The project is built on three interrelated pillars i.e. Active citizenry education, role of elected women representatives and effective local governance.
MARG’s journey of active citizenry education and access to civic rights at grassroots level has been of more than thirteen-years, covering rural and urban communities in Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, in collaboration with Flowering Tree, Inc. USA.
While implementing this project, our objective is also to identify the outlines of an intervention model that can be used in a rural and an urban setting respectively with culturally relevant pedagogy.
Therefore, when the project is completed its various components such as the methodology followed, the progress in achieving the selected objectives, the efforts to create links between community and government officers, its impact etc. will be evaluated by external resource persons. Their findings and recommendations will help MARG design an intervention model that could be replicable in other locations (rural as well as urban).
Now this project is primarily focusing on up-scaling the concept of active citizenry education, strengthening the elected women representatives and making the panchayat task committees be functional and finally creating empowered active citizenry to ensure WASH (water, Sanitation and Health rights) and public health awareness at lager level.
Under this initiative this is also being explored how identity documents can be instrumental in accessing civic rights. During this current pandemic situation, when whole humanity has to face existential challenge, In India we witnessed a chaotic situation to access basic needs especially among marginalized, poor, women and children. Although, governments tried its best to provide relief and supply the essentials but many could not able to access those assistance due to lack of proper identity documents. Due to lack of awareness, a large number of people remain without identity documents – poor people especially. Identity documents play an important role to access civic rights and it is a stepping stone to acquire an array of rights and benefits. Civic rights include rights to food, health, adequate housing, right to vote, right to live with dignity etc.
This project is being implemented in Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Crimes against women have been on the rise in the past few years. However, the good news is that women are fighting back. Gone are the days when they would be constantly suppressed under the pseudo-idea of male honor, and not come out of their shells to fight for justice. Savda- Ghevra, a slum resettlement colony…
Crimes against women have been on the rise in the past few years. However, the good news is that women are fighting back. Gone are the days when they would be constantly suppressed under the pseudo-idea of male honor, and not come out of their shells to fight for justice. Savda- Ghevra, a slum resettlement colony…
Crimes against women have been on the rise in the past few years. However, the good news is that women are fighting back. Gone are the days when they would be constantly suppressed under the pseudo-idea of male honor, and not come out of their shells to fight for justice. Savda- Ghevra, a slum resettlement…
In Delhi’s outskirts, women fight for – and get- most civic amenities by filing dozens of RTIs to improve their 11 year old village
In a beautiful example of on-ground solidarity, the women of the Savda- Ghevra slum resettlement colony in Delhi band together and claim their rights. Crimes against women have been on the rise in the past few years. However, the good news is that women are fighting back. Gone are the days when they would be…
From bringing water supply to their community to saving a girl from being raped ? see what these legally empowered women are achieving in Delhi?s Savda Ghevra resettlement colony. Eight years ago, a resident of Savda Ghevra slum resettlement colony said, ?I dream of a time when I can open a tap and take a…
MARG’s journey of active citizenry education and access to civic rights at grassroots level has been a thirteen-year-old journey covering rural and urban communities in Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan through project HARSHINGAR, in collaboration with Flowering Tree, Inc. USA. The journey began in 2007 from two villages of Karnal District in Haryana i.e. Daha and Shamgarh, in the form of Harshingar Project, to empower women leaders to undertake local and civic leadership in Gram Panchayats. By 2010 a group of more than 100 active women volunteers, were created. These women were equipped with legal information, understanding of gender rights and skills to access government bodies. This legal literacy helped ensure access to civic rights, managed to bring changes in the life of more than 6000 women in these two villages and empower them socially and economically. Further, more than 30 of these women became paralegal volunteers with Karnal District Legal Services Authority. These women were mobilized and informed about varied issues ranging from women’s rights and protection of women from violence, Panchayati laws, right to information, food rights and other entitlements, etc. in order to encourage them to participate and engage in the process of decision making. This was a well-documented pilot project; whose impact was both wide and deep. This three-year pilot project ensured transformation in a male dominated society of Haryana very successfully. This led to exploring ways to scale this project to a larger population in the state.
In the next phase from 2011, MARG first explored collaborations with other civil society organizations, as well as district and state statutory bodies with a view to working to scale the pilot project. Marg entered into a partnership with Arpana Trust who has an outreach spread out in approximately 100 villages of three blocks (Indri, Karnal and Gharonda). MARG conducted a baseline survey with the help of Kurukshetra University and Arpana Trust in 55 villages to assess the present situation of Gram Sabhas. This gave an understanding of grassroot problems of Panchayati Raj. It was also helpful in strategizing the intervention points to engage Elected Women Representative, Panchayat level Task Committees, Sarpanches (Panchayat Heads), Block Development Officers and Gram Sabha (every voters of village). Several workshops were held for women village leaders for the next one year. However, by 2012, this village level scale up collaboration was discontinued due to lack of coordination between partners and relevant stakeholders.
