Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

292 VINALINI MATHRANI AND VANI PERIODI
We will examine these processes in the context of the MS programme,
which is running in 1,400 villages located in 33 talukas of seven districts
of Karnataka, and has instituted 1,082 mahila sanghas (December 2002).
In each location, the sanghas identify critical issues, devise strategies to
address them and implement their localised plans. As part of the feminist
movement, this programme is rooted in the belief that the process of
empowerment itself constitutes a goal. The present study is an attempt at
documenting one such process by examining the philosophy, structure
and system behind the sangha mané.
In December 2002, there were 281 sangha manés. Most of the other
sanghas were either thinking of building sangha manés, or are in the process
of doing so. This indicates that women regard it as a critical component
of their empowerment. Therefore, documenting the processes associated
with the institution and maintenance of the sangha manés contributes to
the discourse on empowerment, citizenship and resources. The sangha
manés are seen as both an attempt at resource-building and a means of
accessing local resources, which ultimately impacts livelihood directly
and indirectly.
This chapter is divided into four sections. Following this overview, the
second section presents information on the sangha. The third section is
the main body of the chapter and covers processes associated with the
sangha manés. The concluding section distils the empowering processes
from the experience of sangha mané construction and use, which lead
onto citizenship.
OBJECTIVES
The study has the following objectives: (i) to identify the motivating
factors for instituting the sangha manés; (ii) to record the processes associated
with land acquisition and construction of the sangha manés,
including the expenses incurred in the construction of this space; (iii) to
describe the uses of the sangha manés; (iv) to understand whether the
existence of a physical space has catalysed the MS programme; (v) to
capture the women’s feelings regarding this process of creating an external
space, that is, whether the sangha mané gives them an ontological validity
(a new way of being), and whether it has helped women transcend