls as an agent of change, but does not appear to pay due
attention to education of adult women. In Article 4. (14) Spread of Literacy, focus is on
those who work in the public and private industrial sectors. There is no mention of
women who constitute the majority of the illiterate population.
Influenced by the increasing attention on basic education in the international
community in the 1980s, the Indian government formulated a new National Education
Policy in 1986. It aims to redress inequality between men and women in the access to
education and the learning achievement. In particular, the policy emphasises the needfor meeting the needs of those who were disadvantaged in the access to educational
opportunities. Education for adult women becomes one of the focus areas. In part IV of9

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the policy, Education for Equality, there is a section specifically for Education for
Women‟s Equality. It mentions that:“Education will be used as an agent of basic change in the status of women.....”(Article 4.2); and“The removal of women‟s illiteracy and obstacles inhibiting their access to, andretention in, elementary education will receive overriding priority, .....” (Article 4.3)

In response to this policy, a series of consultation meetings was conducted among
the government, experts on education and voluntary organisations. They discussed
reasons why the progress in female education was slow, and found various economic,
social and cultural factors which prevented women from participating in education. One
conclusion they reached was that in order for girls and women to enjoy the educational
opportunities available for them, they had to be empowered.
On the basis of this recommendation, the Ministry of Human Resource
Development, the Government of India decided to initiate the Mahila Samakhya
Programme as a national programme in 1988. The concept of the Mahila Samakhya
Programme was reinforced by the revised Education Policy 1992 and its Programme of
Action. It reiterates that women‟s empowerment is the critical precondition for their
participation in the education process.
3.2. Unique characteristics of the Mahila Samakhya Programme
The majority of education projects take the form of delivering services, such as
constructing schools and operating literacy centres. In these projects, education isconsidered to be a means, and empowerment is considered as an end. The Mahila
Samakhya Programme considers both education and empowerment, not only as an end
but also as a means.
Various obstacles stand in the way of promoting female education. It is, therefore,
necessary to create an environment where women and girls can learn and have access to
information. The obstacles can be broken down by the hands of women who areempowered thorough education. Women as an agent of change can alter the mindsets ofpeople who are not in favour of female education. In the Mahila Samakhya Programme,
education is a means to empower women and an end for them to avail educational
opportunities, whereas empowerment is a means for women to be educated and is an
end for them to be educated.
The philosophy and principles of the Mahila Samakhya Programme show theparticipatory and bottom-up approach that needs to be followed at all the stages of its
implementation (see Box 1). On the basis of the philosophy and principles, theprogramme sets seven objectives (see Box 2). It aims at empowerment of womeneducationally and psychologically, in order to enable them to promote female education,
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Box 1. The Philosophy and Principles of the Mahila Samakhya Programme(1) All processes and activities within the programme must be based on respect for
women’s existing knowledge, experience and skills.
(2) Every component and activity within the project must create an environment forlearning, help women to experience and affirm their strengths, create time and space forreflection and respect individual uniqueness and variation.
(3) Women and women’s groups at the village level set the pace, priorities, form andcontent of all project activities.
(4) Planning, decision making and evaluation processes, as well as all levels of personnel
must remain accountable to the collective at the village level.
(5) All project structures and personnel play facilitative and supportive, rather than directiveroles.
(6) A participatory selection process is followed to ensure that project functionaries at alllevels are committed to working among poor women and are free from caste/community
prejudices.
(7) Management structures must be decentralised, with participative decision making anddevolution of powers and responsibilities to district, block and village levels.
Source: MHRD (2009)

Box 2. The Seven Objectives of the Mahila Samakhya Programme(1) To create an environment in which education can serve the objectives of women’sequality.
(2) To enhance the self-image and self-confidence of women and thereby enabling them torecognise their contribution to the economy as producers and workers, reinforcing theirneed for participating in educational programmes.
(3) To create an environment where women can seek knowledge and information andthereby empower them to play a positive role in their own development anddevelopment of society.
(4) To set in motion circumstances for larger participation of women and girls in formal andnon-formal education programmes.
(5) To provide women and adolescent girls with the necessary support structures and an
informal learning environment to create opportunities for education.
(6) To enable mahila sanghas to actively assist and monitor educational activities in thevillages―including
elementary
schools,
adulteducation,
Non-formal
Education/Education Guarantee Scheme/Alternative and Innovative Education Centres,
and other facilities for continuing education.
(7) To establish a decentralised and participative mode of management, with the decision
making powers devolved to the district level and to mahila sanghas which in turn will
provide the necessary conditions for effective participation.
Source: MHRD (2009)11

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and in the end, to achieve gender equality in society.
Accordingly, the Mahila Samakhya Programme targets educationally backward
areas. Two selection criteria are the low level of female literacy and the high level ofscheduled caste and scheduled tribe population. The areas with these characteristics are
firstly selected, and then within the areas the programme specifically targets sociallyand economically marginalised women in rural areas, most of who belong to scheduled
castes and scheduled tribes.
The Mahila Samakhya Programme has four unique characteristics. Firstly, it isprocess-oriented. It neither contains specific components to be followed nor sets any
quantitative targets with deadlines. Women are motivated to form groups, andfacilitated to identify their own problems and take collective action to solve theproblems. The programme has only a broad framework of activities and provides
technical and minimal financial support.
Secondly, the programme adopts a participatory and bottom-up approach as
mentioned earlier, and decision-making is decentralised. Participating women areplaced in the centre of the programme. They plan, implement and evaluate activities,
while the programme staff facilitate and support them.
Thirdly, education constitutes one of the components of the Mahila Samakhya
Programme, though it is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Human Resource
Development. Moreover, education is defined in broad terms, including not only
literacy skills but also life and other skills. In the process of being educated, women are
expected to pose questions, critically analyse problems and seek solutions, and at thesame time develop self-confidence and self-esteem. The fields of education and training
are broad, including literacy, health, gender and agriculture, and are provided in various
modes, such as discussion, workshops and field visits, in small to large groups.
Fourthly, the Mahila Samakhya Programme has a clear exit strategy. Groups ofwomen are encouraged to work on their own from the onset of their participation in the
programme. The programme‟s support to groups is gradually decreased. When groups
become mature enough to conduct activities independently, the programme withdraws
from the programme.
3.3. Management structure of the Mahila Samakhya Programme
In the case of national programmes, the central government of India formulates
programmes and provides funding, and the state governments are responsible for
implementation. Accordingly, the national programme of Mahila Samakhya isimplemented at the state level. It has a well-established management structure from thenational, state, district, mandal and down to the village levels (see Figure 2).

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Figure 2. Management Structure of the Mahila Samakhya Programme

National Project Officeat the national level(the Ministry of Human Resource Development)

State Programme Officeat the state level

State Executive Committee
at the state level

District Implementation Unitat the district level

National Resource GroupState Resource Group

District Resource Group

Sahayoginisat the block/mandal level
and the village level

Cluster of sanghas
at the block/mandal level

Mahila Sangha
at the village level

Block/Mandal
Resource Group

Cluster of sanghas
at the block/mandal level

Mahila Sangha
at the village level

Mahila Sangha
at the village level

Mahila Sangha
at the village level

Source: Created by the author from MHRD (2009; 2010a) and APMSS (2010c).

At the national level, the National Project Office is located in the Ministry of
Human Resource Development. As an advisory body, the National Resource Group,
which consists of experts on gender and development, provides advice on the
programme implementation and guides the direction of the programme.
Under the broad guidance of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, theprogramme is independently conducted in respective states. At the state level, aregistered society under the Societies Registration Act 18602 is established as theimplementing body of the programme. This registered society is an autonomous body ofthe government. It is thought that the independent society can be flexible inadministering innovative projects, while retaining a close relationship with the central,state and local governments.
The State Programme Office is headed by the State Programme Director, therepresentative of the registered society, and has its own office and staff. At the statelevel, two more parties are involved in the programme. The State Mahila Samakhya
Society Executive Committee, which is comprised of representatives from the central
2

These societies are non-profit organisations.

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government, the National Resource Group, the state government, local NGOs and theState Programme Office, makes important decisions regarding the implementation of
the programme. The State Resource Group, which comprised of resource persons,trainers and representatives of local NGOs, provides technical assistance.
In each of the operating districts, the District Implementation Unit with its own
office and staff is generally established in district headquarters. When the programmearea is far from the district headquarters, the office is set up in block or mandal
headquarters. With a District Programme Coordinator as a head, the office consists ofDistrict Resource Persons (one each for one hundred villages), Junior Resource Persons(one each for fifty villages or one block or mandal) and sahayoginis3 or fieldworkers/
facilitators (one each for ten villages) for programme management, and administrators
and accountants. The District Resource Group, which is comprised of resource persons,trainers, district government officials, and representatives from local NGOs, serves as
an advisory body.
One district is divided into clusters of mahila sanghas4 or women‟s groups at theblock or mandal level. A cluster includes five to six groups in neighbouring villages.
Some clusters are united as federations which will be explained in detail in chapter 6. At
this level, two more parties exist. The Block or Mandal Executive Committee or theFederation Executive Committee is a decision-making body, and the Block or Mandal
Resource Group, which consists of Junior Resource Persons (one each for every fifty
villages) and Cluster Resource Persons (one each for twenty-five villages) operates as
an advisory body under the supervision of the District Resource Group.
Then, at the village level, one sangha with twenty-five to fifty members is formed
in one village, which is facilitated and monitored by one sahayogini.
3.4. Progress made by the Mahila Samakhya Programme
The Mahila Samakhya Programme started in three states―Gujarat, Karnataka andUttar Pradesh―in 1989 (see Table 1). The programme was extended to Andhra Pradesh
and Bihar in 1992 and Kerala in 1998. Then, it covered four more states between 2002
and 2006. As of March, 2009, the programme was conducted in 95 districts in ten states
and approximately 800 thousand women participated in sanghas.
The five states except for Gujarat, where the programme was initiated in 1989 and3

Nationally, the term, sahayogini is used for a fieldworker/facilitator in the Mahila Samakhya
Programme, while the term, karyakartha is used in Andhra Pradesh. In order to be precise, this working
paper distinguishes the usage of the two terms depending on the subject of the chapter. Chapter 3 which
describes the Mahila Samakhya Programme in India as a whole uses sahayogini and chapters 4 to 8 which
present the case of Andhra Pradesh use karyakartha.
4
Similarly, the term, sangha is used nationally, while sangham is used in Andhra Pradesh. This chapter
uses sangha and the following chapters use sangham.

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1992, show the progress in terms of the numbers of sanghas, of member women or offederations, or all of the above.5 Of these, only Andhra Pradesh has mandals where theMahila Samakhya Programme has withdrawn. This suggests that the activities of thesanghas in Andhra Pradesh are progressing fast towards independence.
Table 1. The Coverage of the Mahila Samakhya Programme (as of March 31, 2009)
No ofblocks/mandals

No ofvillages

No ofsanghasNo ofmembers

7

39

2,123

1,809

39,162

14

1989

12

51

2,798

4,531

74,796

41

1989

17

60

4,668

4,668

101,507

27

1992

14
(0)

98
(12)

3,621
(421)

2,712
(421)

117,535(8,490)

28

Bihar

1992

13

71

5,574

5,407

114,471

9

Kerala

1998

3

9

2,588

570

19,800

0

Assam

2002

9

42

2,499

2,923

148,991

23

Uttarakhand

2003

6

21

2,377

2,377

47,6598

Chattisgarth

2006

5

6

-----

-----

-----

0

Jharkhand

2006

9

54

3,999

8,230

126,728

13

95

451

30,24733,227

790,649

163

State

Starting
year

Gujarat1989

Karnataka
Uttar
PradeshAndhraPradesh

Total

No of
districts

No offederations

Sources: MHRD (2009) and Purushothaman (2010) for the number of federations
Notes:(1) ----- indicates that data is not available.
(2) The numbers inside the parentheses for Andhra Pradesh indicate the areas where theMahila Samakhya Programme has withdrawn.

As more than twenty years have passed since the commencement of the Mahila
Samakhya Programme, the positive impacts of the programme on women have been
observed. Overall, the internal and external evaluation reports mention that the
programme has been successful (Gulati et al, 2004; First Joint Review Mission, 2009;
MHRD, 2010a; Purushothaman, 2010). For example, the Annual Report 2009/10 of the
Ministry of Human Resource Development (2010a: 62) finds the following outcomes.
- Increase in demand for literacy education and education for children- Participation in local governance- Seeking accountability of government services- Raising awareness on achieving gender-equal society
5

The reason that the coverage of the programme in Jharkhand is great is that the programme had alreadybeen implemented in the present areas of Jharkhand, before the state was established by being separated
from the state of Bihar in 2000.

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KFAW 調査研究報告書 Voo. 2011-1- Increasing the recognition and visibility of women in their families andcommunities
It appears that sangha women have made progress in promoting education andparticipating in governance, and raising awareness on gender issues, and have been
empowered enough to make demands to government offices. As a result, their activities
have been acknowledged by other people in the villages. Moreover, an approach to thepromotion of education for adolescent girls used by the Mahila Samakhya Programme
has been adopted in the national education programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.6
The achievements of the Mahila Samakhya Programme have also been
acknowledged internationally. The programme won the Noma Literacy Prize of
UNESCO in 2001 for its work in empowering women to be able to address social issues
which are against female education, in addition to providing them with literacy
education.
There are, however, issues to be addressed. Firstly, the female literacy rate needs tobe further increased. Nearly half of adult women are still illiterate in India (UNESCO,2010). An evaluation report (First Joint Review Mission, 2009) points out that the
selection criteria of the programme should be strictly applied. There are cases in whichareas with very low female literacy rates have not been chosen or scheduled castes andscheduled tribes whose literacy rate are low have not been included in sanghas.
Secondly, it is important to reconsider effective ways to expand the programme.
Without providing direct delivery of services, motivating women to form groups andmaintain activities remains as a challenge. Thirdly, it is necessary to further explore theway in which sangha activities become more visible and have a greater impact onchanges in broader society (Gulati et al, 2004). Bearing these issues in mind, the Mahila
Samakhya Programme implemented in Andhra Pradesh will be looked into in detail in
the following chapters.

6This is the main national programme to make elementary education universal in India. It aims to enroll
all children between six and fourteen years old and enable them to complete eight years of education by
2010.

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4. The Mahila Samakhya Programme in Andhra Pradesh
A national programme, the Mahila Samakhya Programme is implemented by anindependent body in each of the programme states. Andhra Pradesh was selected as the
fourth target state for the programme in 1992, and the Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samatha
Society (APMSS) was established as a registered society in the same year to implement
the programme. 7 The journey from sanghams 8 or women‟s groups to federations
started in 1993 when the programme was formally launched. The development of theMahila Samakhya Programme in Andhra Pradesh will be reported in this chapter.
4.1. Establishment of the Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samatha Society
The state of Andhra Pradesh came into being in 1956 with Telugu its common
language. It is located in south India and is a vast and diverse state with the fourthlargest area (275 thousand km2) and fifth largest population (75.7 million) (GOI, 2001).
The state has great diversity in terms of history, climate, natural resources andsocio-economic institutions.
The capital city of Hyderabad has rapidly grown in recent years thanks to thebooming IT industry. However, agriculture is the main industry, in which 62% of
people are engaged (GOI, 2001). Andhra Pradesh is known as the Rice Bowl of India
and also produces wheat, jowar, maize, pulses, tobacco, cotton and sugarcane.
Andhra Pradesh is developing economically, but it lags behind in social
development. Its female literacy rate was 51.2% which was the 26th rank in the 35 states
and union territories of India, according to the Census 2001 (GOI, 2001). In this large
state with a large illiterate population, the APMSS presently operates the Mahila
Samakhya Programme in 4,397 villages in fourteen districts with a small number ofstaff.
The structure of the APMSS is in accordance with the structure shown in Figure 2.
At the state level, a total number of 13 staff headed by the State Programme Director
work at the head office in Secunderabad, a twin city of Hyderabad. The Samatha
Gender Resource Center (SGRC) (see Box 3) is located within the premise of the State
Programme Office.
In each operating district, the District Implementation Unit is established and has
its own office and staff, and the District Resource Group is created to provide advice toeffectively implement the programme. At the village level, sanghams are formed with
7

In Andhra Pradesh, the name of the programme, Mahila Samakhya, has been renamed as Mahila
Samatha, since an organisation whose name included Mahila Samakhya had already existed. However, inorder to avoid confusion, this working paper uses the Mahila Samakhya Programme for Andhra Pradesh,instead of the Mahila Samatha Programme.
8
Please see footnotes 3 and 4 for the usage of sangham and karyakartha.

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the support of karyakarthas or fieldworkers/facilitators. Moreover, the APMSS builds a
network with external organisations, such as government agencies, NGOs andinternational organisations.

Box 3. The Samatha Gender Resource Center
The APMSS has accumulated knowledge and experience in the fields of gender andwomen’s empowerment through interactions with sangham women over the years. The
APMSS thought it important to share such learning experiences and expertise with people
inside and outside the Mahila Samakhya Programme. This led to the establishment of theSamatha Gender Resource Center (SGRC) in 2001 as an institution which is financiallyindependent from the APMSS.
The Centre’s objective is to mainstream gender in various projects conducted by manyother organisations. One coordinator and a few supporting staff work in the Centre. The
SGRC collects documents, such as reports and training modules and materials,
newsletters, posters and audio visuals. These are recorded and shelved for reference forthe staff and other interested parties.
The SGRC helps the APMSS conduct research, advocacy and capacity building
activities. It plays a major role in training people (e.g. the APMSS’s staff, sangham women,
government officials and staff of other NGOs) to become resource persons in gender andwomen issues. Recently, the SGRC conducts field studies and action research forgovernment offices and NGOs, and tries to build strategic partnerships with public andprivate organisations. This is beneficial for the APMSS, since it can disseminate thephilosophy and principles of the Mahila Samakhya Programme while obtaining informationand knowledge from other organisations.
Source: APMSS (2009; 2010a)

Andhra Pradesh is considered to be advanced in the activities of the Mahila
Samakhya Programme. One reason is that the state has extensive experience as one of
the first target states. Another reason is that Andhra Pradesh is the only programme statethat has sanghams and federations which have become independent from theprogramme. The federations have built up their capacity and played important roles indisseminating the philosophy and principles of the Mahila Samakhya Programme.
One contributing factor to this progress is thought to be close relationships among
the APMSS‟s staff at all levels, and between them and sangham women. This wasobserved during the visits to the state and district offices and fields. For example, all the18

KFAW 調査研究報告書 Voo. 2011-1

staff had lunch together at the state office, sharing food that they brought from home.
One day, one of the staff‟s birthday was celebrated after lunch. At the district office, thestaff and sangham women sang songs and danced together whenever meetings were
held. The APMSS even has its own song.
As one of the staff explained: “We are like a family” (personal conversation on
January 5, 2011), those who have worked since the establishment of the APMSS have
known each other for nearly twenty years. Those who joined the APMSS later are easily
able to become new members of the family. The warm atmosphere and the sense ofbonding are a strength of the APMSS and the driving force of the successful
implementation of the Mahila Samakhya Programme in Andhra Pradesh.

The APMSS’s Head Officein Secunderabad

The District Implementation Unit’s
Office in Mahbubnagar

Staff of the APMSS’s Head Office

Celebrating a Birthday

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4.2. Capacity building conducted by the APMSSCapacity building training is part and parcel of the Mahila Samakhya Programme.
The APMSS has consistently gathered opinions from sangham women, karyakarthas
and other staff on the types of training that are necessary. At the initial stage of the
programme implementation, the APMSS developed training modules on core issues,
such as health and gender awareness, and have used them with slight modifications.
New training modules have been developed in response to the needs of sangham
women.
At present, the training modules are categorised into the following four areas(APMSS, 2009; 2010a; 2011).
(a) Induction training: the philosophy and principles of the Mahila Samakhya
Programme(b) Skill development training: specific skills, such as repairing of hand-pumps
and agricultural technology(c) Issue-based training: education, health, natural resources and asset building,governance, and social and gender equity (see Box 4)(d) Exposure visits: inside and outside of Andhra Pradesh
Module (a) is conducted for the staff of the APMSS, including those of the stateand district offices and karyakarthas when they join the APMSS and at quarterly review
meetings. Topics include the concepts of the Mahila Samakhya Programme, collective
strength, empowerment, decentralisation, decision-making, taking leadership,
developing collective strategies, gender perspectives, and communication andfacilitation skills.
The other three modules (b), (c) and (d) are conducted for sangham women, as
well as the APMSS‟s staff. When organising training workshops, the APMSS appoints
resource persons from its staff or outside, as well as from sangham women who aretrained and recognised as resource persons. Training takes various forms, such as
meetings, workshops, brainstorming sessions, discussions and melas9 in residential or
non-residential ways. It is conducted at the village, cluster, mandal, district and statelevels.
In particular, an effective means of training is exposure visits, through which direct
experience is obtained by seeing the actual situation in the field. Most exposure visits
are arranged to go to places where the Mahila Samakhya Programme is conducted and9Mela means a large gathering. In the form of training by the APMSS, it is like a celebration at which
sangham women gather and express their solidarity for addressing issues, such as education, health, andviolence against women. Information is disseminated, using the methods of theatre plays, posters, andgroup discussions. Government officials and NGOs also attend melas and support sangham women in
their causes.

