Training women at the local level is key to their empowerment

All India Institute of Local Self-Government, in collaboration with Girl Power Project, organized the twenty sixth edition of ‘E-Dialogues’ on ‘Empowering Women by Building Skills and Entrepreneurship’ on Tuesday, August 3. The webinar was organized to solidify the efforts and initiatives under AIILSG’s Girl Power Project.

The venerable panel for the event comprised of Farida Jalees, Managing Trustee, Lucknow Mahila Sewa Trust; Ankita Kashish, Program Manager, Umang; Dr Jaykishor Chhangani, Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialization (MGIRI); and Dr RK Gupta, Project Director, Girl Power Project, AIILSG. The event was moderated by Ashley Paul, Senior Sub-Editor, Urban Update.
Paul started by emphasizing the importance of women entrepreneurs as people around the world have started recognizing the need for integrating women into the workspace. Building on entrepreneurship skills directly uplifts women’s social status. He mentioned several schemes run by the Government of India like the Ujwala scheme, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and the Nirbhaya scheme, that are working towards empowering women.
The first speaker, Dr Jaykishor Chhangani, began by saying that Indian society considers women to be a mighty source of power. Quoting the Vedas, Chhangani said that God resides where women are respected. Sadly, the picture portrayed by the holy books does not get translated into real life. Chhangani said that it is essential to involve women in the workspace for financial stability of the nation. “Unfortunately, the erstwhile governments have not taken this as seriously as they should have”. He stated that according to the data released by NITI Aayog, women’s contribution to the GDP is 23 per cent, a severely low number as compared to international standards. He informed that he is currently working with MGIRI, which aims to empower women through entrepreneurial development based on ‘Panchagavya’. Stating that there is an urgent need for upliftment of women, especially in the rural landscape, he implored that government packages cannot be a solution and that women entrepreneurship development is the only way. He said that women need to be empowered with scientific and technological intervention. Panchgavya are the five products that a cow can provide – cow milk, clarified butter, curd, urine, and dung. These products, sold worldwide, have proven medical properties. Seeing the commercial importance of these products, MGIRI conducts five-day workshops training women the art of manufacturing the aforementioned products. The Institute has also conducted several training sessions with local self-help groups. For instance, women of the Adivasi Pardi tribe from the Wardha district of Maharashtra were part of a five-day training program where they were taught how to make phenyl from cow urine. Those women went on to set up their own businesses and are now independently handling the product’s marketing, sales, and manufacturing. Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh has several ashrams for widows that raises funds through donation. These women have also been part of the institution’s five-day training camp. The next step in this project is going to incorporate Naxalite women for which the organization has already received a grant of 1 lakh. Dr RK Gupta took the discussion ahead by speaking about women-friendly food value addition and other technologies for a sustainable livelihood. The Girl Power Project (GPP) is aiming to empower over 5000 urban women with the help of Central Statistics Office. Speaking about the GPP, he informed that the project has five main goals namely capacity building of NGOs and self-help groups (SHGs), establishing market connect, providing skill development training, network building, and increasing the engagement of women in policy generation. For the unskilled women, the project runs surveys to identify their area of interest and then provides the training. With regards to food value addition, Dr Gupta spoke about an innovative way to use technology for commercial gains. He was pointing out that commodities that can make the everyday life of people easier have a huge demand, especially in urban areas. Under the project, his team has helped several SHGs and NGOs in establishing businesses around this model with the use of technology. In his concluding remarks, he stated that there is a need to identify and popularize women-friendly technologies through skill development and entrepreneurship training. Not only would this help budding women entrepreneurs, but also financially empower them by establishing their own enterprises in the micro, small and medium enterprises sector. The third speaker, Ankita Kashish, first commended the initiatives under the GPP. She said that skill-building is extremely subjective, and conducting surveys to figure out the niche of a person is critical to the process. The counselling and mobilization process is very important as it helps in strengthening the motivation of the person and makes the process more fruitful. She then pointed out the key factors of success of a social enterprise, especially by women-led SHGs. Speaking from her personal experience in Jharkhand, she said success is directly dependent on market recognition, money investment, nurturing, capacity building, human resources, and handholding support. Promoting teamwork and healthy transactional relationships is key for an enterprise to thrive in the long run and for it to sustain itself. Once the organization reaches the stage where it does not require external support, the entrepreneur’s driving force comes to play. Kashish emphasized the need for strong motivation and determination for entrepreneurs that only comes from vision. “The vision comes from exposure, education, and aspirations of one. However, India’s current education system does not empower the youth, especially the girls,” said Kashish. Mentioning a study conducted by BCCI, she informed that the aspiration for engaging in economic activities by girls is quite high. However, a majority of them do not have matching educational aspirations. “The key reason for that is the lack of career counselling and guidance. The same is the case with entrepreneurship”. She suggested that the information and skilling programs be made more accessible for the beneficiaries. Farida Jalees said that in her opinion, 93 per cent of the labour force in Uttar Pradesh are involved in the unorganized sector out of which, 97 per cent women are not office goers. When a woman has a stable financial source, leadership and knowledge, only then she has the confidence to voice her opinion, and most importantly, to be seen. Lucknow Mahila Sewa Trust helps organize small female farmers in the field of food processing. The women involved in the process, or the RUDI sisters, then sell the products within five kilometre of their location. From purchasing to providing the manufactured product, all is looked after by women through a mobile app. This not only provides women with financial support but also empowers them to have a say in their household. The Lucknow Mahila Sewa Trust, to provide a platform for household help, has started with a para nursing training program called ‘Saman Sewa’. This program allows women to earn over10-15 thousand as there is a huge demand for nurses in the
health sector.
The webinar was successful in highlighting the lack of policies and support given to budding women entrepreneurs. Engaging women in the entrepreneurial area is actually the solution to many of the social issues that will also help in uplifting the economy of the country. There are various projects that are involving women and providing hand-holding support to their enterprises. But for it to expand and reach the larger population, there is a need for institutional and policy change.