Speaking Out: Women's economic empowerment in South Asia

This volume draws together the experiences of seven South Asian NGOs in organizing rural and urban poor women for economic empowerment. Going beyond the normal descriptive accounts of the work of these NGOs, it throws new light on how changes are occurring at the grassroots level, and analyses and defines economic empowerment from the perspective of the women themselves. Through seven detailed case studies, the book demonstrates how women are gaining increased access to, and control over, economic resources, and how this in turn has led to far-reaching socio-cultural and political changes at the individual, family, community and wider economy levels. It also shows how women are now building and taking control of their own organizations which are becoming more autonomous and financially self-reliant. This book will be of relevance to students of development and women's studies, development planners and practitioners, and women's organizations, as well as those with an interest in South Asia.

Table of Contents:
Preface NAZEER AZIZ LADHANI ix Preface NOELEEN HEYZER xi Acknowledgements xiii Introduction MARILYN CARR, MARTHA CHEN, RENANA JHABVALA 1 Women and Poverty in South Asia 1 Approaches to Women's Empowerment 3 Experiences of NGOs and POs in Working with Women 6 The Purpose of the Research 8 The Research Project 9 Research Questions 9 Methodology 10 Selection of Organizations 11 Selection of Field Sites 11 Summary of the Case Studies 12 Case studies 19 Village and Community Organizations Gathering the Second Harvest: Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) in Northern Pakistan ABINTA MALIK and SANDRA KALLEDER 21 Transforming Women's Economies: Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) GUL RUKH SELIM 45 Demanding Accountability: Proshika in Bangladesh LAMIA RASHID and Md. SHAHABUDDIN 67 Co-operatives 'Like my Mother's House': Women's Thrift and Credit Co-operatives in South India NANDITA RAY and D.P. VASUNDHARA 85 Rural Women Manage their own Producer Co-operatives: Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA)/Banaskantha Women's Association in Western India SHARIT BHOWMIK and RENANA JHABVALA 105 Women's Banks Women Banking for Success: Women's Development Federation (WDF) in Sri Lanka W.M. LEELASENA and CHITRANI DHAMMIKA 127 Unionization Empowering Marginalized Workers: Unionization of Tobacco Workers by the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in Kheda, Gujarat SHARIT BHOWMIK and MEENA PATEL 143 A Struggle within a Struggle: The Unionization of Women in the Informal Sector in Tamil Nadu GEETHA RAMAKRISHNAN 167 Lessons learned MARILYN CARR, MARTHA CHEN, RENANA JHABVALA 185 Overview 185 Sources of Disempowerment 188 Marriage and Kinship Systems 188 Household and Extended Family 189 Patron-client Relationships 190 Community Groups and Local Councils 190 Wider Economy and Markets 190 Organizing Women for Economic Empowerment 193 Reasons for Organizing 193 Barriers to Effective Organizing 195 Autonomy and Sustainability of Women's Organizations 196 Empowerment Strategies 198 Specific Economic Strategies 198 Financial Interventions 198 Enterprise Development 199 Market Strategies 200 Bargaining 201 Socio-political Strategies 201 Broader Economic Support Goals 202 The Economic Empowerment of Women 203 Material Gains/Economic Change 203 Direct Tangible Results 205 Indirect Tangible Results 206 Less-Tangible Outcomes 207 Increased Bargaining Power 207 Structural Change 210 Towards a Broader Perspective on Women's Empowerment 213 Everyday Forms of Women's Empowerment 213 The Economic is Political 215 Personal and Collective Power 217 Speaking Out 217 References 219 About the Contributors 220 Glossary of non-English Terms 222 List of Acronyms 224 Annotated Bibliography: Selected Studies on Women's Empowerment SOPHIA LAM 225