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other NGOs in Andhra Pradesh and other states. Sangham women and the APMSS‟sstaff participate in these visits and share what they see and learn with fellow women.
Depending on the topic, some training workshops are conducted for all thesangham members and others are conducted for one or two of the representatives ofsanghams. In the latter case, the representatives are supposed to convey what they havelearned to other members. In the beginning of the implementation of the Mahila
Samakhya Programme in Andhra Pradesh (1994/95), the APMSS had a strategy toprovide training only for some representatives of sanghams. These representatives thentook on the responsibilities in sangham activities. However, other sangham womenraised their voices in protest that the knowledge and skills that the representatives
acquired through the training were not sufficiently shared with them. Then, the APMSS
decided to develop the new strategy mentioned earlier (some trainings for all and others
for representatives) and produce modules and annual training plans.
The APMSS intends to conduct the various forms of training in a participatory
manner, by which sangham women are facilitated to think, discuss and speak, rather
than only listen to lectures. Emphasis is also placed on enabling them to understandtheir own situations by linking it with the dynamics of the socio-economic and culturalenvironment surrounding them. This allows sangham women to take ownership of theiractions and find solutions to the problems they face.
The training provided by the APMSS is known for its quality, and the sangham
women and APMSS‟s staff who undergo this training are highly regarded aswell-trained personnel. As a result, they sometimes have an advantage when recruited
by external organisations.

Box 4. Training Topics in 2009/10
Health- herbal medicines- nutrition- reproductive health- women’s healthNatural resources- women’s access to and control over natural resources- organic farming- protection and conservation of resources

Gender- gender discrimination- women’s status in society- women’s rights
Source: APMSS (2011: 37)

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Training Workshops

4.3. Evaluation system of the APMSSThe APMSS has a solid management structure and training system. It also has awell-established monitoring and evaluation system, which is important to improve
programme implementation. The review system is set up at each level of the
management structure, as follows (APMSS, 2010a).
Mandal review
Mandal review meetings are held at the mandal level once a fortnight. The
members are representatives of sanghams, karyakarthas, the District Implementation
Unit and the State Programme Office. They discuss issues to be addressed and decideissues to be prioritised.
District review
District review meetings are held at the district level once a month and are attended
by all karyakarthas of the district, all staff of the District Implementation Unit, and one
representative of the State Programme Office. They share their experiences in theactivities being conducted and assess the overall implementation in respective districts.
Core team review
Core team review meetings are held at the State Programme Office bi-monthly,
separately for each of the seven operating districts (where the programme started by
2000) and the seven operating districts (where the programme started after 2003). The
review team consists of the State Programme Director, State Resource Persons, District
Programme Coordinators, District Resource Persons, persons in charge of accounts, andconsultants. Quarterly meetings are also organised to review the activities of all fourteen
districts with the attendance of the staff at the state and district levels.
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The members of the core team review look at all the activities conducted in all
operating districts and revise plans at the district and state levels. They also identify
topics for capacity building training on the basis of mandal and district review meetingsand make plans for future training workshops. The budget and expenditure are reviewed
quarterly.
Executive Committee review
The Executive Committee10 review meetings are held in the State Programme
Office quarterly, chaired by the Secretary to the Department of Education, Governmentof Andhra Pradesh. The progress of the Mahila Samakhya Programme in the state ispresented by the APMSS and is reviewed by committee members. The members
provide suggestions and recommendations on future directions of the programme anddiscuss potential collaboration with other organisations in the public and private sectors.
Internal evaluation
In addition to the above four reviews on the Mahila Samakhya Programme, aninternal evaluation is also conducted by the staff of the APMSS in the form of self- andpeer-evaluations. Each staff member reviews their own performance and that of theircolleagues. This provides the staff with good opportunities for finding ways to increase
their abilities.
The strength of the APMSS lies here, as well: regular evaluations of the
programme implementation are being carried out from the field to the state levels. These
review meetings are not merely a performance, and sometimes involve heateddiscussions. On the basis of the reflections, the APMSS revise plans and strategies andconduct capacity building training workshops.
4.4. Development of the Mahila Samakhya Programme in Andhra Pradesh
The Mahila Samakhya Programme was formally launched in Andhra Pradesh in
1993. At the preparatory stage, the APMSS had extensive consultations with the State
Government and NGOs regarding the selection of programme areas. The selection
criteria were decided as low levels of female literacy, girls‟ enrolment and retention,high proportions of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe populations, absence of NGOsand existence of other government schemes.11
In accordance with these criteria, two districts were selected in 1993 and thenumber of the programme districts has increased to fourteen in 2010. The number of10

See chapter 3.3 for the composition of the Executive Committee.
For example, the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA), the Integrated
Child Development Services (ICDS), and the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP).
11

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sanghams formed increased from 159 to 4,327 (see Figure 3). The eighteen-year historyof the programme is divided into four phases in terms of the expansion of the coverage.
The developments of each of the phases are summarised below (see Table 2) (APMSS,
2002; 2007b; 2009; 2010a; 2010b; 2010c; 2010d; 2011).
Figure 3. The Number of Sanghams Formed by Year (1994/95 to 2009/10)
5,000
4,327
4,000
3,409
3,000

2,642
2,383

2,000

1,657
820 747 846 906 938

1,000

1,110

1,310

347
159 250 267
0Source: APMSS (2010d)

4.4.1. First phase (1993 to 1996)
The APMSS started conducting the Mahila Samakhya Programme in six mandals
in the two districts of Mahbubnagar and Medak in 1993. These two districts ranked in
the lowest three in terms of literacy rates in the state. Karyakarthas were trained andstarted visiting rural villages and motivated women, mainly those of scheduled castes
and schedule tribes, to form groups.
At that time, there were not many women‟s groups in villages. Some were self-helpgroups formed under the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas, andothers were thrift and credit groups formed by a few NGOs. Mobilisation of women into
sanghams was the essential activity at the field level. Karyakarthas focused on theissues of basic needs and social problems. Through meetings and discussions between
women and karyakarthas, they gradually showed interests in the programme and weregrouped into sanghams.
At this nascent stage, the APMSS identified needs for training and education fromdiscussions and interviews with sangham women, and started conducting training
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workshops for them as well as its own staff. Topics included the importance of
education, health, gender awareness, access to government services, politicalparticipation, and some skill training.
The APMSS, in consultation with resource persons and sangham women, prepared
strategies to promote education for women and girls in 1994. In 1995, Adult Learning
Centres were opened and Literacy Camps were organised for adult women, and forchildren, the first Mahila Sikshana Kendram (residential school) was established in
Mahbubnagar and Bala Mitra Kendrams (non-formal schools) were initiated invillages.12 It was here that sanghams began to realise the need to educate their children.
During the initial four years, sanghams were formed and some took action on suchproblems as child marriage, domestic violence and low wage rates through collaboration
with neighbouring sanghams. The activities of sanghams brought about someachievements. For example, sanghams made their presence known by resolving
disputes in families and villages. Sangham women were able to gain access togovernment services, such as ration cards and housing schemes. They ran for elections
and became members of panchayat (rural self-government) and sarpanches (village
chiefs).13
4.4.2. Second phase (1997 to 1999)
The Mahila Samakhya Programme was expanded to three districts―Karimnagar in
1997 and Adilabad and Nizamabad in 1998, and covered a total of 27 mandals in five
districts in 1999. Sanghams were growing in number, capacity and area of activities
through continuous support from karyakarthas and training provided by the APMSS.
Demands for training increased and topics diversified. Some sanghams became active
and strong, and started helping weaker sanghams. Some sangham women became
resource persons and started providing training to other women. Access to government
schemes and the level of support from government officials increased.
Sanghams were gathered as clusters and started holding regular cluster meetings.
They helped each other in village activities and tackled broad issues together. For
example, clusters jointly launched large-scale awareness campaigns against child labour.
As sanghams developed into clusters, the APMSS took a move to the final stage, i.e. theindependence of sanghams from the original programme. It held meetings withsangham women and discussed the creation of federations of sanghams at the mandal
12

These educational activities will be explained in chapter 5.1.
Panchayat is a self-governance institution in rural areas. It covers areas with populations between 20
and 30 thousands. Each panchayat village is divided into wards or colonies, and one representative iselected for each ward. This representative is referred to as a ward member. An election is held every five
years to decide ward members and a sarpanch (village chief). Of the elected ward members, one upa
sarpanch (vice village chief) is selected.
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level. The issues included the roles, responsibilities and structure of federations,frequency of meetings, and withdrawal of the APMSS. Training workshops were also
provided to sanghams in the direction towards independence. The process ofdecentralisation began taking place.
4.4.3. Third phase (2000 to 2003)
The Mahila Samakhya Programme continued expanding its coverage: Nalgonda
and Warangal in 2000 and Srikakulam and Vizianagaram in 2003. By that year, theprogramme reached 1,223 villages in 32 mandals. There emerged a new interest in
economic activities among sangham women. In response to their request for training,
the APMSS organised workshops on vocational training and entrepreneurship.
During this period, a new strategy for forming groups was adopted. Earlier,
women‟s groups were not existent in many villages. Karyakarthas approached womenand encouraged them to form groups from scratch. Since in general the number of
low-caste women in a village who were possible members of a sangham is twenty totwenty-five which is a target number of members for one sangham, most of earlier
sanghams consisted of a single caste―scheduled caste or scheduled tribe―with only
one sangham operating in one village.
In the newly operating districts, there existed women‟s self-help groups in villages
under other projects conducted by state or local governments, as well as NGOs. For
example, women‟s self-help groups were engaged in thrift and credit activities in theDevelopment of Women and Children in Rural Areas, a sub-component of theIntegrated Rural Development Programme. These groups were converted into sanghams
under the Mahila Samakhya Programme and mobilised to work on social agendas inaddition to economic activities. Many of these groups were multi-caste groups and morethan one group operated in one village.
Progress was made in federating sanghams. In 2000, two federations wereregistered as societies under the Societies Registration Act 1860, followed by four in2001 and an additional three in 2002. They established Executive Committees andGoverning Bodies and started holding meetings on a regular basis. The APMSS held
brain-storming sessions and workshops with its staff and sangham women to create thevision and missions of the federation.14 It also provided the federations with training on
new topics, such as managerial skills, book keeping and legal literacy. Throughmeetings and training, the women of the registered federations were able to clarify theirroles and responsibilities, and requested more training on capacity building to ensuresustainability of the federations.
14

These will be shown in Box 10.

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The federations started conducting various activities. They organised melas to stop
child labour and campaigns on children‟s education and gender awareness; demanded
government officials be accountable for delivery of services; and helped the APMSS to
expand the programme to new areas. Their activities were recognised by local
governments and villagers. As a result, they collaborated with local governments in theimplementation of government projects, such as the Mid-day Meal Scheme and the
Food for Work Programme, and were asked to provide training on legal literacy andnutrition to self-help groups of the government projects. Sangham women who became
resource persons provided local governments and NGOs with knowledge andinformation on gender issues.
4.4.4. Fourth phase (2004 to present)
The coverage of the Mahila Samakhya Programme was widened to Anantapur,
Kurnool and Prakasam districts in 2006 and Karimnagar and Visakhapatnam districts in2009. As of December, 2010, the programme has been implemented in 4,397 villages in
106 mandals in fourteen districts. The APMSS intends to further increase the number ofvillages covered to more than 250 each in one district, in order to create a critical massof a pressure group, exert influence on policies and projects for women, and see visible
impacts of the programme at the district level. Currently, the number of sanghams per
mandal ranges from 150 to 394.
During this period, the role of the APMSS has diversified in response to theincreasing number of sanghams at different levels of progress. New sanghams are being
formed; more and more clusters and federations are being established; federations arepreparing for registration as societies; and registered and independent federations areworking on their own. The APMSS organises meetings and training workshops tostrengthen the capacities of sanghams and federations at different stages in accordancewith their needs.
The APMSS‟s implementation strategies have been revised, too. Firstly, various
issues addressed by sanghams were categorised into five areas and Issue Committees
were established for each area: education, health, natural resources, Panchayati Raj,15and social issues. Members of a sangham are divided into five committees andparticipate in trainings on topics related to the Issue Committees at the cluster level.
They are responsible for informing other members of the contents of the training andtaking initiatives in conducting activities on respective issues. This ensures that every
woman in a sangham learns from training workshops regardless of attendance and has arole to play in sangham activities.
15

See footnote 24.

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Secondly, a thematic approach has been adopted in addition to the issue-based
approach, by which problems are dealt with in a more integrated manner, since theissues addressed are often related to each other and are cross-cutting. Newly establishedthematic groups include capacity building, strengthening federations and mandal
resource groups, advocacy and lobbying. These groups operate at the village, mandal
and district levels.
The federations are growing in their capacity and activity level, with the number ofregistered federations increasing to twenty-eight in the five older
districts―Mahbubnagar, Medak, Adilabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabad. They holdmeetings of the Executive Committees and the Governing Bodies regularly, and compile
audits, annual reports and project reports. Fifteen federations had their offices built bymobilising resources from elected representatives and local leaders, as well as
contribution from sanghams. Two federations have taken over the management ofMahila Shikshana Kendram, and one federation started publishing newsletters.
Networks of federations have been established in some districts to tackle broadsocial issues and help each other. The recognition of the federations‟ activities has
further increased in respective mandals, which has in turn bolstered their collaboration
with government officials. More and more federations are now able to enter into
contracts with local governments and NGOs to implement their projects.
With these developments, the APMSS organised brainstorming sessions on
autonomy and sustainability, support structures, and its role with its staff and thefederations. This aimed to further increase the level of independence of the federations
and ensure their sustainable growth. In 2007, the APMSS ceased direct implementationof the Mahila Samakhya Programme in five mandals. It has now completely withdrawn
from all twenty-eight mandals, while continuing to maintain collaborative relationships
with the federations.
The APMSS and federations jointly conduct educational activities, campaigns andtrainings for sangham women and adolescents, and review their activities at the districtlevel. They also conduct action research with the Samatha Gender Resource Centre.
One federation has started the Mahila Samakhya Programme in a new mandal on behalfof the APMSS. The APMSS continues to provide training to federations with a focus on
autonomy and sustainability. Subjects include managerial skills, financing, accounting,documentation, proposal writing, institutional building and communication skills.
Through the activities conducted over the years, the APMSS, federations andsanghams have increasingly been recognised for their achievements by people invillages, local NGOs and the local and state governments. They have been awarded
numerous certificates of appreciation for providing training on legal literacy,cooperating in conducting awareness campaigns on health, and other activities. Yet, the28

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APMSS are making further efforts to empower marginalised women through education,in order to achieve the long-term objective of enabling them to become pressure groups
independent of the Mahila Samakhya Programme. The women of sanghams andfederations are making steady progress towards their ultimate goals.

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Table 2. Status of the Programme for 2009/10
District

MBN

MDK

KNR

ADB

NZB

NLG

WRI

SKL

VZM

ATP

KNL

PKS

KHM

VSP

Starting year

1993

1993

1997

1998

1998

2000

2000

2003

2003

2006

2006

2006

2009

2009

15
(7)
449
(140)
375
(140)
15,029(5,123)
7

11
(6)
348
(111)
406
(111)
15,402(3,010)
7

10
(4)
388
(181)
332
(181)
13,446(7,074)
7

7
(2)
365
(58)
373
(58)
9,426
(1,600)
4

10
(2)
384
(102)
823
(102)
18,274(5,923)
3

5
(0)
298
(0)
452
(0)
22,574
(0)
0

6
(0)
301
(0)
332
(0)
22,035
(0)
0

4
(0)
250
(0)
407
(0)
14,144
(0)
0

5
(0)
272
(0)
321
(0)
12,973
(0)
0

8
(0)
250
(0)
139
(0)
4,293
(0)
0

8
(0)
251
(0)
143
(0)
4,770
(0)
0

6
(0)
273
(0)
194
(0)
4,401
(0)
0

58

53

131

55

55

49

81

49

31

22

27

39

650

No of learners

1,906

1,465

3,398

1,295

2,059

1,042

1,699

861

572

543

873

1,066

16,779No of MSKs

1

2

2

1

2

1

2

1

1

1

1

1

16

No of learners

No of boys

31
119
1,282

66
83
774

69
84
813

41
120
930

56
90
712

38
172
3,508

56
192
4,258

27
122
1,085

29
201
1,793

29
72
747

52
95
1,578

38
37
357

532
1,387
17,837

No of girls

1,695

981

1,418

1,790

963

2,985

5,298

1,526

2,219

1,089

1,497

568

22,029Total no of children

2,977

1,755

2,231

2,720

1,675

6,493

9,556

2,611

4,012

1,836

3,075

925

39,866

No of mandals
No of villages
No of sanghams
No of members
No of federations
No of ALCs

No of bala sanghams

Source:Notes:

4
(0)
150
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0

4
(0)
160
(0)
30
(0)
300
(0)
0

APMSS (2011)(1) Districts abbreviated as follows:
MBN – Mahbubnagar, MDK – Medak, ADB – Adilabad , KNR – Karimnagar, NZB – Nizamabad, NLG – Nalgonda, WRI – Warangal,
SKL – Srikakulam, VZM – Vizianagaram, ATP – Anantapur, KNL – Kurnool, PKS – Prakasam, KHM – Khammam, VSP – Visakhapatnam(2) ALC stands for Adult Learning Centre, and MSK stands for Mahila Sikshana Kendram.
(3) Figures inside the parentheses indicate the numbers for autonomous mandals, villages, sanghams and members.
(4) The numbers for Mahbubnagar include Dharur district where the federation implements the Mahila Samakhya Programme.

30

Total

103
(21)
4,139
(592)
4,327
(592)
157,067(22,730)
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Table 2. Status of the Programme for 2009/10 (continued)
District

MBN

MDK

KNR

ADB

NZB

NLG

WRI

SKL

VZM

ATP

KNL

PKS

KHM

VSP

Total

Education

34

25

105

Legal literacy

55

30

42

25

71

113

369

Health

277

110

45

199

83

948

785

Natural resources

49

490

187

788

Economy

0

60

46

82

90

310

Panchayati Raj

25

1,200

59

100

129

237

Gender

88

60

26

406

Leadership

29

No of panchayat
members72

No of sarpanches

No of trained
members

310

62
32

91

113

30

165

752
705

1,496

1,028

678

773

297

681

7,103

2,047
701

40

168

70

98

77

55

345

307

354

173

1,551

13

4

7

12

0

35

43

46

32

192

No of MPTC

2

2

5

7

2

25

34

32

14

123

No of ZPTC

1

1

0

0

0

2

0

4

0

8

Total no of female
representatives

88

77

110

96

57

407

384

436

219

1,874

Source:Note:

237

APMSS (2011)
MPTC stands for Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency, and ZPTC stands for Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency.

