Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

30 SUMI KRISHNA
Over the last decade and a half, certain clear trends, which have had an
enormous and varied impact on the development sector in India, have
been discernible. First, there has been political decentralisation (through
the 73rd and 74th Amendments and PESA): this is, of course, not the
same as democratisation, but it has paved the way for a realignment of
power at the ‘grassroots’. Second, the opening up of spaces in civil society
for non-government intermediaries to serve as an interface with people
(for instance, in the provision of basic services) has brought about a
renewed emphasis on ‘participatory’ approaches to development. Third,
the promotion and extraordinary growth of women’s micro-economic
activities through formal associations (SHGs) for micro savings-andcredit
and micro-enterprise schemes have posed new challenges for women’s
development and women’s citizenship. Micro-credit may not have reached
the poorest women or contributed significantly to sustainable development,
but women’s collectives (including SHGs in some areas) have
begun to serve as an effective interface for women to articulate and claim
rights, and perhaps even to deal with male-dominated village panchayats.
Indeed, this has also been the experience with the sanghas of the Mahila
Samakhya (MS) programme in many states. The MS programme is unusual
in its feminist, transformatory emphasis. In keeping with Paulo
Freire’s ideas of education as empowerment, it attempted to change gender
stereotypes through reflection and action in a common space. Although
the programme has been criticised for its lack of focus on livelihood and
economic problems, there is abundant evidence from states like Karnataka
showing that sanghas have enhanced women’s sense of self-worth and
their ability to define their own roles in local affairs. They have given
women a legitimate collective bedike (platform), which fulfils a deeply
felt need for women’s space, and provided crucial support for the elected
women representatives in the panchayats (Krishna 2004b, d). Many a
sangha has also sought to translate this into a concrete physical space,
a mané (house). Vinalini Mathrani and Vani Periodi (Chapter 14, this
volume) have shown how women negotiate the tortuous process—
extending over months and years—of establishing their own mané,
acquiring the land, constructing the structure, managing the funding and,
not the least, overcoming entrenched male resistance. The women’s mané
is a symbol of their independence and a medium through which they
exercise collective citizenship.