In 2011, the Harshingar project journey entered a third phase in an urban space in Delhi. This project used the experience of Harshingar phase 1 and 2 of women empowerment and groups and applied it towards urban transformation through active citizenry. Thus began the Harshingar phase 3 at Savda Ghevra Slum Resettlement Colony in Northwest Delhi, by building the capacity of women in order to improve the efficiency of local governance. However, there are spatial and demographic differences in the rural and urban populations, where urban resettlement communities consist of mainly migrant workers. A baseline survey was conducted to identify the issues faced by the women workers. One issue for instance, was lack of availability of water in Savda Ghevra colony, where women had to wait all day for the water tanker and did not know at what time it will arrive. This puts a strong constraint over their freedom of movement thus hampering their availability for employment options. Men’s lives are less impacted by this problem as it is the woman in the household who is expected to attend to the issue. Similarly, the inability to use the community toilets because of their lack of cleanliness is more a problem for women. Walking alone to distant fields represents a serious security risk for them. This is why adopting a gender-oriented approach to urban governance and its management is critical. Both women and men should obtain equal access to and control over the resources and opportunities offered by a city. Similarly the design, provision and management of public services should equally benefit both women and men.
Harshingar Phase 3 interventions in Savda Ghevra, was aimed the empowerment of the common woman transforming governance in urban India through engendered active citizenship. This intervention created more 1000 Harshingar women cadres trained to function as active citizens in Savda Ghevra. This impacted more than 20,000 women beneficiaries directly and more 40,000 populations of Savda- Ghevra. Harshingar Active Women Cadres (HAWCs), a team of women volunteers, was created to working towards the rights of women with the efficient use of law and active citizenship model.
This project improved governance in key areas (determined by the community) through strategic interventions of women active citizens. It has successfully engaged with the larger community in basic issues and processes of citizenship to catalyze successful interventions and eventual mass transformation. It has also facilitated a process whereby the transformation within the community is sustained.
Now, every household has access to water through pipeline. Better infrastructure in terms of better public toilets, public health center (PHC), good roads, better police-public relations, almost 100 percent identity documents with access to civic rights and banking services, schools at primary and secondary level. These are some of quantifiable success. But it has some of qualitative changes in the life of common women of Savda in terms of political participation of women, gender awareness, economic empowerment of women, women safety etc. Now, these empowered Harshingar Women has decided to organize themselves as a legal organization. It will bring a sustainable model of women empowerment and gender sensitized active citizenship.
In 2019, MARG expanded Harshingar experiences in Gorakhpur District of UP through Brahmkamal initiative, exploring access to WASH Rights through active citizenry. The scoping and need assessment has been done. Now this project is being planned to be implemented to strengthen the Elected Women Representatives and make the panchayat task committees be functional and finally creating empowered active citizenry to ensure WASH (water, Sanitation and Health rights) at lager level.
Harshingar in Savda Ghevra, Delhi
Savda Ghevra is a 250 acres resettlement colony near Ghevra railway station on Delhi-Rohtak rail route in North West Delhi. Savda falls under Mundka Ward of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Savda Ghevra is divided into several blocks, where approximately 30 000 people live. The inhabitants have fairly regular access to electricity but not to water. Furthermore, much of the promised infrastructure has not been developed, resulting in inadequate civic amenities.
Background
MARG has been working in Savda Ghevra in collaboration with Growth for All has been working towards the legal empowerment of the community in the colony from June 2009 to November 2010. The project sought to increase the community’s understanding of law and legal procedures. A training programme was envisaged as a first step that was crucial in enabling the community demand its rights at a later stage. Participants from among the community were trained on the fundamentals of law and the functioning of government services.
Processes & Outcomes
During the inception of our work in Savda Ghevra MARG spent 18 months has conducted regular training sessions with a selection of community members on various rights, laws and social issues (right to information, right to education, public distribution system etc) and enforcement of these rights. Regular interface meetings with government officials were also organized to provide a platform where the trainees could voice their concerns and enhance their confidence level.
Impact
Building the capacity of women in order to improve the efficiency of local governance in Savda Ghevra under HARSHINGAR Project, supported by Flowering Tree Inc, U.SA
Governance and women in an urban context
The prevalence of poverty, inadequate housing and shelter, insecure land and housing tenure, poor water and sanitation services and basic infrastructure, and health risks, cause massive challenges for women in society.