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5. Activities Conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samatha Society
In the Mahila Samakhya Programme, the types of activities to be conducted are
decided by sangham women. They also decide when and how to conduct activities.
Over the years, sangham women in Andhra Pradesh have tackled various problems withthe help of the APMSS, in order to create an environment where women and girls freely
enjoy opportunities for education. With the progress of activities, five focus areas havebeen identified: education, health, natural resources and asset building, governance, andsocial and gender equity.
This chapter will explain the activities and achievements of the Mahila Samakhya
Programme in Andhra Pradesh for each of the five areas. 16 Some of the activities arecommon for all the programme states, and others are original in Andhra Pradesh.
5.1. Education
Education is, needless to say, the mainstay of the Mahila Samakhya Programme.
Through education, the programme aims to improve women‟s lives by equipping themwith confidence to tackle challenges. Efforts are made to remove obstacles to women‟s
and girls‟ participation in education by conducting awareness-raising campaigns andsolving specific problems. The common components for all the programme states are
literacy education for sangham women and non-formal education for non-school-goingchildren and drop-outs, in particular for girls.
Immediately after the APMSS started the programme in 1993, it collected
information on the educational needs of sangham women and found many of them wereinterested in education for themselves and their children. Sangham women who started
attending literacy classes realised the importance of education and became keen to
educate their daughters. Therefore, the APMSS formulated strategies to provide
education for women and children, in particular girls in 1994, in consultation withsangham women and resource persons on education
The concept paper on the education component of the Mahila Samakhya
Programme in Andhra Pradesh was produced in 1997/98 (see Box 5). Education to beprovided in the programme is defined as “a process of learning to question, criticallyanalyse issues and problems, and seek solutions” (APMSS, 2002). The contents ofeducation, therefore, include not only literacy and numeracy skills but also a reflectionof oneself, analysis of women‟s situations and sharing experiences.
The APMSS developed a curriculum framework, a core set of teaching andlearning materials, and a module for teacher training. It trained master trainers at the16

Information in this chapter is obtained from the APMSS (2002; 2007a; 2007b; 2008; 2009; 2010a;
2010b; 2010c; 2010d; 2011), MHRD (2009; 2010a; 2010b), and interviews during the field work.

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state level, who in turn taught others to become master trainers at the district level.
These master trainers then provided training to karyakarthas, local literate women andadolescent girls who were to become teachers at the village level. After these
preparations, the following educational projects were launched.17

Box 5. Concept Paper on Education in Andhra Pradesh
Vision(1) Complement and consolidate Mahila Samatha interventions in the state through aholistic education model in the project districts; and(2) Strengthen the foundation for a gender sensitive function within the given
communities through a meaningful education programme.
MissionTo ensure that women and children in general, and girls working as child labourers inparticular, are in a position to access a sustained educational process which, while
being need specific, will also enable better and enhanced opportunities in learning aswell as self-growth.
Aspects of education- Developing awareness- Critical and analytical thinking- Identifying the problem- Accessing information- Finding solutions- Collective decision making- Individual and collective action- Reflection
Source: APMSS (2002)

5.1.1. Education for adults
Adult Learning Centre
In 1993 when the Mahila Samakhya Programme was initiated in Andhra Pradesh,the national programme, the Total Literacy Campaign launched by the Government ofIndia ended. As sangham women started group activities, they often needed to contact
government officials, for example to obtain access to public services and submit
applications. Since most of them were illiterate, they had to depend on educated peoplein villages. They felt that they should learn literacy skills and conduct activities on theirown, and subsequently made a request to the APMSS for literacy education.
Initially karyakarthas taught literacy skills at sangham meetings, and thenencouraged sangham women to find an instructor in the village and open a night school
17

See Table 2 for a summary of achievements in education.

33

KFAW 調査研究報告書 Voo. 2011-1(Adult Learning Centre). The APMSS trained instructors18 identified by sanghams andprocured primers and slates from the Department of Adult Education, the state
government. Thus, sangham women started learning at Adult Learning Centres for one
or two hours every night in 1994. Sangham huts,19 public places or private houses wereused for the centres.
The instructors were volunteers, but sangham women thought that the time
invested by the instructors for teaching should be remunerated. They discussed withkaryakarthas and the APMSS and decided how contributions would be broken down:
three rupees paid by a learner, one rupee per learner paid by a sangham, and six rupee
per learner paid by the APMSS. Since the number of learners was between 15 and 25,
an instructor could have 150 to 250 rupees per month. However, some learners haddifficulties in contributing three rupees every month, and so the APMSS took over thiscontribution. It provided 300 rupees per month, and contributions from learners became
optional.
The educational level of learners at Adult Learning Centres are assessed andgraded: (1) illiterate (unable to read and write); (2) neo-literate (able to recognisealphabets and read simple words, but unable to write); and (3) literate (able to read,
write and do simple calculation). When learners join Adult Learning Centres, they takea simple test and are grouped according to the above levels. They are taught literacy andnumeracy skills in different groups and take tests during and at the end of the one-year
course.
Adult Learning Centres have served as not only as a place for learning but also foraccessing information and discussions. Women enjoy attending classes. The centres
have also become resource centres. Learning materials are developed at the centres anddistributed between the centres. Some sangham women who took classes at the centres
and excelled in their studies have acquired the capacity to become instructors. In
2009/10, 16,779 women learnt at 650 Adult Learning Centres (see Table 2). It is
expected that some of them will teach at the centres in the future, but it is hoped thatmuch more illiterate women will participate in literacy education.
Literacy Camp
The idea of Literacy Camp was created in 1998 as an alternative strategy topromote literacy. Women who were engaged in work inside and outside the home foundit difficult to attend literacy classes for a year, and wanted to learn at places which were
18

After the first training workshop, the instructors attend review meetings every month and refresher
courses every two months. They learn, for example, how to develop learning materials, such as flash
cards, and how to manage centres.
19
See section 6.4.1.

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away from villages for a short duration so that they could concentrate on their studies.
Later on, requests came from sangham women for organising Literacy Camps on
specific issues, such as legal literacy, with shorter durations.
Currently, there are two types of Literacy Camps. One course is a two-day camp,which is mainly meant for new learners of especially sanghams which are newly formed
in order to motivate them to learn literacy skills at Adult Learning Centres in villages.
The methods used are friendly to learners, including songs, plays, pictures and stories,
and topics are close to issues of daily lives. Another course is a five to fifteen-day camp,which targets neo-literates so that they can improve their literacy skills. Sangham
women can participate in both types of camps more than once. Camps can be conducted
in residential or non-residential forms according to requests. Thus, Literacy Camp
contributes to increasing women‟s interest in acquiring, retaining and improving literacy
skills.
Short-term Mahila Sikshana Kendram
Short-term Mahila Sikshana Kendram was initiated in 2000 as a result of requests
mainly from women of sanghams which were progressing towards independence. They
wanted to have literacy education on specific topics in the residential form. Throughdiscussions between the women and the APMSS, a Short-term Mahila Sikshana
Kendram course of seven to ten days was developed, which combined literacy
education with knowledge on specific issues or vocational skills training. With requests
for longer courses, another course for fifteen days to one month was also developed in
2005. These courses are organised in two to three phases, since women can practicewhat they study and then return to learn more, bringing with them feedback from theirown experiences.
Participants in the Short-term Mahila Sikshana Kendram are mainly office-bearersof federations, members of Mandal Resource Groups and elected women
representatives (see Box 6). The subjects include functional literacy, managerial andinstitutional skills, topics related to the five Issue Committees, such as health, natural
resources and agriculture. Visits to government offices and banks are made to help forparticipants get accustomed to interacting with officials, for example when they need toobtain information.

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Box 6. Short-term Mahila Sikshana Kendram Conducted for Elected Female
Representatives
Hearing of the success of the Short-term Mahila Sikshana Kendram approach, theDepartment of Adult Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh proposed a joint project
on literacy education for elected female representatives to the APMSS in 2008. The
Department and the APMSS modified the curricula and materials used by the APMSS’s
Short-term Mahila Sikshana Kendram for sangham women elected as representatives, anddeveloped a course and contents for female representatives of scheduled castes andscheduled tribes. A workshop was organised for ten days each in three phases in three
districts. The contents focused on issues of Panchayati Raj as well as literacy skills. The
participants were able to increase their knowledge and capacity to effectively work aselected representatives. Furthermore, some participants who had not been members ofsanghams decided to join sanghams after the workshop.
Source: APMSS (2009)

5.1.2. Education for children and adolescents
Bala Mitra Kendram
Bala Mitra Kendram (BMK) started in 1994 out of sangham women‟s concerns forchildren who did not go to school. BMK provides non-formal education to childlabourers as well as miss-outs and drop-outs aged between nine and twelve. BMKs are
established within villages where children can have easy access, and the places areusually provided by Gram Panchayats (village councils) or villagers. Children attend
classes in the evening after work. After attending BMKs for one year, they are expected
to be enrolled in classes commensurate with their ages in formal schools. Initially,
BMKs were set up for girls only, but they have accepted boys as well.
Teachers are identified within the village and trained by the APMSS. They are
required to have completed ten years of education and receive training on non-formal
methods of education. The teaching methods at BMKs are participatory and the contents
include life skills in addition to studies of the syllabus at formal schools. The salaries of
the teachers are paid by the nominal amount of fees charged to children,20 part of thepooled fund of sanghams and funding from the APMSS, as is the case for Adult

20

BMKs can be free of charge, but similar to the idea of membership fees for sanghams, it is thought thata commitment to schooling on the part of both children and their families can be strengthened by charging
school fees.

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Learning Centres. In some villages, the same persons teach at BMKs and Adult
Learning Centres.
Sangham women monitor BMKs and ensure that children learn well and move into
formal schools. BMKs are supposed to shut down a few years after establishment,
during which time all children are expected to be enrolled in formal schools. Withsanghams promoting education for children and people‟s awareness on the importanceof education increasing, the number of BMKs is on the decline. Presently, around 90%
of children go to school in the programme areas and only a few BMKs remain in the
districts of Kurnool and Anantapur (APMSS, 2011). The next challenge is to keep
children in formal schooling and improve their learning achievements.
Mahila Shikshana Kendram
Mahila Shikshana Kendram (MSK) was established in 1995, a year after the firstBala Mitra Kendram was opened. It is a residential school for girls who have never been
to school or have dropped out. Many children who study at MSKs have previously
worked as child labourers. There are cases in which parents once agreed to withdraw
their daughters from the workforce and send them to school, but parents changed theirminds and sent their daughters out to work again. Such incidences can be prevented
when girls are accommodated in residential schools. Moreover, parents feel that theirburden is reduced, since MSKs are free of cost.
Girls at MSKs are expected to be enrolled in classes commensurate with age inschools located in their villages, or to pass the 7th or the 10th grade examinations, after
they stay and study in MSKs for about one year. In addition to this prime objective of
the MSK, the schooling at MSKs can postpone the age of marriage for girls and equipthem with the philosophy of the Mahila Samakhya Programme.
One or two MSKs are established in each of the programme districts, usually at the
mandal or district headquarters. At least one residential teacher stays with the girls in
MSK, and other teachers commute from home. The qualification of teachers is the sameas that for BMK teachers (ten years of education). When necessary, part-time teachers
are hired from the Department of Education as instructors of skill training. One
administrative staff and one kitchen staff also work in the MSK to care for the girls.
Girls are taught formal subjects at school, such as literacy skills, social studies andscience, and other subjects, such as child rights and social and gender equality, and life
skills including communication and negotiation skills. They also enjoy extracurricular
activities, such as visits to offices and museums, carrying out surveys as small projects
during holidays, dancing and yoga.
In 2009/10, 532 girls studied in sixteen MSKs (see Table 2). Of the 62 girls who
took the 7th grade examination, 59 passed, and 39 out of 55 who took 10th grade
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examinations passed. To date, a total 4,826 girls have studied in MSKs, and 65% ofthem have been mainstreamed in formal schools or government residential schools forsecondary and higher education (APMSS, 2011).
Enrolment drives
Andhra Pradesh records one of the lowest percentages of children who attend
school in India. According to the Census 2001 (GOI, 2001), 74.3% of girls and 81.2%
of boys aged between six and fourteen are in school. Many of the rest work in fields,
factories and restaurants or do domestic work. Poverty is said to be the main reason for
non-schooling, but lack of awareness on the importance of education is also a major
contributing factor. In order to raise awareness, sanghams organise enrolment
campaigns in various forms, such as meetings, events and street plays. They also
conduct house-to-house surveys to identify children who do not attend school andexplain the importance of education to parents and children.
Short-term Motivational Camps
Among the children and parents of low castes, there exist psychological barriers toschooling. Since many of these families have no family members who have schoolingexperience, they have little idea about schools and express reservations about sending
their children to school. There are also cases in which low-caste children facediscrimination at school.
Short-term Motivational Camps are organised for seven to thirty days before theschool year starts in June, in order to encourage children to join and drop-outs to returnto schools. Camps are also organised in agricultural peak seasons and long holidays
when children tend to be absent from school.
During the camp, literacy and life skills education is provided and activities which
increase children‟s interest in schooling are conducted. The curriculum also includes
health checks, cooking nutritious food, and vocational skills, such as embroidery, bookbinding, and craft making.
Bala Sangham
Bala Sangham is the children‟s version of mahila sangham. Girls and boys ofsangham villages form groups, hold meetings and learn about children‟s rights and life
skills with the support of sangham women. The Mahila Samakhya Programme
considers it important to work with children, since they are the building blocks of thenext generation.
Sex-segregated groups, such as youth groups for boys and adolescent girls‟ groups,
are usually present in rural villages, and boys and girls generally do not work together.
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Therefore, the existence of Bala Sangham itself is an achievement. As sangham womendo, children of bala sanghams discuss issues that they identify as problems. They areprovided gender education and other capacity building training. They act together onsuch issues as violence against children, child labour and child marriage. In 2009/10,
1,387 bala sanghams were in operation in Andhra Pradesh, in which 17,837 boys and22,029 girls have participated (see Table 2).
National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level
The National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) is
a part of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.21 The NPEGEL focuses on girls who are the hardest
to reach. In this programme, one model school is created in every cluster of about ten
villages, and these schools conduct intensive community mobilisation to increase girls‟
enrolment and rigorously monitor their school attendance. Other activities include
teacher training on gender awareness, development of gender-sensitive learningmaterials, and provision of incentives for girls, such as stationery and uniforms.
The APMSS cooperates with the state government to implement the NPEGEL in
operating 96 clusters in seven districts. A Cluster Committee is established in eachcluster, consisting of a school headmaster, a sarpanch, and representatives from parents,
sanghams and bala sanghams. These committee members hold meetings and decide
how to increase girls‟ enrolment and to improve the quality of education.
5.2. Health
Health is also an important area as a basic need. Andhra Pradesh is not thelowest-ranking state in terms of health indicators, such as Body Mass Index and InfantMortality Rate (GOAP, 2008). Availability of Primary Health Centres is higher than thenational average. However, there are rural villages which have no hospitals or medical
practioners. Even if health facilities do exist, they may not function as expected due to alack of equipment and medicine, or staff absenteeism.
People‟s awareness on health and sanitation used to be low, which in turn ended up
as the cause of various diseases. Health was raised as an important issue to be addressed
especially in the beginning of the Mahila Samakhya Programme in Andhra Pradesh. A
variety of activities, mainly awareness-raising campaigns and dissemination of
information and knowledge, have been conducted on hygiene, nutrition, polio,
reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and traditional health practices. Training on the use of
herbal medicines is also provided. A few cases of these activities are reported below.

21

See footnote 6.

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HIV/AIDS campaign
In India, the number of women who are at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS is on therise, and Andhra Pradesh records the highest proportion of HIV-positive people (GOAP,
2008: 82). One reason for this phenomenon is pointed out. Andhra Pradesh has a vast
network of highways and other roads, and many brothels have been establishedalongside these roads in recent years. The number of female sex workers is rising, manyof who are victims of human trafficking. In brothels, condoms are not commonly used,which increases the risk of sex workers contracting with HIV/AIDS, and results in the
spread of the disease through customers of brothels, such as lorry drivers and migrants.
The stigma attached to HIV/AIDS patients and related violence are the main issues
which sangham women have decided to address. The APMSS provides training on
HIV/AIDS, preventive measures, access to health services, and care of the infected.
Campaigns are organised with a duration of one week to one month through videos andpamphlets, and education on HIV/AIDS is carried out at schools. Tests for HIV/AIDS
infection is conducted with the support of private and public health institutions.
Filarial camp
Many people are affected by filariasis in some districts, such as Karimnagar andNizamabad, of Andhra Pradesh and there are signs that the disease will spread to other
districts. It is considered important to educate village people on filariasis. One-day
training workshops are organised in villages to provide information on causes andsymptoms of the disease, preventive measures and treatment, and to encourage the useof mosquito nets. One-day camps are followed to diagnose the disease and start
treatment.
Grama Sambaralu
Grama Sambaralu means village tour. Sangham women mobilise villagers toparticipate in this village tour, by which they find problems related to health and plan
actions to be taken. Additional activities are conducted depending on the village. For
example, they include cleaning streets and drains, creating maps which show where
resources or literates are, and film shows.
5.3. Natural resource and asset building
Many sangham women work in the primary industry, but they are mostly marginaland unskilled workers with little access to productive assets. Sangham women think that
it is important to acquire a means for their own livelihood, while also protecting natural
resources. To achieve this, strategic and collective actions are necessary. The scope ofactivities is broad: access to and control over natural resources, food security, organic
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farming, kitchen gardens, deforestation, wages from agriculture labour, access to credit,
and campaigns against the use of plastic covers.
Samatha Dharani Project
The Samatha Dharani Project (collective farming) was proposed by sangham
women, approved by the Department of Agriculture, Government of Andhra Pradesh,and supported by the UNDP. The objective was to achieve food security whileconserving natural resources. The programme also aimed to recognise women‟scontributions to agricultural activities. From 2000 to 2005, 13,745 sangham women in
500 villages in 27 mandals participated in this programme (APMSS, 2008).
Sanghams were provided with agricultural equipment and skill training to improve
agricultural technology and production. They were also provided 30 to 75 thousand
rupees as Micro Capital Assistance to start collective farming. With this seed money,some sanghams rented land and others regenerated fallow and degraded land assignedby the government. They produced food crops by using bio-pesticides and organic
manure, and built storage huts for grains. Thus, sangham women have become able toearn income and increase food security. Though the support from the UNDP has ended,around 90% of the sanghams continue collective farming (interviewed, January 10,2011).
5.4. Governance
Women‟s political participation is essential in bringing about changes in society.
Opportunities were made available by the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India
in 1994:“Not less than one-third ..... of the total number of seats to be filled by direct electionin every panchayat shall be reserved for women .....”The timing was perfect. Governance was an area to which the Mahila Samakhya
Programme attached importance in order to achieve political empowerment of women.
The APMSS intended to involve sangham women in local governance from the
beginning. It encourages them to vote, run for elections, support fellow members ascandidates, and equip candidates with necessary knowledge and skills by providing
training on elections, the Panchayati Raj institution, and the quota system for women.
Before elections, the APMSS sets up nomination desks which provide informationon the procedure of applying for candidacy. Sangham women carry out pre-election
voter awareness campaigns and election campaigns together with their candidates. They
encourage village women to go out and vote.22 Sangham women who become elected
22

Sangham women also support male candidates who can address women‟s issues and concerns.

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representatives are provided training by the APMSS, by which they actively engage inputting forward women-friendly policies and projects.
In 1995, only two years after the programme started in Andhra Pradesh, 63 women
were elected as members of panchayats, and the number increased to 585 in 2001
(APMSS, 2007a; 2010a). In 2007, 4,278 women ran for panchayat elections and 1,874
won, out of which 148 women ran for general seats (not the seats reserved for women).
There were two panchayats whose members were all women.23
In 2009/10, there were 1,551 panchayat members, and 192 sarpanches out ofsangham women (see Table 2). Moreover, they challenged higher levels of politicalrepresentation. 123 were elected as members of Mandal Parishad Territorial
Constituency and eight as members of Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency.24
Sangham women that become elected representatives are also appointed as themembers of the Committee of the Panchayat Mahila Evam Yuva Shakti Abhiyan(PMEYSA). This is a forum of all elected representatives of panchayats in the state
under the initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India. The
Committee consists of twelve members from elected representatives, NGOs and thestate government.
5.5. Social and gender equity
Achieving social and gender equity is an overall goal of the Mahila Samakhya
Programme. The oppressive social environment and unjust social practices are issues
that continue to be raised by sangham women at meetings, since the majority of thembelong to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. They are doubly disadvantaged as
those at the bottom of the social strata and as women in patriarchal society.
Discriminatory customs and practices against women are issues that are expressed often.
For example, lower caste people are not allowed to approach or even speak toupper caste people. Women have to cover their heads with veils, and take off and carry
their sandals when they meet upper caste men on streets. They are not expected to dress
well or even comb their hair (Purushothaman, 2010: 25). At school, upper caste children
sit at desks, while lower caste children have no desks.
Such situations need be changed in order for women to be empowered, and womenneed to be empowered in order to achieve social and gender equality. However, it takes
a long time to change people‟s minds and attitudes and then change society. There are23

For information, in Andhra Pradesh women now account for 33% of panchayat members as a result of
the election in 2005. In 2009, the state government decided to increase the quota for women to 50%.
24 In Andhra Pradesh, Panchayati Raj consists of four tiers. Gram Panchayat is the lowest tier and thenext tier is Mandal Parishad, which covers a population of 35 to 50 thousands. The third tier is Zilla
Parishad at the district level. The highest tier is the Zilla Abhivrudhi Sameeksha Mandal which is headed
by a cabinet minister.

