Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

296 VINALINI MATHRANI AND VANI PERIODI
accountability from public officials. The activities adopted by the sanghas
reflect their interest areas and prioritisation.
Sangha Activities
The women from different sanghas have taken up a range of activities. It
is clear that a high premium is set on economic control, independence
and mobility. There are some common activities in which all the sanghas
are engaged:
The women are running thrift and savings activity. They contribute
Rs 5 to Rs 10 per week. The money is deposited in a bank account
on which interest is generated. This money is used for issuing loans
at an interest rate of 3–5 per cent per month. It is also used for
tiding over lean financial periods.
Meetings are held once a week. The women are divided into six
issue-based committees: Education, Health, Panchayati Raj, Legal
Literacy, Sangha Self-Reliance, and Economic Development Programmes
(EDP). Committee-wise meetings are also held, and each
committee shares information with the other sangha women.
The women visit the panchayat to access different government
schemes like Ashraya housing, Bhagyajyothi and Astra Chulah. They
attend all the gram sabhas.
A number of sanghas run adult literacy classes. Most of them have
focused on enrolment of school drop-outs.
They visit the PHC to ensure that the staff members execute their
responsibilities.
They go to the police station when required.
They attend ghataka (cluster), taluka and district-level programmes.
There is also a range of other activities that the sanghas have adopted,
based on local issues. In Tuppanakhanahalli, Agasanahalli and Dotihalla,
the women have protested against child marriage and the Devadasi
tradition. In Marakunda, there has been a focus on EDP activities like
sheep and buffalo rearing and poultry. The women have bought large
vessels from their savings, which are rented out and the proceeds shared.
In Agasanahalli, they have helped update voter lists, and have undertaken
a shramdan (voluntary labour) to clean the village. They run a crèche,