The experience by men and women of a city is quite different. Spatial and organisational aspects affect men and women in different ways. For instance, the lack of availability of water in Savda Ghevra colony. Women have to wait all day for the water tanker and do not know at what time it will arrive. This puts a strong constraint over their freedom of movement thus hampering their availability for employment options. Men’s lives are less impacted by this problem as it is the woman in the household who is expected to attend to the issue. Similarly, the inability to use the community toilets because of their lack of cleanliness is more a problem for women. Walking alone to distant fields represents a serious security risk for them. This is why adopting a gender-oriented approach to urban governance and its management is critical. Both women and men should obtain equal access to and control over the resources and opportunities offered by a city. Similarly the design, provision and management of public services should equally benefit both women and men.
A brief needs-assessment survey was carried out by the trainees under MARG’s supervision. A hundred people were asked to prioritize the problems they face in their daily life. Out of 101 respondents, 60 were women and 41 were men. The findings of the survey reveal that the main issues affecting the local population are:
BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
India’s democracy is a success in terms of all that could have gone wrong. But it has fallen short in all that could have gone right. Indeed the election process, with all its flaws, is robust. Unresponsive or arrogant governments have been voted out; governments that perform have often been voted back. But democracy is much more than an exercise of franchise, it is about participation, transparency and responsiveness. And this is where India has fallen short. Whether it is law and order, the school system, healthcare, sanitation or access to entitlements, institutions are often unresponsive (even abusive) and mired in exhausting procedures. Many are corrupt and act not as duty bearers, but as unreachable centers of power.
Good governance is the solution to this: where state and its institutions (all which act in the name of the people) are accountable, transparent and responsive. And active citizenry is the best way to secure good governance1.
THE THEORY OF CHANGE
The active citizenship approach to good governance has these premises:
The stress on a functional democracy is particularly critical for securing the rights of women: women suffer most under tyrannous, undemocratic rule. Hence the emphasis on the role of woman as active citizens, as they have the most at stake. There is a strong correlation between active citizenship, government accountability and responsiveness.
Active citizenship can be a key driver of development and social transformation. It is multi-dimensional in that it includes vertical relationships (citizens engaging with the state) and horizontal relationships (citizens engaging with and among themselves). Active citizenship is related to rights, equalizing opportunities and enhancing human capabilities. Another aspect is that the state cannot merely act on behalf of the people – it has to act with the people, working together with other institutions to provide opportunities for the advancement of all communities. But for this to happen, citizens need to ‘hold government to account’ and ‘speak out when things go wrong’ (as a civic duty).
1.Ultimately superior to the purely top down approach where a government in power may even provide the most excellent services to a compliant, unquestioning public. Such compliance is a bad habit that leaves a people unfit to deal with exigencies that can be expected to arise
GOAL
To secure improved governance in Savda through women – based active citizenship.
OBJECTIVES
A Brief about our Harshingar Project area:
Savda- Ghevra, a slum resettlement colony lying on the outskirts of North-West Delhi has witnessed momentous efforts by women to battle injustice against them through legal means. Harshingar Women Active Cadres (HAWCs) is a team of women volunteers working to fight for the rights of women with the efficient use of law and active citizenship model.
MARG has been working in Savda Ghevra in collaboration with an organization called Flowering Tree Inc. towards the legal empowerment of women and transforming governance in India through engendered active citizenship for the past several years.
Every other day a woman is abandoned, tortured, or raped in this country And how she stands up for her to fight against the injustice matters a lot. The HAWCs project has helped these women overcome their worst fears by making them aware of their legal rights through the active citizenship model. Proving the fact that women are now in charge of their own lives.
HARSHINGAR PROJECT IN KARNAL, HARYANA
MARG is dedicatedly working in Karnal, Haryana since 2008 to ensure informed participation of Gram Sabha members, especially women through its project called as ‘Harshingar’.
It is doing so through empowerment of women which started initially in two villages (Daha and Shamgarh) of Karnal district of Haryana. One women group in each block is mobilized and informed about varied issues ranging from women’s rights and protection of women from violence, Panchayati laws, right to information, food rights and other entitlements, etc. in order to encourage them to participate and engage in the process.
At present, MARG is working with the partnership of Arpana Trust who have an outreach spread out in approximately 100 villages of three blocks (Indri, Karnal and Gharonda). Recently MARG conducted a Baseline survey wit the help of Kurukshetra University and Arpana Trust in 55 villages to assess the present situation of Gram Sabha’s.