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many obstacles to overcome. It is almost impossible for individual women to fightagainst the barriers based on the caste system and fixed ideas of gender, but it ispossible for women to unite as sanghams and collectively work to break down thesebarriers.
The APMSS first offers sangham women opportunities to understand and becomeaware of the inequalities they face. It provides information and knowledge on laws,
such as Domestic Violence Act and laws related to marriageable ages, and training on
gender and legal literacy. A number of awareness raising campaigns are also conducted
and special days, such as International Women‟s Day, are observed.
Mahila Court
The idea of establishing a Legal Aid Centre emerged from federations‟ experiences
and it was named as the Mahila Court. This court is an informal mechanism to resolve
disputes within families, communities and villages through negotiations and fromgender perspectives. The first three Mahila Courts were established in Mahbubnagar
and Medak districts in 2003.
A few members of the Social Issue Committee in each sangham receive three-day
training on legal rights, legal services, counselling and negotiation skills. Of these
women, two to three become members of the Social Issue Committee at the cluster level.
Of the members of the cluster committees, fifteen become members of the Mahila Court
Committee. They receive further training specialised in legal literacy, legal services,
counselling, negotiation and arbitration skills, and utilising available legal services.
Sanghams and the APMSS forge linkages with governments, police and judiciaries at
the mandal level.
The Mahila Court is convened every fifteen days and the members discuss how tosettle cases brought to the Court. When cases are too complicated for the Court to deal
with, they are referred to police or the judiciary system. There have also been cases
which are passed from the police to the Mahila Court. Since the first three Mahila
Courts were established, they have dealt with cases of rape, child marriage, dowry andproperty disputes. In 2009/10 alone, 211 cases were settled by the Mahila Courts in thestate (APMSS, 2011: 40).

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Box 7. Power of CollectivenessA young man from a poor family wanted to get water from the common pipe when hewas building his house. But, he could not get water, because the sarpanch of the village
used the pipe for a long time. Hearing this, the man’s sister asked the sarpanch why her
brother was not allowed to take water from the common pipe. The sarpanch shouted ather, uttering discriminatory words against low castes and women. The young women wasshocked at his reaction and ended up committing suicide.
Her family informed the sangham of this incidence. Sangham women brought the
young women’s body in front of the sarpanch’s house and demanded justice. Around 200
police came to his house to protect him. Then, sangham women mobilised nearly 800
women in a demonstration. The police used water cannons on the women and removed
the young women’s body from the sarpanch’s house. By that time, more sangham womenarrived from other mandals. Faced with this growing force, leaders in the village who
supported the sarpanch ran away. Later on, with the request from the family of the young
women, sangham women filed a suit against the sarpanch. He was arrested on charges ofabetting the girl’s suicide.
Source: Purushothaman (2010: 21)

Box 8. Fighting against Corruption
A girl could not go to college on the day of admission, because one of her relatives
passed away. When she went to the college the following day, she was told by theadministration officer that she had to pay a Rs 5,000 bribe to be admitted. Sangham
women heard of this and went to see the sarpanch. His advice was to pay the admission
charge to the college.
The sangham women went to the college to lodge a complaint. Unable to locate theofficer, they went to see one of the members of the Legislative Assembly and explained
the situation. The assembly member immediately spoke to the officer and the girl was
admitted to the college without having to pay any money. The officer was reported to havesaid that he did not think that the sangham women would bring their appeal to that highlevel.
Source: Purushothaman (2010: 31-32)

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Box 9. List of Activities Conducted under the Mahila Samakhya Programme
in Andhra Pradesh
1. Education(1) For adults- Adult Learning Centre- Literacy Camp- Short-term Mahila Sikshana Kendram (MSK)- Focused Literacy Camp and Short-term MSK for members of Federation Executive
Committees, Resource Groups, and elected female representatives- Literacy sessions at sangham meetings and trainings- Collaborative activities with Department of Adult Education and Directorate ofAndhra Pradesh Open School Society, Government of Andhra Pradesh(2) For children and adolescents- Bala Mitra Kendram- Mahila Shikshana Kendram- Enrolment drives- Short-term Motivational Camps- Bala Sangham- National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level- Career Guidance Forum
2. Health- HIV/AIDS campaign- Filarial camp
- Grama Sambaralu- Health camp
- Sanitation and access to safe drinking water- Nutrition- Reproductive health in a life-cycle approach- Immunisation and child care
- Reviving traditional health systems (e.g. herbal medicine)- Training to health workers and health educators
3. Natural Resources and Asset Building- Samatha Dharani Project- Awareness campaign on environmental protection and conservation- Vocational skills training- Backyard vegetable gardens- Micro enterprise- Vermicompost- Traditional food crops and organic farming- Participation in government programmes (e.g. National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme, Social Forestry, Joint Forest Management, and Wasteland
Development)
4. Governance- Awareness of political participation- Pre-election voter awareness campaign- Nomination desk
- Capacity building to members of panchayat and Gram Panchayat- Creating a network of all elected female representatives at the mandal and districtlevels- Advocacy- Model panchayat
5. Social and Gender Equity- Mahila Court- Campaign against sale of arrack (alcoholic drink)- Awareness raising on gender, oppressive social customs, and legal issues- Training on legal literacy- Prevention and elimination of domestic violence, rape and murder of women- Elimination of child marriage, the jogini system and child labour
Source: Fieldwork (2011)

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Posters Created by the APMSS:
Campaings against Violence (top), Dowries (middle) and Social Discriminations (bottom)

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6. The Case of Makthal Federation in Mahbubnagar District
The Mahila Samakhya Programme envisions its exit when sanghams become
strong enough to work on their own. All programme activities and processes are geared
towards this. As with other states participating in the programme, sanghams in Andhra
Pradesh are united as clusters and then federated at the mandal level. These federations
then build networks at the district level. The federation in Makthal mandal in
Mahbubnagar district, as one of the first two federations established in Andhra Pradesh,
is making impressive progress.
Taking this federation as a case study, this chapter will examine the process of
empowerment from individual sanghams to federations on the basis of the fieldwork.
For the purpose, five group discussions were conducted during the fieldwork with: (a)the staff of the District Implementation Unit of Mahbubnagar and the karyakarthas in
Makthal mandal; (b) the members of the sangham in Dandu village; (c) the members of
the Karni cluster; (d) the Executive Committee members of Makthal federation; and (e)the girls studying at Mahila Shikshana Kendram in Mahbubnagar.
6.1. Federations established in Andhra Pradesh
There are 163 federations established in the Mahila Samakhya Programme. Andhra
Pradesh has the second highest number of 28 federations after Karnataka state whichstarted the programme earlier than Andhra Pradesh (see Table 1). As one of the front
runners in federations‟ activities, this section will present the situation of the federationsin the state.
6.1.1. The vision and missions of the federations
In Andhra Pradesh, the idea of creating mandal-level federations emerged from
sangham women during facilitation and training by the APMSS. Sangham women and
the APMSS together had intensive and extensive discussions on this issue and exploredways in which federations could effectively function.
A federation is defined as “a confederation of all village level sanghams at the
mandal level” (Purushothaman, 2010: 10). It is a forum where poor and marginalised
women gather and organise themselves to transform disadvantageous socio-cultural andeconomic conditions. Federations also play an intermediary role between sangham
women and external bodies, such as state and local governments and NGOs.
The vision and missions (see Box 10), which were formulated by sangham women
together with the APMSS, reflect the objectives of the Mahila Samakhya Programme.
Involving all women in the villages, federations work as pressure groups to facilitate
positive changes in society, and their strategies focus on education, political
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participation and networking. By being federated, sangham women can enhance theirpower to tackle problems and challenge deep-rooted gender biases.

Box 10. Vision and Missions of the Federations in Andhra Pradesh
VisionA Society, where women have value, recognition and dignity together with social,economical and political equality.
Missions- Reaching out to all women in the village- Responding to issues of women’s concern- Pressure group to influence desirable social changes- Reducing social inequalities and gender discrimination both within the family and in
the larger society- Focused campaign and action on improving women’s literacy and girl’s education- Transferring knowledge and information to empower the second generation (childrenof bala sanghams and daughters-in-law)- To converge and network with governments and NGOs
- Increased participation in local governance- Supporting elected women representatives for influencing micro level planning- To demand for women friendly policies and planning
Source: APMSS (2010b)

6.1.2. Autonomous federations as a goal
Autonomy is the final stage for federations in the Mahila Samakhya Programme.
After sanghams are federated at the mandal level, federations are expected to work
towards autonomy. On the management side, they are required to establish offices, becapable in documentation and auditing, which are necessary requirements for registeredsocieties, and raise funds for activities. In terms of human resources, they are required
to have their own resource persons.
Autonomy is also defined both in relationships within the federation and withothers. Federations need to be self-sufficient and independent of external bodies and the
APMSS; likewise, each sangham needs to be so from the federation. Following thephilosophy and principles of the Mahila Samakhya Programme, federations take theinitiative in solving problems and changing society by overseeing and helping clusters
and sanghams in the mandals where they operate, as does the APMSS. They develop
linkages with various stakeholders and work as pressure groups to assert women‟srights. Thus, federations are making efforts to realise gender-equal society.
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to work independently and the federation builds capacity as an autonomous body,25 the
APMSS withdraw itself from the operating mandal. However, the relationship between
the two parties remains close. Federations attend district review meetings and help withplanning and implementation of the Mahila Samakhya Programme, while the APMSS
continues providing capacity building training (see Box 11).
Ultimately, autonomous federations aim to make following achievements (APMSS,
2010b).
- To facilitate the next generation to succeed their activities in order to create asociety without social and gender discrimination- To form into a Gender Resource Group- To act as a pressure group to realise women‟s rights- To be recognised as an institution working on women‟s and girls‟ concerns- To be part of the mandal and district level planning committees

Box 11. Capacity Building of Federations
Institutional process- Concept of decentralisation- Structure of federation- Roles and responsibilities of federation office bearers- Leadership quality
Managerial skills- Accounts and book keeping- Publishing annual reports- Project proposal writing- Documentation- Annual auditing of accounts- Networking and advocacy
Issue-based skills- Literacy skills- Issue-based resource group training- Training of trainers programme- Legal literacy- Counselling- Functioning Legal Aid Centre- Catering committee training- Vocational and livelihood skills training
Source: APMSS (2010b)

25

The APMSS uses the terms, “independent” and “autonomous” almost interexchangeably. But,
precisely speaking, it considers “independence” as a situation where sanghams or federations operate on
their own with the low level of support from the APMSS and “autonomy” as a situation where the
APMSS completely withdraw from the programme areas where sanghams or federations are established.

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6.1.3. Status of federations in Andhra Pradesh
The first two federations―one in Mahbubnagar and one in Medak―were created
and registered as societies under the Societies Registration Act 1860 in 2000. It wasseven years after the Mahila Samakhya Programme first started in these two districts ofAndhra Pradesh. Since then, the number of federations has increased steadily and out of
106 programme mandals all the sanghams have been federated in twenty-eight mandals
as of 2010 (see Tables 3 and 4). The federations count a total number of 41,455 womenas members, and approximately 8,000 women have been trained and acknowledged asresource persons for each of the five issues.26
The federations in Andhra Pradesh had been making progresses towards autonomy.
Twenty-four federations became autonomous by December 2010, and the rest of four
followed suit. In March, 2011, the APMSS withdrew from all the twenty-eight mandals
where the federation were established. It is expected that more federations will becreated and operate autonomously.
Table 3. Present Status of the Federations in Andhra Pradesh (as of December, 2010)
No of federations

28

No of autonomous federations

24

No of Federations with own offices

15

No of villages covered

1,103

No of participating sangham women
Issue Committees(no of members and no of resource persons in brackets)

41,455

Education

7,640 (498)

Health7,812 (667)Natural Resources

7,646 (603)Panchayati Raj

7,532 (561)

Social issues

7,489 (678)

Source:APMSS (2010b)

26

All the sangham women do not belong to the Issue Committees and one woman belong to more than
one Issue Committee.

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Table 4. Details of the Federations in Andhra Pradesh for 2009/10
District(started year)

Registeredyear

MandalName of federation

MakthalSwatantra Bharata Mahila Sangham*

2000

Maganur

Arunodaya Mahila Sangham*

2001

Narva

Kartavya Mahila Sangham*

2001

UtkoorSwechha Mahila Sangham*

2001

Devarakadra

Chaitanya Mahila Federation*

2006

HanwadaSamatha Mahila Federation*

2006

Koilkonda

Jhansi Mahila Federation*

2006

PulkalSwatantra Chitanya Mahila Sangham*

2000

AndoleSwashakti Mahila Sangham*

2001

Alladurg

Nava Chaitanya Mahila Sangham*

2002

RegodeVijayapatha Mahila Sangham*

2002

TekmalPragathi Mahila Sangham*

2002

Shankarampet

Samaana Mahila Sangham*

2004

Papannapet

Rakshana Mahila Sangham*

2006

Sipur

Jangubai Mahila Federation*

2004

Adilabad

Kerameri

Navajyothi Mahila Federation

2006(1997)

Asifabad

Saraswathi Mahila Federation

2007

JainurParvathi Mahila Federation*

2008

Bejjanki

Sri Margadarsi Mahila Sangham*

2004

Husnabad

Mundadugu Adarsha Mahila Sangham*

2005

Ellanthakunta

Abhivruddhi Chaitanya Mahila Federation *2006

Gangadhara

Shanthi Samatha Mahila Federation*

2006

Chigurumamidi

Jhansi Mahila Federation

2008

KohedaSri Chitanya Federation*

2008

Saidapur

Vennela Mahila Federation

2008

Yellareddy

Samaikyatha Mahila Federation*

2005

Gandhari

Ikyatha Mahila Federation*

2005

Nagireddypet

Samanthara Mahila Federation*

2005

Mahbubnagar(1993)

Medak(1993)

Karimnagar(1997)

Nizamabad(1997)
Source:Note:

APMSS (2010b)* indicates an autonomous federation.

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6.2. The context of Makthal mandal, Mahbubnagar district
Andhra Pradesh consists of twenty-three districts which are divided into three
regions, namely Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana. This geographicaldivision roughly corresponds with agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions.
Coastal Andhra benefits from fertile soil and a well-developed irrigation system, andproduces rice and commercial crops. Rayalaseema and Telangana are semi-dry or
semi-arid and depend on rainfed agriculture. They grow mainly millet, groundnut,
cotton and chillies. According to the socio-economic indicators, Coastal Andhra is themost advanced of the three regions, followed by Rayalaseema and then Telangana.
Mahbubnagar is located in the Telangana region and is one of the least developed
districts in Andhra Pradesh. 89.4% of its population lives in rural areas, which is thehighest of all districts in Andhra Pradesh (GOI, 2001). As shown by various indicators
in Table 5, Mahbubnagar lags behind other districts economically and socially. The percapita gross district domestic product is in one of the lowest (Rs 8,996), and the adultliteracy rates are the lowest for both men and women (56.6% and 31.9%, respectively).
Women in Mahbubnagar appear to be more disadvantaged than those in other
districts. The sex ratio is highly skewed toward males (972), which suggests a strong
preference for sons. The total fertility rate is the highest (3.1) and the infant mortality is
the second highest (58 per thousand) in the state. The high percentage of people whomarried below the legal minimum age (42.6%) implies continuation of child marriage.
The highest percentage of women who participate in economic activities (47.2%) meansthat women have to find a balance between outside work and domestic work.
Table 6 also shows the overall level of development for Mahbubnagar in the state.
It is at the lowest level in terms of economy, education and health. From these statistics,
it is very clear why Mahbubnagar was selected as one of the first target districts of theMahila Samakhya Programme. When the APMSS mobilised women to form groups,
literacy education was used as a main objective and was the issue most raised by
women.
Makthal mandal is one of 64 mandals in Mahbubnagar district. It is located in thecentre of the west end of the state which borders Karnataka state. It is about 65 km away
(about one hour by car) from the district headquarters, Mahbubnagar. Makthal has apopulation of 62,205 (31,134 men and 31,071 women) in an area of 352.7 km2. It is
predominantly rural, but there is a busy market with many shops in the centre of
Makthal mandal.
The majority of people engage in agricultural activities under harsh climaticconditions, suffering from frequent droughts and natural calamities. They produce dry
crops, such as castor, groundnut, maize, pulse and sunflower, due to the dry weather andthe lack of irrigation facilities. Rice is grown only in places where water is available.
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Cotton had been a major crop, but the size of the area for producing cotton and cotton
seeds is on the decline.

Table 5. Socio-economic Situation of Mahbubnagar District
Indicator

Value

Ranking in the state

Area

2

18,400 km

2Population

3,513,934

10

10.6%

23

Rs 8,996
44.4% (total)
56.6% (male)
31.9% (female)
22.7% (SC female)
50.1% (ST female)

21
23
23
23
16
8

% of school-going children (5-14 age group)

59.9%

23

Sex ratio

972

18

Total fertility rate

3.1

1

Infant mortality rate (per thousand)58

2% of people married below the legal minimum age

42.6%

8

Female work participation rate

47.2%

1

% of urban population
Per capita gross district domestic product

Adult (15+) literacy rate

Sources: Government of Andhra Pradesh (2008) and computed from the Census 2001 (GOI)

Table 6. Level of Development for Mahbubnagar District
Dimension Indices

Value

Rankingin the state

Average value ofAndhra Pradesh

Income (2003/04)

0.276

21

0.371

Education (2001)

0.449

23

0.607

Educational Attainment Index (2001)

46.02

23

n/a

Health (2001)
Disparity Index in wage rate for
agriculture field labour (2004/05)

0.467

22

0.633

0.671

15

0.725

Source:Note:

Government of Andhra Pradesh (2008)
As for Disparity Index in wage rate for agriculture field labour, disparity is lower, as the valueof is close to 1.

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In October, 2009 after little rainfall during the monsoon season, Andhra Pradesh
was hit by torrential rain―the first time in decades―and was inundated by a large-scale
flood. Mahbubnagar was one of the most affected areas. Many people lost their houses,
crops and livestock, which made their already difficult lives more complicated.
Migration, therefore, is a means of making a living. Many people go to work incities, such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Raichur. When only men migrate andwomen are left with their children in villages, women are burdened with both earning aliving and managing the household. When the whole family migrates, children‟s
education is often disrupted. These are the situations that the women in Makthal livewith every day.

Mandal Headquarters’ OfficeMarket in Mandal

6.3. Organisational structure of Makthal federation
Makthal mandal was selected as one of the six mandals for participation in the
Mahila Samakhya Programme when the APMSS initiated interventions in 1993. The
reason was clear. As the previous section showed, Makthal was a less-developed area
and women appeared to face various and serious problems. It perfectly met the selection
criteria of the programme: the female literacy rate was low and the proportion ofscheduled castes and scheduled tribes population was high. Under this circumstance,
sanghams in Makthal have made progresses over the years and have united as afederation.
One of the characteristics of the Mahila Samakhya Programme is a participatory
and bottom-up approach with decentralised decision-making. Decisions are made on thebasis of consensus among sangham women, since the APMSS believes that in order for
women‟s groups to be sustainable, it is important for member women to have a sense ofownership. This is especially essential for federations which are supposed to operate as
statutory and coordinating bodies of sanghams after the APMSS‟s withdrawal.
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There were a number of discussions on the structure of federations between the
APMSS and sangham women after the idea of creating federations surfaced. The
structure had to correspond to the concept of the programme and ensure its effectiveness.
Initially, different structures were adopted for the federations in Andhra Pradesh.
Through trial and error, the Makthal model of organisational structure (see Figure 4)
was developed, which is the current model used by all federations in the state. The
details of this structure will be explained in the following section, taking Makthal
federation as an example, along with the process in which women in Makthal have been
united as sanghams and then a federation.
Figure 4. Structure of Makthal Federation

Maha Sangham

Federation

Makthal Federation

Federation

Executive Committee
Governing Body

clusterclustersanghams

clusterclustersanghams

clusterclusterclustersanghams

Source: Created by the author from APMSS (2010b).

6.4. Journey from sanghams to a Maha Sangham: the case of Makthal federation
Individual sanghams formed in villages have developed into groups of clusters,
and federations in Andhra Pradesh since 1993. The sanghams in Makthal mandal havespearheaded this process before and after the federation was established in 2000. The
journey of Makthal federation will be detailed in this section.

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6.4.1. Formation of sanghams
The process of women forming into a sangham is divided into four stages, namely(1) rapport building, (2) group formation, (3) group activities, and (4) independence. In
order to assess the development of sanghams, the APMSS has a set of descriptive
indicators for each stage (see Box 14). In reference to these indicators, the formation
process of sanghams in Makthal will be reported below.
Stage I: Rapport building between karyakarthas and village women
Karyakarthas, who underwent training by the APMSS, played an important role in
the initial stages of the programme. Their first task was to build rapport with women invillages. Karyakarthas started visiting several villages in Makthal in 1993 andapproached women of low socio-economic status, as well as other villagers. They
explained about the philosophy and principles of the programme and listened to theirideas and concerns. This was the first step to motivate women to form groups to deal
with the problems that they were facing.
Since the Mahila Samakhya Programme does not offer direct services, such asprovision of food and health services, it sometimes takes time for women to understandwhat the programme is about and decide to join. In general, it takes two to four months
with five to eight visits or sometimes more than a year, before the karyakarthas are
accepted by the women in villages and for the women to start thinking of organisingthemselves (interviewed, January 5, 2011).

Group Discussion (a) with the Staff of the District Implementation Unit of Mahbubnagar and
the Karyakarthas in Makthal Mandal

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Stage II: Women forming into sanghams
Karyakarthas continued visiting villages on a regular basis and helped women
recognise their disadvantaged positions within the family, community and village.
Discussions were held between karyakarthas and women. Karyakarthas helped womenarticulate the problems that they were facing and kept encouraging them to form groups.
Gradually, more and more women in small groups joined the meetings withkaryakarthas.
Stage III: Conducting group activities
With the encouragement of the karyakarthas, from 1994 fifteen to forty women in
one village started gathering together to hold meetings at their homes, community halls
or government buildings once or twice a month. Sanghams were created one after
another, to which the APMSS provided mats for sitting, books, and other materials.
Sanghams which wanted to have their own meeting venues and keep these items tried toobtain land from panchayats free of cost. When successful, they could request the
APMSS for funding to construct a sangham hut (Rs 30,000), contributing their own
labour to construct the building.
In one sangham, one governing body member was selected and the othermembers were divided into one or more of the five Issue Committees (education, health,natural resources, Panchayati Raj and social issues). They were responsible for
conducting activities in each area.
Sangham women discussed various issues and problems in their daily lives withkaryakarthas as facilitators, supporters and guides. This was an important process
which allowed women to reflect, ask questions, speak freely, analyse problems,
articulate their needs, and finally seek solutions. Sangham women realised the need for
information, knowledge and skills to solve their problems, and made requests to the
APMSS for training. In response, the State Programme Office and the District
Implementation Units organised various
training workshops, seminars and fieldvisits at the district, mandal, cluster andvillage levels throughout the year. Members
started contributing two rupees per month
as a membership fee, and the pooledmembership fees were used for travel toattend training workshops.
The State Programme Office develops
certain training modules on such topics as
nutrition, hygiene, literacy, gender, candle
Sangham Hut in Karni Village
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making, agricultural skills, and use of herbal medicine. It also develops training
modules on new topics upon requests from sanghams.
While sangham women gained information, knowledge and skills and developed
their capacities through training, they could analyse the causes of the problems, such as
child labour, dowries and violence against women, and consider actions to be taken
together with karyakarthas. One important activity was to obtain access to government
schemes and proper public services. Sanghams applied for housing schemes and ration
cards and demanded more effective functioning of health centres and schools. After they
conducted these activities, they evaluated the results and came up with other ways ofsolving the problems or, if the problems were solved sufficiently, moved on to address
other problems.
In order to support their activities, the APMSS provides 500 rupees per month forthree years when sanghams want to start collective small-scale income generating
activities and their proposed activities meet with criteria set by the APMSS. The reason
for this limitation imposed is to encourage them to utilise existing resources andgovernment services. By this time, sanghams have opened their own bank accounts todeposit membership fees and funding from the APMSS. As sanghams engage in various
activities and gain in strength, the karyakarthas’ role gradually decreases.
Stage IV: Becoming independent
Sanghams continue to conduct activities with gradually less support fromkaryakarthas and the APMSS. The final stage that sanghams are expected to reach is
independence. The Mahila Samakhya Programme envisages that sanghams will
progress from the second to the fourth stage in a period of three years, though in reality
it can take much longer than that (which will be detailed in the following sections).
In Makthal, sanghams were considered able to work on their own and wereregarded as independent after 1998. For independent sanghams, karyakarthas and the
APMSS have provided advice and support only when requested.

Group Discussion (b) with the Members of the Sangham in Dandu Village

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Box 12. Development of a Sangham in Lingampalli Village in Makthal Mandal
A karyakartha visited Lingampalli village for the first time in July, 1993 [Stage I]. The
village had fifty to seventy households of scheduled castes. She visited these households
and approached women individually. They talked about various issues and developed
relationships. She regularly made such visits and explained about herself, her work andthe Mahila Samakhya Programme.
Small groups of women in neighbouring households started coming to see thekaryakartha whenever she visited the village in 1994. After some time, the women andkaryakartha found that it was convenient for the small groups of women to meet all
together in one place, rather than in different places in the village. Thus, in 1996 eight toten women began meeting in a large group during the karyakartha’s visits [Stage II].
The group of women gradually formed into a sangham and discussed problems intheir homes and communities. They agreed that the most urgent problem to be solved was
the lack of ration cards provided for low-income people under the Public Distribution
System. Without the cards, they could not get sarees and dhotis at subsidised prices. They
wanted to know how to apply for ration cards immediately. The karyakartha helped themmake applications.
The sangham also decided to talk to the sarpanch and the Mandal Revenue Officer
about their problem. Though they did not have ration cards, they negotiated with the dealer
and the dealer agreed that he would sell sarees and dhotis at low prices to women. [Stage
III]
Source: Fieldwork (2011)

Box 13. Forming a Sangham in Karni Village in Makthal Mandal
In Karni village, ten women met with a karyakartha after she had visited the village a
few times. They were concerned about walking outside at night because of the lack ofstreet lighting. Being encouraged by the karyakartha, the ten women went to see thesarpanch and asked him to install street lights. He understood the situation and accepted
the request. Street lights were subsequently installed. This incident gave the women
confidence that they could speak to the sarpanch and make requests.
Similarly, they asked to build a bore-well in the area where scheduled castes resided,
since there was none. This request too was accepted. This success made them realisethat they could solve problems when they stood up and worked together. These
achievements led them to organise themselves as a sangham in the village.
Source: Fieldwork (2011)

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6.4.2. Formation of clusters
The numbers of sanghams and of women participating in sanghams has
dramatically increased in Makthal mandal over the years. Many sanghams which wereformed earlier moved from the first to the second and third stages. Sangham women
were provided with opportunities to meet other women from neighbouring villages
during meetings and trainings organised by the APMSS. While they shared informationand experiences with each other, they found that they were facing the same problems. In
order to solve these common problems, they started networking.
Successful joint activities, such as launching large-scale awareness raising
campaigns, gave confidence to groups of sanghams. Five to eight sanghams fromneighbouring villages grouped together as clusters, and from 1997, the governing bodymembers of each sangham started holding cluster meetings on a fixed date each month.
Each cluster selected one representative from the governing body. Meeting venues
rotated among the villages of the cluster, or some clusters used the money pooled bymembers and built cluster huts built. When urgent issues came up, sangham women met
at shandy (weekly market) when they went shopping, or at the mandal headquarters
when they went there for other purposes.
The stage of each sangham in Makthal varied around that time, as shown in Table
7. For example, in 1998, only one sangham in the Anugonda cluster had progressed tothe second stage, while other sanghams remained in the first stage. All of the sanghams
were in the second stage in the Karni cluster, and all the sanghams in the Madwar
cluster were in the third stage. The sanghams or clusters in advanced stages helped
other sanghams or clusters in the nascent stages. As such, the sanghams and clusters in
Makthal helped each other improve their capacities.
As sanghams were developing into clusters and becoming more and more
self-reliant in conducting activities in Andhra Pradesh, the APMSS facilitated theprocess of decentralisation by organising meetings, brain-storming sessions, training
workshops and exposure visits.

Group Discussion (c) with the Members of the Karni Cluster

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6.4.3. Formation of a federation
Meetings continued between sangham women and the APMSS between 1997 and2000 at the village, cluster and mandal levels not only in Makthal mandal but in otherareas as well. They discussed the visible changes in the lives of individual sangham
women, sanghams and clusters, as well as in the villages, and the next steps to be taken.
Opinions offered at the meetings were as follows.27- Sangham women have gained knowledge and confidence.
- Sangham women have become able to negotiate with Gram Panchayat(village council) in order to have access to basic needs.
- Sanghams have obtained recognition in the villages.
- Sanghams have potential to expand the scope of activities, though they need
to be further strengthened.
- Clusters have built their capacity to address common issues, but facedifficulties in contacting the police in cases of violence against women andgirls.
- If sanghams as one group have a presence at the mandal level, it will beeasier to access the mandal office, police and judiciary system.
- A mandal-level group of sanghams can influence policies and projects tomake them women-friendly.
- When the APMSS withdraws itself from the programme areas, the mandal
level federation can act as a coordinating body of village sanghams andgather support from various external agencies.
Out of these discussions, sanghams which became increasingly self-reliant in
conducting activities came up with the idea of creating a new structure at the mandal
level. They thought that by increasing their capacity they would be able to establish afederation, through which problems of women in villages could be dealt with at the
mandal level. Sangham women and the APMSS together explored ways of federating
sanghams and considered the roles and responsibilities of a federation. They also
discussed the structure of the federation, the method of choosing representatives, term
limits, and other related issues.
A series of discussions between sangham women and the APMSS resulted in theformulation of the vision and missions, mentioned earlier. It was also decided thatby-laws would be drafted for each federation. Under this direction, the clusters ofsanghams in Makthal mandal started preparations to establish a federation, registering it
as a society, and formulating by-laws with the help of the APMSS in 1999. In 2000,
Makthal federation (formally, Swatantra Bharata Mahila Sangham) successfully
27

This information is obtained from the internal document of the APMSS collected during the fieldwork.

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KFAW 調査研究報告書 Voo. 2011-1

registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act 1860 and started activities on
its own.
At this mandal level, the Federation Executive Committee was established as thehighest decision-making body of the federation. It is composed of a total of seven
representatives from the seven clusters in Makthal. From these representatives a
President, Vice President, Secretary, Joint Secretary and Treasurer are selected. They
meet once every two months and have a term of two years.
Another body at the mandal level is the Governing Body. It consists of one
representative (a governing body member) from each sangham. A total number of
forty-five representatives hold meetings once a month, but when urgent issues come up,
emergency meetings are organised. In addition to these two bodies, all sangham womenfrom all clusters gather once a year. This is referred to as the General Body.
Initially, some federations, such as the federation in Utkoor mandal in
Mahbubnagar district, had only representatives in the clusters of the Governing Body.
The reason that Makthal federation chose to have representation from all the sanghams
was that it thought that every sangham should have a say in the Governing Body,
though opinions can be communicated via the representatives of the clusters.
Makthal federation views the functions of the clusters as intermediaries between
the sanghams and the federation as a coordinator of activities conducted throughout the
mandal. The federation is also considered to be a forum for capacity building training
and sharing of resources. For this purpose, it was decided to establish the Mandal
Resource Group which provided their knowledge, skills and experience as resource
persons to sanghams inside and outside the federations, as well as external bodies. The
Mandal Resource Group consists of five representatives, one each from the five Issue
Committees which operate at the cluster level.
With regards to financing activities of federations, the APMSS held a workshop for
four federations in Mahbubnagar in 2001. Two methods were proposed: contributions
from either sanghams or sangham members. Makthal federation supported thecontribution from sanghams and others followed suit. Makthal federation has raisedfunding through membership fees of fifty rupees per month each from the forty-fivesanghams. They also receive a portion of the remuneration contributed by members
who work as resource persons, charge fees for visitors who come to learn from thefederation‟s activities, and obtain contracts on implementation of projects from the
APMSS, NGOs and local governments.

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6.4.4. Becoming an autonomous federation
The next step for the registered federation was to move towards autonomy. In 2005
and 2006, the APMSS organised brainstorming sessions, workshops and meetings withthe women of Makthal federation and assisted them as they worked towards autonomy.
Through discussions with the members, they identified needs for further training,
partners for networking, and ways to secure financial and human resources. The
APMSS provided Makthal federation with further training to increase their capabilities
in formulating annual activity plans, documenting annual and project reports, andaccounting.
The members of Makthal federation conducted various activities and projects,
which, in turn, boosted their capacity towards becoming autonomous. In 2006, the
APMSS determined that Makthal federation was strong enough to be independent of theMahila Samakhya Programme, and withdrew from Makthal mandal.
Now, Makthal federation plans, implements, and evaluates projects independently
with its own sources of funding. Internally, the federation monitors and helps sangham
activities, and externally builds networks with other federations, local NGOs andgovernment offices.
The relationship between Makthal federation and the APMSS remains close. One
staff of the State Programme Office attends meetings of the Federation Executive
Committee and the Governing Body for one year after federations become independent.
Thus, Makthal federation has continued to receive support from the APMSS in order tofurther strengthen its capacity.

Meetings of Makthal Federation

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KFAW 調査研究報告書 Voo. 2011-1(Explaining the Structure of the Federation)(Discussing Issues)(Theatre Playing: A Landlord (left) and Sangham Women)(Dancing after the Discussion)

Group Discussion (d) with the Executive Committee Members of Makthal Federation

6.4.5. Evolving into a Maha Sangham
In Mahbubnagar, after Makthal federation became a registered society in 2000,
three federations were registered as societies in 2001, followed by an additional three in2006. The seven federations, as front runners of the Mahila Samakhya Programme inAndhra Pradesh, have evolved into a Maha Sangham, a network of federations at the
district level.
Maha Sangham is comprised of three representatives each from the Federation
Executive Committee members. They gather every month. The objectives of the Maha
Sangham are to function as a pressure group to raise awareness of women‟s issues incooperation with other district-level agencies and NGOs, and to help each other in
conducting activities in respective mandals.
The representatives of the federations exchange information and experiences,discuss common problems and draw up joint action plans. The plans are implemented
by respective federations, and the representatives visit government offices to address
problems when necessary. This approach is now replicated in other districts.
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Visitors from Uttar Pradesh (left) and Karnataka (right)

Presenting the Experiences of Makthal Federation

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KFAW 調査研究報告書 Voo. 2011-1

Table 7. The Development Process of Sanghams in Makthal Mandal
1993
Cluster/Sangham
ANUGONDA Cluster (8)Anugonda--Anukinapalli--Daddanpalli--Gaddampalli--Musalaipalli--Panchadevpahad--Parevula--Pasupula--BHOOTPUR Cluster (7)Bhootpur--Dandu--Katrapalli--Kondadoddi--Mushtipalli--Rudrasamudram--Satyaram--DASARADODDI Cluster (6)Dasaradoddi--Chandapur--Gurlapalli--Sanghambanda--Tirumalapur--Vanaikunta--JAKLER Cluster (6)Gudigandla--Jakler--Madanpalli--Oblapallir--Ramasamudram--Samanpalli
---

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

(1)

(2)

----------------------------------

2
2
----2
--2
2

2
2
--2
2
2
2
2

3
2
--2
2
2
2
2

3
3
--3
3
2
3
2

3
4
--4
3
4
3
3

3
4
2
4
3
4
4
3

3
4
2
4
4
4
4
4

3
4
2
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
2
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4

22
30
36
30
35
28
30
32

35
50
36
40
40
42
35
38

--2
-----------

2
2
2
----2
---

2
3
--2
--2
2

3
3
2
2
--2
2

3
3
2
3
--3
3

3
4
3
3
--3
3

4
4
3
4
--3
4

4
4
4
4
--4
4

4
4
4
4
2
4
4

4
4
4
4
2
4
4

4
4
4
4
2
4
4

4
4
4
4
2
4
4

4
4
4
4
3
4
4

4
4
4
4
3
4
4

4
4
4
4
3
4
4

4
4
4
4
3
4
4

4
4
4
4
3
4
4

30
25
30
26
28
20
25

32
35
32
38
40
45
35

--------------------------

2
----2
-----

2
----2
--2

2
2
2
2
2
2

2
2
3
3
2
3

3
3
3
4
3
4

4
4
4
4
3
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

40
25
20
20
25
26

45
35
32
46
34
35

-------------

2
2
2
2
2
---

2
2
2
2
2
---

3
3
3
3
3
---

3
3
3
3
3
---

3
3
3
3
3
---

4
4
4
4
4
---

4
4
4
4
4
2

4
4
4
4
4
2

4
4
4
4
4
2

4
4
4
4
4
2

4
4
4
4
4
2

4
4
4
4
4
3

4
4
4
4
4
3

4
4
4
4
4
3

4
4
4
4
4
3

4
4
4
4
4
3

17
22
18
22
32
23

30
33
29
27
40
28

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KFAW 調査研究報告書 Voo. 2011-1

Table 7. The Development Process of Sanghams in Makthal Mandal (continued)
1993
Cluster/Sangham
KARNI Cluster (7)Bhagwanpalli--Chityala--Ersenpalli--Ghoplapur--Karni--Khanapur--Panchalingala--MADWAR Cluster (5)Madwar--Makthal--Lingampalli--Someswarabanda--Upparpalli--MANTHANGOUD Cluster (6)Bondalakunta--Erranpalli--Gollapalli--Kachvar--Manthagound--Tekulapalli---

Source:Notes:

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

(i)

(ii)

--2
2
--2
2
2

--2
2
--2
2
2

--3
3
--3
3
3

--3
3
--3
3
3

--3
3
--3
3
3

--3
3
--3
3
3

--4
3
--4
4
4

2
4
3
2
4
4
4

2
4
3
2
4
4
4

2
4
3
2
4
4
4

2
4
3
2
4
4
4

3
4
3
3
4
4
4

3
4
3
3
4
4
4

3
4
4
3
4
4
4

3
4
4
3
4
4
4

3
4
4
3
4
4
4

3
4
4
3
4
4
4

15
22
35
18
28
26
28

28
42
38
38
35
35
40

2
--2
2
2

2
--2
2
2

3
--3
3
3

3
--3
3
3

4
--4
4
4

4
--4
4
4

4
--4
4
4

4
--4
4
4

4
--4
4
4

4
--4
4
4

4
--4
4
4

4
--4
4
4

4
--4
4
4

4
--4
4
4

4
--4
4
4

4
--4
4
4

4
2
4
4
4

25
20
25
30
20

38
20
35
45
28

-------------

2
2
--2
2
2

2
2
2
2
2
2

3
3
3
3
3
3

3
3
3
3
3
3

3
3
3
3
3
3

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

4
4
4
4
4
4

19
30
22
26
32
18

36
35
34
35
43
28

Fieldwork (2011)(1) (i) indicates the number of women at the time of forming the group, and (ii) indicates the number of women in 2010.
(2) The first stage is not mentioned, since records are only available from the second stage.

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Box 14. Descriptive Indicators to Assess the Development of Sanghams
Defined by the APMSSStage I: Rapport building- Karyakarthas visit villages which the APMSS identifies as the target of the Mahila
Samakhya Programme.
- Karyakarthas make house visits to women who belong to low castes and explain
about the programme.
- Karyakarthas also meet with other people, including men of the villages and explain
about the programme.
Stage II: Group formation- Karyakarthas have regular meetings with small groups of women.
- Karyakarthas and women discuss problems that they are facing.
- Karyakarthas provide further explanations on the programme, suggesting what
women can do to solve problems through participation in the programme.
- Some groups of women start activities to solve the problems.
- Through this interaction between the karyakarthas and women, the numbers of
women who participate in small groups increase and they meet regularly.
Stage III: Group activities- Small groups of women are consolidated into one group or a sangham (25 to 30
members) in a village.
- Sangham women decide the names of their sanghams.
- Sangham women select one representative (governing body member) per sangham,and other members are divided into five Issue Committees (education, health, natural
resources, Panchayati Raj, and social issues).
- Sanghams hold meetings once or twice a month on a regular basis.
- Sanghams request the APMSS to provide information and training to assist them in
conducting activities.
- Sangham women contribute a small amount for membership fees.
- Sangham women participate in training workshops organised by the APMSS.
- Sanghams discuss issues to be addressed and take actions to solve problems.
- Karyakarthas gradually reduce their role in activities of sanghams.
Stage IV: Independence- Sanghams conduct activities independently with advice and help from karyakarthas
and the APMSS only when requested.
Source: Created by the author from APMSS (1998).

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6.5. The development process of individual sanghams in Makthal
The APMSS started visiting villages in Makthal mandal in 1993, as thedevelopment process of the forty-five sanghams is shown in Table 7.28 Ten sanghams
were formed in 1994, followed by thirteen sanghams in 1995 and an additional ten in
1996. Nearly three-quarters of the sanghams (33 out of 45) in Makthal were establishedin the initial three years. Following that, a few sanghams were formed in 1997 and 1998.
After the federation was established in 2000, new sanghams continued to beestablished: four in 2001 and one in 2002. The newest sangham was the one formed in
the mandal headquarters, Makthal, in 2010.
When the APMSS starts the Mahila Samakhya Programme in a new mandal, it first
visits rural villages, since mandal headquarters are mostly semi-urban and moredeveloped in comparison with surrounding villages. In the case of Makthal mandal,
women from scheduled castes residing in the mandal headquarters discussed thepossibility of forming a sangham in 1995, but decided against doing so because they
thought they could solve problems on their own without formally organising themselves
into a group. However, after the federation was established, women in Makthal
headquarters were able to experience a number of activities taking place in the mandal.
Finally in 2009, they decided to organise themselves and formed a sangham in 2010.
The sanghams in Makthal mandal have expanded in terms of membership. With
the exception of two sanghams, the number of women in each sangham has
substantially increased from the initial years to the present by 10.3 women per sangham
or 44.5% on average, and from 1,156 to 1,620 women in total (see Figure 5). The largest
increase is observed in Sanghambanda sangham (20 to 46 women or 130.0%), and thesize of around one-third of the sanghams rose 1.5 times. This suggests that sangham
activities are attracting more and more women in the villages.
Each year, the APMSS monitors and evaluates the stages that the sanghams havereached, according to the descriptive indicators that it defines (see Box 14). Of the 45
sanghams, 39 have reached stage IV, as the autonomous federation is expected toprogress. Five sanghams which are at stage III were formed relatively later in 2000 and
2001, and the newest sangham in Makthal headquarters is at stage II.
On average, it takes 2.4 years for the sanghams to move from the second to thethird stage, and 2.8 years from the third to the fourth stage. It takes 4.9 years fromformation to independence. As detailed by Table 8, a typical case shows that a sangham
reaches the third stage two years after it is formed and requires an additional two to
three years to reach the independence stage. The Mahila Samakhya Programme
envisions sanghams becoming independent in three years after formation, but in reality
28

The data and information were obtained from the staff of the APMSS‟s head office and of the District
Implementation Unit in Mahbubnagar during the fieldwork.

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it can take longer (about four to five years). It is, therefore, expected that it will take a
few more years before the six sanghams at stages II and III will become independent.
Figure 5. Increase in the Number of Sangham Members in Makthal Mandal (1994-2010)
20
15
15
10
10

8
4

5
2

3

3

0

Source: Fieldwork (2011)

Table 8. Years Taken to Move up to the Stages
from Stage II to III

from Stage III to IV

1 year2

2 years
3 years

from Stage II to IV
6

0

29

11

0

4

15

5

4 years

7

4

10

5 years

1

0

15

6 years

0

1

7

7 years00

0

8 years00

1

9 years00

0

10 years

000

11 years01

0

12 years

000

13 years

0

0

1

Total

43

38

39

Source:Notes:

Fieldwork (2011)(1) One sangham has not reached stage III and five sanghams have not reached stage IV.
(2) One sangham jumped directly from stage II to IV.

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The progress made by the sanghams in Makthal mandal reflects the developmentof Makthal federation. Figure 6 shows that only five sanghams (12.8%) reached stage
IV in 1999 and the number increased to 28 (71.8%) when the federation was establishedin 2000. The number of sanghams further rose to 38 (86.4%) in 2006 when thefederation became autonomous.
However, the development of the sanghams is not uniform. The majority ofsanghams moved from stage II to stage III in two to three years, but Gurlapalli sangham
moved up to the next stage within one year. Alternatively, the longest case was five
years for Samanpalli sangham.
The number of years required to move from stage III to stage IV varies from one toeleven years. The shortest cases are found in the Dasaradoddi cluster. Out of six
sanghams, four passed from the third to fourth stage in one year and two in two years.
The longest example is Ersenpalli sangham. The sangham was established in 1994 andreached stage III after two years. However, it took thirteen years to become independent
due to disagreements and conflicts among members and between them and theirfamilies. Despite these difficulties, Ersenpalli sangham has remained united withsupport from the karyakarthas and the APMSS. This is because the members
acknowledge that the sangham is a space for them to discuss, make decisions and takeaction in order to solve problems for them and fellow women.
Figure 6. Changes in the Status of the Sanghams in Makthal by Year (1993 to 2010)

1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
14
1998
13
1999
5
2000 0
11
2001
4
5
2002
5
2
2003
5
2
2004
5
1
2005 2
4
2006 06
2007 0 5
2008 0 5
2009 0 5
2010 1 5
0%

10
23
22

0
0
0
0

10
22
22
29

4
5

28
34
37
37
38
38
38
39
39
39
39
50%

Stage II
Stage III
Stage IV

100%

Source: Fieldwork (2011)

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This type of dynamic is also observed in other sanghams. Katrapalli sangham was
first formed in 1995, but in the following year meetings were not held regularly. The
sangham women started to doubt the value of collective activities as they were unable
to have in-depth discussions about problems and potential solutions, and could not
sufficiently review activities and observe achievements. In 1996, Katrapalli sangham
was dissolved. The karyakartha increased the number of visits to Katrapalli andthoroughly explained the benefits of the programme again to former members. As aresult, they regained interest in collective work, formed a sangham again in 1997 andintensified their activities. In particular, they have been very active in politicalparticipation. In the elections in 2006, two sangham women became panchayat
members, one became a sarpanch and one became a member of the Mandal Parishad
Territorial Constituency.
Another sangham had a dispute related to an award they had received. The
APMSS had to inform the award committee of an individual person‟s name instead of
the name of the sangham as an awardee, though they well understood that the group
activity was acknowledged. For convenience, it nominated the governing body member
at that time. However, some members of the sangham were not happy about the award
being given to one person and the way the prize money was distributed among thefederation, the governing body member and other members, since they thought that theaward was the result of group activities, which was true. The APMSS duly explained
the reason behind the nomination and re-divided the prize money in a way which wasagreeable to all sangham members.
Sanghams experience ups and downs even after they are considered independent.
One of the earlier sanghams, Dandu sangham, passed through stage II to III in two
years and stage III to IV in three years, and reached stage IV in 1999. However, in 2001,
some sangham women ran in the panchayat election under different political parties.
This led to an awkward relationship among the sangham members, and they did notattend meetings for a while. They again began gathering regularly, but attendance again
decreased when a few women who played leading roles in the sangham migrated toother states. Activities picked up again when they returned to Dandu village. However,members‟ attendance again became erratic. The Executive Committee of the Makthal
federation and the APMSS found that the governing body member of the sangham did
not fulfil her role sufficiently, and decided to replace her. Following the replacement,
the sangham‟s activities have since picked up.
On the other hand, Panchadevpahad sangham progressed through the stages
quickly after its formation in 1997 and became independent in 2000 without advancing
through stage III. This was because the women were very motivated and quickly
developed their capacity with the help of the karyakartha. Their success in accessing
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government schemes and services also helped increase momentum, as have shown inthe case of Lingampalli sangham in Box 12.
6.6. Reasons for federating in Makthal
The women of Makthal federation, having the double disadvantage of being fromlow castes and also being women, lived in difficult circumstances facing poverty andsocial discrimination. They gathered as sanghams and discussed how to improve theirsituations. They also shared their problems and experiences with the women of othersanghams in neighbouring villages. They found that they faced the same problems andthought that it would be more effective to address common and broad social issues by
joining hands, rather than acting alone to try to tackle the issues. This was why
sanghams in Makthal decided to form clusters and then create a federation according to
the members of Makthal federation. For example, one member explained:“When five sanghams of 25 women gather, we are 125. It can be a big force.”(Group discussion [d])In concrete, the sangham women in Makthal mandal decided to address threeissues together―child marriage, the jogini system and child labour. Firstly, it was notrare for girls below ten to get married, sometimes with men who were ten or twenty
years older than them, though the legal marriageable age in India is defined as eighteen
for women and twenty-one for men. One reason is a continued social custom among
Hindus: fathers have an obligation to marry off their daughters before puberty. Anotherreason is the dowry system. Parents have to pay dowries in cash and in kind when theirdaughters marry, and the dowry becomes larger and larger as the years go by. However,daughters marry into their husband‟s family and are not able to support their own
parents after marriage. Parents, therefore, tend to marry off their daughters as quickly as
possible, rather than keep them at home and spend money to feed and clothe them.
However, child marriage deprives girls of educational opportunities and puts their lives
at risk due to underage pregnancy, for example.
The second issue was the jogini system. Jogini means a wife of God. Young girls
are offered to God and become wives of God. The jogini system is practiced in Makthaland other parts of India under different names, such as devadasi, basivini andmathamma. In Andhra Pradesh, the state government banned the practice by issuing theAndhra Pradesh Devadasi (Prohibition of Dedication) Act in 1988, but the practice hascontinued.
In Makthal, one girl aged seven or eight is offered to God along with sheep twice ayear. This means that a total of two girls become joginis in one village every year. At
one time, as many as twenty-five joginis existed in one village. Joginis are supposed toget married to God, but in fact they become property of the men in the village. After
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girls reach puberty, they are forced to have sexual relationships first with upper caste
men and then with other village men. In turn, they are given money, goods or land.
Joginis continue living with their parents and can make economic contributions totheir families. Therefore, the eldest daughters of poor families or low castes are likely to
be offered as joginis. In particular, families which do not have sons tend to think that if
daughters become joginis, they will stay in village and take care of parents when parents
are older and unable to work. Moreover, parents do not need to pay dowries. However,most of joginis are not sent to school, and they have difficulties in making a living when
they get older as they usually receive fewer and fewer offerings from the villagers.
The third issue was child labour: many girls in Makthal worked in cotton fields anddid not go to school. Cotton is one of the major agricultural products in Mahbubnagar
district where the land is not fertile and rainfall is low. Girls are favoured for this work,
because employers think that their height and nimble fingers are suitable forcross-fertilisation of cotton flowers. However, the real reasons for hiring girls aredifferent: the wages are low; they are docile; and they do not complain and go on strikes
like adults
Many chemical fertilisers and pesticides are used in cotton fields, which cause
health problems, such as headaches, vomiting and skin diseases. These symptoms
became evident in the middle of the 1990s. In Dandu village, one girl who worked in a
cotton field died, and a doctor diagnosed the cause of her death as likely related to theeffects of inhaling chemicals sprayed in the cotton fields.
The next chapter will report how Makthal federation attempted to solve these threeproblems.

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7. The Process of Empowerment: The Case of Makthal Federation
The Mahila Samakhya Programme is implemented as an education project, but its
approach differs from other conventional education projects which provide educational
services, such as literacy classes and building schools. The core component of the
programme is to empower women by helping them solve their own problems.
Sanghams of Makthal mandal gathered as clusters and then as a federation toaddress cross-cutting issues across the villages. It is an effective strategy for
marginalised women to challenge the status quo. In the process of pushing their causes
forward, women are empowered as groups and as individuals. This chapter will analyse
how sangham women are gaining power.
7.1. Collective actions taken in Makthal
The three common issues in Makthal mentioned in the previous section are noteasily solved by a single sangham of women who belong to low castes. Child marriage
and the jogini system are long-practiced customs, and the vested interests of landlords
who have power are involved in the issue of child labour. Therefore, the sangham
women in Makthal mandal decided to take the following collective actions by forming
clusters and a federation. As such, the sanghams in Makthal have been very active in
conducting activities before and after they were united as a federation and have madevarious achievements. The first sub-section will explain their fights against the threecommon issues, and the second sub-section will describe other activities.
7.1.1. Fights against common issues in Makthal
Raising awareness
People tend to follow traditional customs and practices without question. They
may not be aware of the negative effects caused by child marriage, the jogini systemand child labour. They may be aware of the problems, but they may not be aware ofalternatives. It is, therefore, important to inform people of the adverse impacts on girls‟
welfare and change their views and attitudes. The sanghams in Makthal had discussions
with influential people, such as community leaders, religious leaders, and government
officials. They also launched various campaigns against child marriage, the jogini
system and child labour, and advocated for children‟s schooling.

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Actions against child marriage and the jogini system
When sangham women hear that young girls are scheduled to get married or to beoffered as joginis in the village, they go to see their parents and persuade them not do so
by explaining the negative effects of these practices on their daughters and theimportance of education. However, they do not always succeed in their efforts. One
karyakartha in Makthal mandal talked about a difficult experience:“We went to a village to oppose child marriage. We spoke with the parents andthey decided not to marry off their young daughter. But, their relatives andother villagers got angry and did not accept our arguments. They started
beating us with their sandals. We pushed our way through the crowd andmanaged to get into a car. Then, we left the village.” (Group discussion [a])When sanghams face such troubles, they go to the police or the local government
for help, since both child marriage and the jogini system are prohibited by law. They
also seek help from local NGOs. As a result of years of activities, there are now nojogini in Makthal mandal. Likewise, the total number of child marriages halted in
Mahbubnagar district was 35 in 2008/09 and 12 in 2009/10. The federation stillintervenes whenever child marriages take place or girls are offered as joginis.
Action against child labour
Sangham women carried out school enrolment campaigns and visited thehouseholds which sent children to work in cotton fields. In some villages, they
conducted house-to-house surveys to identify out-of-school children. They explained
the importance of education and the health problems caused by chemicals used in cotton
fields, and convinced parents to withdraw their children from this kind of work andenrol them in school. They also asked landlords not to hire children.
It was not easy, however, to eradicate child labour immediately. Some families
were so poor that they needed their children‟s earnings, and other families werereluctant to send their daughters to school. Parents tended to think that educating
daughters was waste of money, since daughters were married off sooner or later. The
sanghams, therefore, opened Bala Mitra Kendrams in their villages as a temporary
measure. Working children could learn in the evenings after work, and could bemainstreamed in formal schools after some time. Girls who stopped working wereplaced in the Mahila Shikshana Kendram.
For children enrolled in formal schools, Makthal federation helps improve thequality of education of government schools. They monitor teacher‟s attendance and thequality of their teaching, and if proper school meals are provided. This is important toprevent children from dropping out of school and ensures their learning achievements.

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The death of a girl in Dandu village, which was mentioned earlier, gave major
momentum to activities against child labour in cotton fields. All the sanghams in
Makthal mandal staged a rally and disseminated the message of the danger of the work.
Some villagers, particularly, landlords of cotton fields, felt threatened and took theiranger public. However, the sangham women lobbied hard for the hiring of adult womeninstead of children, to which the landlords eventually agreed. As a result, now all
children (girls and boys) go to school in Makthal mandal and many of them study up to
the 10th grade. This is a great achievement, given that the percentage of school-goingchildren aged between five and fourteen is only 59.9% in Mahbubnagar as a whole(GOAP, 2008).
Box 15. Fight against the Jogini System in Karni Village
There was a family which lost their only son to a snake bite. They decided to offer
their nine-year old daughter to God as a jogini. A karyakartha of Karni village heard of thisand informed the sangham women. They spoke with the parents of the girl and asked theparents to reconsider the decision, but the parents said that they should not interfere withthe matter. The sangham women went to see the sarpanch and patwari (land record
officer) and asked them to convince the parents. Although they were not very supportive of
the sangham women, they spoke with the parents, but the parents did not change theirmind.
As a solution, two village leaders proposed that the ceremony would take place only
this one time and that they would ensure that it would not happen again. The sangham
responded that the girl could be sent to a residential school managed by the APMSS or thegovernment where she could study free of charge, but this idea was rejected by thevillagers and the parents.
The sangham did not know what to do. Opinions were divided within the sangham:some wanted to continue with their efforts, while others did not want to do so. The
sangham decided to leave the issue. The karyakartha then warned them if they stopped
protesting, the APMSS would withdraw from the village.
The sangham women reconsidered and decided to stage a dharna (protest) in frontof the police station. They said that anybody who supported the initiation of the jogini
should “walk over their dead bodies” to attend the ceremony. A local newspaper became
to know that the sangham women and the APMSS were trying to stop the jogini ceremony,and covered the sangham’s protest at the police station in the newspaper.
The police and panchayat members discussed the issue and said they would leave
the decision up to the sangham. The sangham again asked the parents to stop offering thedaughter as a jogini and they complied.
A few days later, the sangham found out that the ceremony was scheduled to takeplace with the consent of a sub-inspector of the police. The sangham women went to see
the sub-inspector and questioned him. He said that it was only a wedding, not an initiationof a jogini. The sangham women and the karyakartha threatened that they would call all
the sangham women in Makthal and stage a dharna if it were the jogini ceremony.
The police took the people concerned into custody: the parents, the priest who was
supposed to perform the ceremony and village leaders who intended to proceed with the
ceremony. The villagers were frightened by this move and decided to stop the ceremony.
Those who were arrested were released. Since then, no ceremony has taken place in
Karni village.
Sources: APMSS (1999) and fieldwork (2011)

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7.1.2. Activities conducted by Makthal federation
Managing a Mahila Shikshana Kendram in Makthal
The Mahila Shikshana Kendram was opened in Mahbubnagar in 1995 and wasmanaged by the APMSS. Between 2002 and 2005, it was jointly managed by the
APMSS and Makthal federation. In 2006, Makthal federation started running its own
Mahila Shikshana Kendram in Makthal with a grant-in-aid from the APMSS. Before it
closed in 2009, 110 adolescent girls had been mainstreamed in formal schools(Fieldwork, 2011). Now some girls from Makthal are studying in the Mahila Shikshana
Kendram in Mahbubnagar.

Group Discussion (e) with the Girls Studying at Mahila Shikshana Kendram in Mahbubnagar

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Box 16. Visit to Mahila Shikshana Kendram in Mahbubnagar
Mahila Shikshana Kendram (MSK) in Mahbubnagar is located on the ground floor of
the District Implementation Unit’s office. Thirty-five students aged between ten andeighteen study with three teachers, including one residential teacher. Most of them had
worked as agricultural wage labourers, before they joined the MSK.
At the time of the visit to the MSK, two girls who graduated from the residential schoolcame to see their friends. One girl introduced herself: she dropped out after completingth
the 7 class because there was no high school in the village and her parents did not allow
her to continue studying. She started working in cotton fields. With the help of sangham
women, she was able to join the MSK. Now, she studies computing at a higher secondary
vocational school. Like her, many girls obtain opportunities for education at MSKs andsuccessfully complete their education.
In a group discussion (January 7, 2011) with the girls of the MSK, when asked if they
had experienced misfortune as girls, many girls talked about the differences in thetreatment between them and their brothers.
“Brothers study at school, but we do agriculture work.”“After marriage, boys stay at their parents’ home, but girls have to go to otherfamilies.”
When asked if they had had good experiences as girls, the girls did not respond
immediately. After repeating the question a few times and waiting for a while, only acouple of girls replied. One said,“Girls can put flowers in their hair.”This kind of response was expected. Perhaps, many girls in developed countries would
instantly say that wearing fashionable clothes or makeup is an advantage.
Then, another girl said,“Boys only play outside, but girls work at home. So, girls can make their parents
happy.”
This statement first shows the difference in behaviour between boys and girls, which could
be an answer to the first question―bad experience as being girls. However, this girl thinksthat it is a good experience because her parents are happy and that when they are happy,
she is content.
An observation of Indian women by Sen (1990) was referred to earlier in chapter 2.3.
Women who are subjugated often do not have a sense of their own identity and tend to
think of their happiness in terms of their family’s happiness. This applies to the girl at the
MSK. She believes that what is good for her parents is also good for her. She does notthink about whether she herself is happy in her role.
During the group discussion, however, some girls had their own message:“Parents should treat boys and girls equally.”
This is what the Mahila Samakhya Programme aims to achieve. It is hoped that the next
generation of would-be members of sanghams study well and take over where theirmothers’ and aunts’ activities have left off.
Source: Fieldwork (2011)

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Collective farming: the Samatha Dharani Project
Makthal mandal was selected as one of the project areas of the Samatha Dharani
Project which was implemented between 2000 and 2005.29 The sanghams in Makthal
were provided with agricultural equipment, skill training and small loans in order tostart collective farming. They produced food crops through organic farming andcollectively stored grains. They could increase food security and also earn income.
Moreover, this project strengthened the relationship between the sanghams. In thisproject, small agricultural equipment was provided to each village, but large machinesprovided had to be used by sanghams in several villages in rotation, which opened up
the lines of communication between sanghams in neighbouring villages.

Box 17. Mango Nursery in Mahbubnagar
Five mandals in Mahbubnagar were selected for the Samatha Dharani Project.
Sanghams in these mandals started mango nurseries to generate income. Sangham
women underwent training for growing mangos over a twenty-day period, followed by afifteen-day training programme to develop grafting skills. With a successful marketingstrategy, they made a profit from selling mangoes. Part of the profit was pooled by thesanghams and used to expand the nursery in subsequent years.
Source: Indian Council of Agriculture Research (2004)

Raising wages for agricultural labour
Many women of the sanghams in Makthal are from low castes. They were obliged
to accept whatever wages landlords from high castes paid. Sometimes, they were noteven paid for their work. When sangham women in one village decided not to work forcertain landlords, women from other villages who wanted to earn came to their village
and took up the work. So, the women, for example in Karni village, discussed this issue
with the sangham women in neighbouring villages and decided to take joint action: allof them would not work. They did this during the agricultural peak season. As a result,the landlords who definitely needed workers agreed to raise the wage rate.
Becoming panchayat members
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment of India stipulates that one-third of the seats ofpanchayat shall be reserved for women. The APMSS has worked to engage sangham
29

See chapter 5.3.

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women in local governance from the beginning. It provides training to candidates andthose who are elected. In Makthal, only two sangham women were elected as panchayat
members in 1995; this number had increased to six by 2001. In 2006, in addition to
sixteen women who were elected as panchayat members, one became sarpanch and two
became members of the Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (Fieldwork, 2011).
Sangham women conduct election campaigns together with their fellow candidates
and pre-election voter awareness campaigns with the help of the APMSS. Thus, they
can garner votes not only from sangham members but also other women in theirvillages. The members of Makthal federation who have become panchayat members
have worked to improve women‟s lives. They have been actively involved in local
governance by planning and presenting women-friendly projects, monitoring
implementation, and seeking accountability for governance.
Breaking the caste barrier
The members of Makthal federation challenge inequalities in society.
Discrimination against people from low castes is one issue they are consistently up
against. There are a number of cases in which the relationships in villages in Makthal
mandal have changed. For example, upper-caste people and low-caste people did not eat
from the same pot, and upper caste people were reluctant to drink tea with glasses usedby low caste people. This practice still continues in conservative areas.
In Khanapur village, a tea shop served tea with separate glasses for people ofscheduled castes and others. The sangham women lodged a complaint with the Mandal
Development Office with the help of the karyakartha. The official came to Khanapur
village and held a meeting with the sangham women and senior people in the village.
After his visit, there was a heated discussion in the village, but in the end people
accepted the sangham women‟s demands and the tea shop started serving tea with thesame glasses for everybody. Similarly, one restaurant refused entrance to low-caste
people. Sangham women strongly demanded that they should be able to eat at therestaurant, and the owner of the restaurant eventually bowed to their demands. Now,
anybody can have their meals and tea at this restaurant.
Mahila Court
Makthal federation established Mahila Court in 200330 as one of the first three inAndhra Pradesh. The members of the Mahila Court Committee gather and discuss how
to settle cases brought to the court every fifteen days. It resolved 145 cases, such as

30

See chapter 5.5.

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child marriage, disputes between married couples, and dowry related violence between
2008 and 2010 (Fieldwork, 2011).
Starting the Mahila Samakhya Programme in Dharur mandal
A new initiative taken up by Makthal federation is to start the Mahila Samakhya
Programme in a neighbouring mandal, Dharur, on behalf of the APMSS. In 2007,
Makthal federation submitted a proposal for this project to the APMSS. The APMSS
accepted the proposal and provided a grant-in-aid. The federation established acommittee to implement the programme and set up an office in Dharur. It identified
programme villages and candidates for karyakarthas with the help of the APMSS. The
members of the federation went to the villages and introduced the programme byorganising kalajatha (folk theatre).
This is the first attempt by thefederation in Andhra Pradesh, and there
have been difficulties in implementing
the programme in a new mandal.
However, Makthal federation is working
hard with the help of the Maha Sangham
and the APMSS. Thus far, fifty-fivesanghams have been formed in Dharur
The Office in Dharur(APMSS, 2011).

Box 18. Projects and Activities Conducted by Makthal Federation
2000-

Mahila Court
145 cases resolved between 2008 and 2010.

2003-04

Kalajathas on Education and Enrolment contracted by Naandi Foundation(NGO)
Enrolled 840 children (536 girls and 304 boys) in 10 mandals.

2006-09

Mahila Sikshana Kendram in Makthal contracted by the APMSSMainstreamed 110 adolescent girls into formal schools.

2007-

Mahila Samakhya Programme in Dharur mandal contracted by the APMSSFormed 55 sanghams and started five Adult Learning Centres.

2008

Residential Bridge Course under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Enrolled 95 children in school.
Sources: APMSS (2009; 2010b) and fieldwork (2011)

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7.2. Empowering women in Makthal federation
Sanghams of Makthal federation have been empowered educationally,
economically, politically and socially through their activities to solve problems thatwomen face. At the same time, individual women have been empowered by joining theactivities and experiencing a sense of accomplishment from their achievements. This
sub-section will examine how individual sangham women are being empowered on thebasis of the information collected from the group discussions.
7.2.1. Empowerment as perceived by the women of Makthal federation
Empowerment is a difficult term to define and is used in various ways under
different economic, socio-cultural and political contexts. When discussing
empowerment of women, issues raised include mobility, control over their lives andbodies, access to and control over assets, freedom of choice and decision-making power.
It was interesting to ask how the women of Makthal federation perceive empowerment.
Their responses show psychological, social and political aspects of empowerment, as
follows.
“To grow as a person.”“To learn things which I had not known.”“To be able to question.”“To make decisions for myself, at the family and village levels.”“To take part in the development process.”
The next question involved the ways that women can be empowered. It was noteasy for the women to give answers immediately, but a few of them responded, saying
through “education,” “gender workshops,” and “in-depth analysis,” and by “solving
individual and family problems with the involvement of sanghams.” This is exactly
what the Mahila Samakhya Programme provides in order to empower women andenable them to redress inequalities in society.
Education in this programme is defined broadly (see chapter 5.1) and is close to theconcept of Freire (see chapter 2.1). Participating women share problems, analyse causesof the problems, learn, find solutions, take action and reflect. They learn to take actions,and this learning process empowers them. A story of one woman who became akaryakartha summarises the process of sangham women being empowered.
“I was married at fourteen years old. I had to listen to my husband and in-laws
and had little freedom. I was scared to talk to men and did not go out of thehouse often. After joining a sangham, I have learnt about the rights of womenand children and many other things. Now, I can teach others and feel confident
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Sangham women can become resource persons through training, as well askaryakarthas. Those who joined sanghams being motivated by karyakarthas now help
other women. Among the women interviewed, several of them said that they worked as
karyakarthas or had experience being employed for projects by local governments andNGOs. They said that more and more sangham women wanted their daughters to be
educated and become karyakarthas. This is a virtuous cycle: the programme is being
handing over from generation to generation and spreading the philosophy of the Mahila
Samakhya Programme. It is certainly an achievement of the programme in empowering
women.
7.2.2. Aspects of empowerment observed for the women in Makthal federation
Women who participate in sanghams in Makthal mandal have gained power in theprocess of forming clusters and the federation while conducting activities to solve theirproblems. How they have been empowered will be analysed in terms of the five aspectsof empowerment which were presented in chapter 2.3.
Social empowerment
The stories from the women of Makthal federation are mostly related to social
aspects of empowerment. Firstly, many of them raised the issue of increased mobility.
In Indian rural villages, women tend to stay home and lack information outside thehousehold. In Andhra Pradesh, purdah31 is not strictly practiced in comparison withnorthern states, which can be a reason for the high female labour participation rate.
However, it is not common for women―alone or in groups―to go out of their villages
or even their homes.
According to the women in the group discussions, the Mahila Samakhya
Programme provides them with opportunities to see the outside world.
“I rarely went out from home before. After joining the sangham, I started goingout for meetings and training.”“I knew little about things outside the home. I was happy to visit big cities like
Hyderabad and Delhi with sangham members.”
Similarly, the second point is freedom of expression. According to social customs,
it is expected that women will not speak freely with men who are not family members.
Sangham women used to be fearful of speaking to senior people, such as landlords,
village chiefs and government officials, since they were from low castes and many ofthem were not educated. By participating in meetings, trainings and activities, the31

Purdah (which means “curtain”) is a social custom which conceals women from the eyes of men who
are not family members. For example, men and women are separated in different rooms in public places,
and women are not allowed to go out of the home.

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women in the group discussions said that they were able to speak to people whom they
had not been able to before.
“Now, I have no fear when speaking with others.”“I can articulate problems to panchayat members.”“I did not go out of the house and I was scared to talk to men, but now I canmake demands and negotiate with government officials.”
Thirdly, many women talked about their own learning experiences.
“I have learnt many things.”“I have become aware of the problems women face and the problems insociety.”“I have become aware of governmental acts and rights for women andchildren.”
The women of Makthal federation who used to stay at home and have little
relationship with the outside world have gained knowledge and become aware ofvarious problems by going out for meetings and training.
Fourthly, it was observed that the women have broadened their views anddeveloped relationships with other people. As they grow individually, they start
thinking about the ways that they can contribute to others.
“I was self-centred, but now I am thinking of problems in society.”“I have gained skills and can teach others.”“I can guide people and work for other women.”“We can take collective action with courage and support each other.”
The above stories show how marginalised women alleviate their fears of going out
and speaking out, gain strength individually, and participate in society. Their social
empowerment has led to activities, such as protests against child marriage, the jogini
system, child labour and caste discrimination, and the establishment of Mahila Court,
whereas these activities enhance their abilities.
Economic empowerment
Economic activities certainly serve as a strong incentive for women to join groups
and continue group activities, as seen in the cases of the Grameen Bank andSelf-Employed Women‟s Association (SEWA), which was mentioned in chapter 2.4.
The Mahila Samakhya Programme, however, does not include saving and credit as acompulsory component, except for the sanghams which were formed for this purpose as
self-help groups under other government projects and have been converted into
sanghams under the Mahila Samakhya Programme. This programme does not place

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particular emphasis on vocational skills trainings for income generation either.32 A
question may be raised as to why sangham women have committed themselves to group
activities which do not appear to be economically beneficial to them, though they areable to grow and solve their daily problems.
The fieldwork found that though the programme may not bring about direct
economic benefits to sangham women, but it does indirectly benefit them in several
ways. One example is that the women in Makthal succeeded in increasing wage rates
for agriculture labour by negotiating with landlords. Another example is that thesanghams were chosen as beneficiaries of the Samatha Dharani Project, which was
implemented by an external agency, since sanghams were known for its achievements
and was entrusted with the success of the project. As expected, sangham women wereable to gain income through collective farming. This increases the possibility that thesanghams in Makthal will be chosen as targets for other projects in the future.
Furthermore, the APMSS encourages sanghams to utilise government services anddemand fair and effective services. The central and state governments have various
schemes for low-income and low-caste families, such as rations for food, housing andemployment.33 In order to access these services, they need to have information on theseschemes, fill out application forms and submit them to government offices. However,many poor and low-caste people do not have such information, are not able to read andwrite, and do not know how to apply for the schemes. They have reservations about
visiting government offices, since they are afraid that officials will not treat them well.
As a result, they do not benefit from the public services that are available to them.
The APMSS provides sanghams with information and training to access public
services. For example, within one year after the Mahila Samakhya Programme started in
Andhra Pradesh, 800 women applied for schemes to construct toilets (Purushothaman,
2010: 13). Some of the women in the group discussions said that they had toilets orhouses built by using the government schemes. They also shared stories that they went
to government offices and asked officials to properly provide health services to themand their families. By availing themselves of existing government schemes and services
and demanding the improvement of services, the lives of the sangham women were
improved.
In the group discussions, there were few comments by the women regarding the
economic benefits of the Mahila Samakhya Programme. This was expected, because theprogramme‟s prime objective is not economic empowerment. However, the programme
32

The situation varies from state to state. For example, in Bihar, the Mahila Samakhya Programme trains
sangham women to become masons which is traditionally an occupation considered to be for men.
33
Under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, panchayats issue job cards to households.
The card mentions members of the household who seek employment. Those who are listed in the card are
eligible to obtain a hundred days of work from governments and are paid minimum wage.

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does provide opportunities for sangham women to improve their economic situations
through the activities mentioned above and others. This is certainly considered to be an
incentive for women to participate in sangham activities.
Political empowerment
The objectives of most projects for women concerns physical, social and economic
aspects of empowerment, with psychological and political empowerment often reported
as by-products. In other words, satisfying practical gender needs is the primaryobjective, and satisfying strategic gender needs can be the secondary objective, or may
not even be an explicit aim. It is noteworthy that the Mahila Samakhya Programme
explicitly includes political empowerment as a component of the programme.
It is, however, not easy for women, even those with high educational levels indeveloped countries, to enter the political world where men occupy the majority. There
are many obstacles, such as psychological barriers, and difficulties in balancing
household work and the long hours required to work as political representatives andraising funds for election campaigns, for women to run for elections. It was thought that
great courage was necessary for marginalised women to decide to be candidates.
In the group discussions with the women of the federation, when asked the reasons
for running in elections, those who were elected representatives gave almost the same
response:“We had problems in villages like lack of drainage and safe drinking water. We
appealed to panchayat members many, many times, but nothing was done. I
thought that I had to become a member and change the panchayat. So, we canput women‟s problems on the front burner.”
The motivation for them to run for election was their desire to solve women‟s problems
and improve their own lives.
Although the quota system enables women to participate in local governance, there
has been resistance from men. A woman who served as a panchayat member for two
terms talked about her difficult experience (also see Box 19).
“When I decided to run for election, I was „abducted‟ from home and kept in aplace in the village. I was there for three days without food. They wanted me towithdraw my candidacy, but I did not give in. Sangham members rescued me
and I was able to go home. After I was elected as a member of panchayat, I
was not given any information, even dates of meetings. Again sangham
members and the APMSS went to speak with the male members. Then, they
started informing me of meeting dates and other relevant information.” (Groupdiscussion [d])87

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Box 19. Female Sarpanch in Neradgam Village in Mahbubnagar District
A sangham was formed in Neradgam village in 1996. The member women are fromscheduled castes, backward castes and Muslims. One active member of a backward castethcompleted 7 class, while almost all other women had no education. She was nominatedby the member women to run for a panchayat election in 2001. She won a seat and was
also elected as sarpanch later.
Initially she received support from the villagers and some panchayat members.
However, the former sarpanch started interfering and elders in the village stopped
cooperating. Different castes had different interests in village politics, and her in-laws were
not supportive. Most of all, people with deep-rooted patriarchal values were not happy
about a women being sarpanch. This situation was prevalent in many rural villages.
When the fund for constructing roads was released to the panchayat, some people
wanted to use the funds for other purposes. She was subsequently blamed for misusing
the fund and her in-laws spread gossip that she had had an extramarital affair. However,she stood strong against such harassment. Sangham women supported her throughout
her struggles, and her husband who had not been supportive earlier changed his mind,
because of her strong determination to work for the development of the village.
She successfully had the construction of roads and drainages completed, and also
had Anganwadi* and a community hall built during her term. The development of thevillage was so visible that the villagers selected her as a candidate for the election of theZilla Parishad Territorial Constituency in 2006. She won the election, and said:“It was an every day struggle to deal with villagers who were not cooperative, but
I did not give in. I continued working for my village, because sangham members
were with me and gave me tremendous strength.”
Source: APMSS (2009: 31)* Anganwadi is a child- and mother-care centre managed by the government. It provides information
on health, nutrition and immunisation, and nutritious food for babies and small children.

There are also criticisms that women‟s participation in panchayat via the quota
system is only in the name. The situation of male-dominated panchayat has notchanged: women are elected as representatives, but their husbands actually attend
panchayat meetings, and at the meetings, female representative have little or no say indiscussions and decisions are made by male representatives. An attempt to change suchsituations has been reported by a woman of a federation in Medak district(Purushothaman, 2010: 28). When she became a member of panchayat, she saw
husbands of women representatives attending meetings, who then signed on their behalf.
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She raised this issue at the meeting and got a resolution passed that said that “only theactual ward members should come for the meeting, not their relatives.”
The APMSS, therefore, works to send sangham women to panchayats andcontinues extending support after they are elected. It tries to ensure that they can fulfil
their responsibilities as elected representatives and play a role in improving women‟ssituations by offering training on panchayat, roles and responsibilities as panchayat
members, literacy skills and legal literacy. Federations, clusters and sanghams also
serve as a place where women can develop leadership skills. All the posts in thesegroups are rotated among the members. They have opportunities to experience various
roles, for example as a representative of a sangham, as an Issue Committees member,and as a Federation Executive Committee members.
In the group discussions, there were statements related to increasing skills andabilities to exercise political power.
“Now, I know how to plan and implement projects.”“I can coordinate different people and institutions from the village to the
district levels.”
Taking advantage of the opportunities for political participation, sangham women haveentered the political world and exert some influence, while increasing their capabilities
and gaining experience.
Physical empowerment
Health was the main area of the Mahila Samakhya Programme‟s activities in earlyyears, since many women and their families suffered from ill health due to lack ofknowledge of and access to health services. The programme provided a series oftraining workshops and launched awareness raising campaigns.
The women in the group discussions, however, did not particularly mention
improvements in their own health status, perhaps because the issue was addressed many
years ago and is no longer a major concern. Only one woman talked about changes in
her lifestyle in relation to the restrictions that low-caste people faced. She said thatupper-caste people did not want to see low-caste people, including herself, look clean
and neat. So, she did not care much about her appearance and clothing. After she joined
a sangham and learnt about hygiene, she started taking a bath every day and washingher clothes frequently.
Her power to withstand the discrimination from upper castes suggests that she was
empowered socially. Economic empowerment also contributes to improvement ofhealth conditions, for example by being able to eat sufficiently and consume nutritious
food. Given these positive impacts from other aspects of empowerment, it can beconsidered that the sangham women have also been empowered physically.
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Psychological empowerment
Many women in the group discussions said that they have grown by learning
through the training and activities under the Mahila Samakhya Programme; not only byobtaining academic knowledge or literacy skills, but also by developing as humanbeings or psychologically. Behind the social, economic, political and physical aspects of
empowerment mentioned earlier, aspects of their psychological empowerment are also
observed. They can go out, speak out, negotiate, demand and run for elections, because
they gain self-esteem and confidence.
Group activities and collective action are a strategy to give marginalised womenstrength. This is evident from a statement of one woman of the Karni cluster:“When our husbands said that they would not send our children to school, we
could not say anything before. Now, we can stand up and say, „If you do notsupport our children‟s schooling, sanghams can take care of it and thegovernment can take care of it. So, we will educate our children.‟” (Groupdiscussion [c])How one woman can be empowered in the Mahila Samakhya Programme is clearlyattested to by the story of a woman who is a member of the Executive Committee of
Makthal federation and is considered a role model. Here is her life story:“My father migrated out of the village, and my mother collected cow dung to sellto feed me, my two sisters and one brother. We were poor and all of us were
illiterate. Rice was luxury and we usually ate jowar (sorghum). We also faced
restrictions in our behaviours, because we were dalits (outcastes). We were told by
upper caste people that we should not take baths or comb our hair.
I did not go to school, because the school was far and had only one teacher.
There was discrimination against children from low castes. Also, my parents were
not interested in education. I got married at nine years old and then my husband
left me.
My mother was a member of a sangham. They opened a Bala Mitra Kendramin our village. After learning at Bala Mitra Kendram, I joined the government
school and learnt up to 5th class. I also took part in a bala sangham. Then, I myself
became a member of the sangham in 1994. At that time, in front of upper caste
landlords, we were not allowed to wear sandals, dress well and go to temples. We
were verbally abused. Wages were low. But, we had to listen to whatever thelandlords said. So, I became interested in solving this and other problems.
I was illiterate and had bad habits like chewing betel leaves, but after going toschool and becoming a member of the sangham I have changed. I continued
studying by distance education. I wanted to help other women and became a90

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karyakartha. I told women about deliveries at hospitals, diets for pregnant women,
immunisation of children, and so on. I worked for projects by other NGOs, too.”(Group discussion [d])She was from a low caste family and faced discrimination. She was not sent toschool and was got married at an early age. However, she educated herself and grew by
experiencing various positions as a governing body member of the cluster and a
resource person. She also obtained short-term jobs in government departments andNGOs as a communications specialist. In 2000 and 2005, she was elected as a memberof panchayat and served two terms of ten years. Now, she is a member of the Executive
Committee of Makthal federation and works to help other women, while she is studying
to obtain her Bachelor degree through distance education. She hopes to get a job in thegovernment in the future.
When asked why she did not to run for a panchayat election the third term, shesaid she wanted to give way to others. Her decision exemplifies the spirit of the Mahila
Samakhya Programme: one person does not hold a position forever, but members cantake different responsibilities in turn. It is hoped that the next-generation leaders willappear, while she takes on leadership in Makthal federation.
7.3. Broad impacts of the federation’s activities in Makthal
Ten sanghams with 1,156 women started activities under the Mahila Samakhya
Programme in Makthal mandal in 1994. They belonged to low castes, were small in
number and did not have much influence. Eighteen years later, forty-five sanghams
have been federated with a membership of 1,620. Sangham women have been
empowered as groups and as individuals, as seen in the previous sections. However,there are only thirty to forty sangham members in one village with a population ofaround a thousand. Impacts of their activities can be quite limited.
The fieldwork found that families of sangham members, their villages and beyond
have undergone certain changes according to the members. As the presence of Makthal
federation becomes more visible, it can exert certain influence on local governance.
Firstly, both sangham women and other women are empowered to certain extent.
Restrictions on women‟s mobility imposed by social customs have decreased for
women as a whole in Makthal mandal after sangham women started going out to attend
meetings and training in their own and other villages. Women can go outside the homemore frequently and with more freedom than before.
Secondly, the attitudes of their families and villages towards their newly-foundfreedom and confidence have become positive. Some family members of sangham
women initially opposed their participation in the Mahila Samakhya Programme. They
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thought women should stay at home and do household work. They did not like seeing
women going out often and found little or no value in sangham activities. However,they saw that safe drinking water became available in many areas, schools properly
functioned, and families could gain additional income through collective farming. Upon
recognising these benefits of sangham activities, it appears that the attitudes of family
members and villages have changed.
The sangham women in Makthal said that they felt that their positions within thehousehold are better than before. Their husbands help with household work. They are
respected by other family members. They can make decisions. As an example ofchanges in the thinking and behaviours of family members, one woman who became apanchayat member said that her husband supported her political activities by going withand picking up her when she attended panchayat meetings. One woman of the Karni
cluster laughingly said:“Men used to dominate everywhere. Now, women are becoming stronger.”(Group discussion [c])Changes in the behaviour of government officials were also mentioned by a member of
Makthal federation, Executive Committee.
“Earlier, we begged government officials when we asked them to do something.
They had no respect to us. But now, we just say to them. „Do it! Be careful
about us [Makthal federation].‟” (Group discussion [c])The officials used to look down on sangham women. When the women wanted to ask
something, they had to literally beg. But now, they can talk to officials on equal terms.
Thirdly, sanghams contribute to the empowerment of others. A woman who was amember of the Executive Committee of Makthal federation and was elected as apanchayat member said that when she joined the panchayat, other members did notknow how to plan, budget and implement projects (Group discussion [d]). She
explained how it should be done, a direct result of what she had learnt through the
Mahila Samakhya Programme. In the beginning the male panchayat members appeared
to be sceptical about the ability of the newly elected female member, but later even thesarpanch asked her to train them on project planning and implementation.
Fourthly, women‟s voices and concerns are being reflected in local policies. As thenumbers of female panchayat members and of women who participate in Gram Sabha34
increases, the beliefs that “women are not suitable for politics” and “panchayat is aplace of men” have been overturned. Earlier, panchayats which were dominated by men
were more interested in constructing roads and buildings than the issues of drinking

34

This is the lowest administrative body at the village level. People who reside in the village and register
their names in the voters‟ list meet at least twice a year to review the work of the panchayats.

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water, health and education, but this situation has changed as shown by a women‟sstatement. This is also reported in the other district.
“When men think of development, they think of roads, building and structures
and women think of development as water, health and education.”(Purushothaman, 2010: 28)
A group of sangham women in the
Karni cluster appreciated the work of afellow member who became a panchayat
member. They said that she went aroundthe village two to three days a week. She
asked if elderly people received pensions,checked if bulbs of street lights were
working, and tried to find out if anybody
had problems they needed help with. The
issues which are important to and close to
Panchayat Member (centre)
women‟s lives are well taken care of.
7.4. Future direction of Makthal federation
The women of Makthal federation have united and fought for their cause despite
sometimes facing violence and harassments. They have brought about changes in theirlives, families and villages. They have become confident, able to negotiate with senior
people in the villages and government officials, and realised that their activities canmake a difference. Karyakarthas and other staff of the APMSS have also increased theircapacities by working together with sangham women. Other women in villages too,have begun feeling that women can elicit results by seeing the achievements made bysangham women.
Thus, sangham women have been empowered physically, psychologically, socially,
economically, and politically, which have had positive effects on those surrounding
them. Their success stories are attributed to a few factors. The first and foremost factor
is the strong sense of social justice and spirit of volunteerism. They voluntarily
participate in sangham activities, because they acknowledge the benefits. When asked
the good points of joining sanghams, many women in the group discussions responded,“It is good for me to develop by learning various things and to be able to help others.”
Secondly, sangham activities are recognised by fellow women, villages andgovernment officials and are able to gain support from them. This is because sanghams
work not for money but for social justice and show visible results.
The women in the group discussions believe that they are the best among thefederations in Andhra Pradesh and even think that they do better than the Mahila
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Samakhya Programme. They are proud of their achievements: all children in Makthal
mandal go to school; they can prevent child marriage and girls from being offered as
joginis; and their lives are improving with wage increases and efficient government
services.
Makthal federation, however, understands the issues to be addressed in order tofurther improve their activities and women‟s lives in Makthal and beyond. When thewomen of the federation were asked what they would like to do in the future, theymentioned a few issues of concern. One is the large percentage of illiterates among themembers. In order to increase the capacity of the federation, clusters and sanghams,
literacy education is very important. The second issue is that recently many women
have been having operations to have uterus and ovaries removed when they think they
are finished having children, though this may cause health problems. It is necessary toprovide information on reproductive health. The third issue raised is that there arearound 200 unmarried women aged between 25 and 35 who are former joginis andwidows in Makthal. The federation plans to establish a place where these women canstay and learn vocational skills.
When asked how they would be able to achieve their goals, they said that theywould do by working with men, linking with various stakeholders and requestingsupport from the APMSS. They are determined to work hard by strengthening
collaboration among the federation members at the village, cluster and mandal levels
and networking with various stakeholders.

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8. Discussions and Conclusions
Empowerment is an important concept in the development process and theachievement of gender equality in society. Many on-going development projects
incorporate components which aim to empower the weak and the marginalised, andapproaches to empowerment of women tend to place an emphasis on economic aspects.
Under these circumstances, the Mahila Samakhya Programme adopts a
problem-solving approach which focuses on social issues. It aims to empower women
through education and create an environment in which women and girls avail
themselves of educational opportunities. Since the programme started in Andhra
Pradesh in 1993, women have organised themselves into sanghams, and sanghams have
evolved into clusters, federations and Maha Sanghams. In the process, sanghams andsangham women have gained various aspects of power.
This working paper has examined the process of empowerment as groups andindividuals, taking Makthal federation as a model case. It has found that the
problem-solving approach is effective in empowering women‟s groups and individual
members physically, psychologically, socially, economically and politically and that thepositive effects of their activities are observed among their families, villagers and local
government officials, as well as the staff of the APMSS. However successful the Mahila
Samakhya Programme has proved to be, it cannot escape from challenges. This chapter
will discuss these challenges and present some recommendations.
8.1. Difficulties in the management of the programme
The unique characteristics of the Mahila Samakhya Programme are the factors that
contribute to its success in empowering women. The approach, which isprocess-oriented, participatory and bottom-up decision-making, can be considered ideal
for advocates for development with people‟s participation. The problem-solving
approach is appreciated by the women in the group discussions, too. They said that they
liked this programme because they could work on various issues, while otherprogrammes tend to focus on only one area of activities. The fieldwork found that themultiplicity and flexibility of the programme is attractive to sangham women.
Difficulties are, however, apparent in the management of the process-oriented
programme. Without setting pre-determined quantitative targets with deadlines, there isa danger of the programme going nowhere. The APMSS implements the programme
depending on the progress made by sanghams. For example, it decides an approximate
number of training workshops to be conducted beforehand in the previous fiscal year,
but it arranges dates, length, and contents of the training later according to the needs

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identified by sangham women. Success of group formation depends on various factors,
most of which contain uncertainties.
The staff of the APMSS use the term, strong or weak sanghams, when it refers to aparticular sangham‟s situation. When asked them what influences the development ofsanghams, they presented the following factors.
Location of the village
When access to the village is difficult due to lack of public transport, the frequencyof karyakarthas’ visits is inclined to be low. It is not easy to maintain close
communication between sangham women and karyakarthas, as well as between
sanghams in neighbouring villages.
Composition of the sangham
Some sanghams consist of single castes, while others consist of multiple castes. In
general, it takes less time for the former to be united than the latter, and the former areless likely to have conflicts among its members.35
Capacity of karyakarthas
Karyakarthas are responsible for motivating women to form groups and providing
support to them for their activities. Their roles are especially important in the initialstage. When their support is not sufficient, sanghams are unlikely to operate well.
Capacity of sangham women
When a sangham has a few active women who can take on leadership, group
activities are likely to proceed faster. It also matters whether a sangham has educatedmembers or not, since some activities require literacy skills. Without these members,
progress depends on how quickly some women who can coordinate and lead other
women emerge through trainings and activities.
Human relationships
When many women with different backgrounds gather, conflicts may arise in
taking collective actions (see chapter 6.5). Sangham women and karyakarthas may not
get along well together. The relationships among members and between members andkaryakarthas affect the development of sanghams.

35

However, once the group is united, multi-caste sanghams can have broader support than single-caste
sanghams, since members belong to different social groups (interviewed, January 5, 2011).

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All of these five factors except for factor (1) are uncertain, when karyakarthas,
especially new ones, start visiting villages. Even with regard to factor (1), it is notpossible to avoid remote villages, since these villages tend to be less developed.
The success of the Mahila Samakhya Programme in Andhra Pradesh appears to be
attributed to maintaining the high level of programme management and the staff‟scommitment to the work. The problem-solving approach can be effective with strenuousinterventions by capable staff. It is, therefore, not easy to replicate this approach, unlessthese conditions are met.
8.2. Dilemma between expansion and quality
Exactly as mentioned above, the APMSS is facing a dilemma between the qualityof the programme versus the expansion of the coverage. The Mahila Samakhya
Programme is now operated in fourteen out of twenty-three districts in the state which
has the fourth largest area in India, yet with a limited number of staff. The programme
has developed on the basis of close collaboration between sangham women and the staffof APMSS (in the state and the district offices and karyakarthas). As the programmearea is expanding, the staff themselves feel that they are losing the sense of closeness towomen in villages, and they are concerned about what the women of the federations
think about them after they withdraw from their villages, since they do not meet them asoften.
In the group discussion in Dandu village, a few women said that:“The APMSS and karyakarthas used to come here very often. But, recently
they have not come at all.” (Group discussion [b])After the withdrawal of the APMSS, the frequency of the APMSS‟s visits to thevillages of Makthal federation and training provided by the APMSS decreased. Thus,
sangham members, who were neither representatives of sanghams, clusters nor thefederation like the women above, had few opportunities to meet the APMSS‟s staff at
mandal- or district-level meetings. They appeared to feel alienated from the Mahila
Samakhya Programme and the APMSS.
In relation to this, the insufficient number of and high turnover of APMSS staff at
the state and district levels compounds this situation. The major reason for this ispointed out as a heavy workload at low salary (Gulati, 2004; First Joint Review Mission,2009). Often times, those who work in the APMSS for a few years and gain experiencefind better-paying jobs elsewhere.36 It is ironic that the APMSS‟s good reputation of
having well-trained staff increases their value in the job market.
36

All the staff except for one whom I had met in the State Programme Office in 1999 were found to haveleft the APMSS during my visit in 2009. In 2011, I heard that the last person I had known had also gone
because she had taken a job in another organisation.

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Another reason for the high turnover concerns personal security. As the area
covered by the programme is expanding, the staff and karyakarthas have to travel long
distances, sometimes in difficult circumstances. They also face opposition andharassment when they fight against long-practicing customs (see chapter 7.1.1).
Therefore, some staff are unwilling to extensively work in the field and others leave the
APMSS out of worry about their security or due to opposition from their families(APMSS, 2009; First Joint Review Mission, 2009). It is important for the APMSS tofind effective ways of implementing the programme at the level of quality that they
have maintained with the limited number of the staff.
8.3. Slow progress in literacy education
Literacy education is supposed to be the most important component of the Mahila
Samakhya Programme, but a marked achievement is not observed. The APMSS said
that there were more educated women in the sanghams which were formed in recent
years than the sanghams which had been formed in early years, reflecting the increasein the female literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh as a whole. The APMSS intends to have atleast 50% of literate members in a sangham and 100% for the Federation Executive
Committee members, but it does not have records on individual members‟ educational
levels. The annual report for 2009/10 (APMSS, 2011) states that 16,380 members
became literate in the year, but it not known how many remain illiterate.
It was little surprise, therefore, that after the group discussion ended in a village,
the participating women, one after another, thumb stamped the notebook instead ofsigning to record their attendance. The APMSS staff explained that they preferred
thumb stamping, though some of them were able to write at least their names, because itis easier for them to just stamp rather than use a pen that they were not accustomed tousing. The women who I saw thumb stamping have been members of the sangham since
1994. It was pity that they have not benefitted from educational opportunities provided
by the Mahila Samakhya Programme.
The slow progress in literacy
education is mainly due to the lack ofinterest among sangham women, inparticular older women, according to the
APMSS‟s staff. In the group discussions,when asked about their interest in learning
literacy skills, illiterate women gave thefollowing negative responses.
A Woman Who Was Thumb-Stamping

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KFAW 調査研究報告書 Voo. 2011-1“I have too much work to do. No time for going to an adult learning centre.”“What do I do at this age? After I learn and become able to read and write, canI get a job like men?”“There is no benefit for me, because I am doing agriculture.”
These women compare benefits of acquiring literacy skills with the time and effort
spent on learning, and reach the conclusion that it is not worth it.
Only one woman said that the reason she had not participated in literacy classes
was that there was no adult learning centre available in her village. It is, however,unknown whether she is really interested in learning or if it is just an excuse, sincelearning centres can be opened when sangham women want to study.
The official of the state government in charge of the Mahila Samakhya Programmecertainly recognises the low female literacy rate as a big challenge. She said that she had
instructed the APMSS to make further efforts to start or restart learning centres in its
programme villages (interviewed, January 10, 2011). An irony of the Mahila Samakhya
Programme‟s strategy is that training is offered out of the interests of sangham women.
Literacy education is not conducted, in principle, when there is no such demand.
Given the existence of many illiterate sangham women, it may be necessary for the
programme to make the component of literacy education compulsory. Firstly, the
APMSS can make a rule that every member of a sangham must be able to write at least
her name and thumb stamping would not be accepted. A short session on literacy skills
can be conducted at every meeting or training workshop, by which sangham womenlearn at least one or two words often used in their daily lives. This casual way oflearning may be effective, unlike adult learning centres or literacy camps, where they
have to sit and learn for certain hours. Moreover, joining these literacy classes is
optional, but all members attend sangham meetings.
After I had made these suggestions to one of the APMSS staff during the fieldwork,
she gave me some feedback later. She wrote that the APMSS had found literacy as a key
factor to facilitating the process towards autonomy and sustainability of federations, andreviewed the on-going interventions in literacy education. The APMSS had strongly felt
the need to reach a large number of illiterate members in a short period of time. The
APMSS had already initiated a project, Literacy Sessions in Every Forum. Wheneversangham women gather, literacy education has been provided at the end of meetings.
Some key words which are picked up from the meetings and discussions are taught tothe participants. This short session has been used for motivating sangham women tojoin literacy projects, such as the Adult Learning Centre and Literacy Camp. It has beensuccessful according to her.
It appears, however, that the short literacy session has not sufficiently motivatedsangham women to learn, given the fact that a large number of sangham women are still
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illiterate. In order to achieve 100% literacy among all sangham members, it is necessary
for the APMSS to find a measure to provide literacy education to those who have nointerest in participating in the on-going literacy projects.
8.4. Sustainability of the federations
The oldest federations, including Makthal federation, have now more than ten
years of experience. Through trial and error in new endeavours in initial years, it hasdeveloped as an organisation with a solid structure, capacity to conduct activities, andparticularly the member women who have committed themselves to the cause forwomen. The impacts of their activities have become visible in Makthal mandal.
However, the work for the federation is entire voluntary without a secure source offunding. In order to sustain the federation‟s activities, a couple of challenges have been
identified. Firstly, Makthal federation has managed to raise funds through projectcontracts with the APMSS, local governments and NGOs in addition to contributions
from members. The federation mostly works with the APMSS, from which it can obtainfunds for activities in relation to the Mahila Samakhya Programme. When the federation
wants to start its own projects apart from the Mahila Samakhya Programme in the future,it has to diversify and secure sources of funding in the long run.
Secondly, it is a challenge to maintain members‟ motivations and increase theircapacity. It appears that there are two groups of women in Makthal federation. One is acore group of women who play leading roles in the management of the federation. They
meet each other on a regular basis and also with the APMSS‟s staff and members ofother federations and sanghams. Another group is sangham members who do not holdany posts in the federation or on the Issue Committees, which constitute the majority of
the federation. In comparison with the core group of women, they basically conduct
activities within their villages and have fewer opportunities to meet sangham members
in other villages. Some of these women may not understand well about the new
structure: Makthal federation has taken over the APMSS and continued activities under
the Mahila Samakhya Programme. This was observed in the group discussion, as
mentioned earlier.
Ideally, as the programme envisions, it is good for different women to takeleadership. In reality, some women are active and vocal, while others are quiet, and theformer tend to concentrate in leadership positions. A challenge is to keep the motivationof the members high by taking various actions and inspire many women who can
become leaders. Here too, illiteracy can be a psychological barrier. Literacy education is
one of the key factors for sustainability.

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8.5. Concluding remarks
The process of women‟s empowerment is not uniform across societies, and theapproach adopted varies depending on the socio-economic context in which women live.
In the midst of the situation where the economic approach to women‟s empowerment
attracts the most attention, this working paper has examined the problem-solving
approach employed by the Mahila Samakhya Programme in India.
Taking Makthal federation as a model case, the fieldwork found that sangham
women are empowered physically, psychologically, socially, economically andpolitically by learning and solving problems. They are gaining confidence andbecoming able to make decisions sometimes against the decisions made by theirfamilies and others in their villages. They are entering the decision-making process inlocal governments and exerting influence on local policies to some extent, as the
APMSS hopes that federations function as pressure groups which can push forward andfight for women‟s issues. They are also developing linkages with various stakeholders
to facilitate societal changes.
There are challenges that the Mahila Samakhya Programme, the APMSS and
Makthal federations have to overcome, but their achievements show the importance of
explicitly incorporating components of satisfying strategic gender needs in projects for
women. The Mahila Samakhya Programme places emphasis on political empowerment
and increases women‟s representation in local governance. This is a step for women toparticipate in state- and national-level politics.
It must be noted, however, that this working paper does not underestimate theeffectiveness of the economic empowerment approach, and acknowledges thelimitations of this study. In order to further explore the process of women‟sempowerment, it is necessary to conduct in-depth fieldwork and collect bothquantitative and qualitative data. At this stage, it is hoped that this working paper has
shown that collective action is an effective strategy for marginalised women to improvetheir situation and the ways in which they are empowered through the problem-solving
approach, and in turn, has provided some insight on planning projects for women.

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Box 20. The Strength of Sanghams
The police question a sangham woman.
“With whose support have you taken on such a big case [rape]? On what power
are you roaming around at ten o’clock in the night? I have the authority of myuniform and my government post to do what I am doing.”
She replied.
“Do you want to know what power I have? I have the power of 370 villages of
Auriya (district). Do you want to know beyond that? I have the power of sixteen
districts in [the state of] Uttar Pradesh. Do you want to know beyond that? I havethe power of eight [now ten] states in India.”
Behind a sangham―a small group of women in a village, around 800 thousand
women all over India are standing by.
Source: Excerpt of a story introduced by Purushothaman (2010: 1)

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