Cartographies of Empowerment

The Mahila Samakhya Story

Vimala Ramachandran, Kameshwari Jandhyala, Vimala Ramachandran, Kameshwari Jandhyala

• Publisher: Zubaan Books
• Year: 2012
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9789383074167
• Subtopic: Gender Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Mahila Samakhya is as much a story of a government programme for women's education and empowerment, as it is of the celebration of the struggles of poor women for their rights. Spread across eight states and more than 150 districts in India, the programme grew out of a unique partnership between the women's movement and the government. In this collection of essays, scholars from different parts of the country chart Mahila Samakhya's fascinating journey of setting up poor women's collectives, and women's agency in establishing an equal space and voice in the public domain – a radical departure from the more common approaches of organising women around economic concerns. The writers explore broad gender issues grounded within the field experience of Mahila Samakhya providing insights into its workings at different levels, its conceptual challenges, strategic choices, the opportunities and pitfalls of partnership with government and, above all, the willingness of poor women to come together voluntarily to address and overcome gender barriers.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Dedication
• Introduction
• The Making of Mahila Samakhya 1987-1992
• Scenes from an Expanding Universe: Personal Journeys
• From Sanghas to Federations: Empowering Processes and Institutions
• Songs of Change in a Minor Key?
• Between Questions and Clarity: Education in Mahila Samakhya
• Addressing Girls’ Education
• Mapping the Multiple Worlds of Women’s Literacy: Experiences from Mahila Samakhya
• Responding to Violence and Exploring Justice through Women-centered Mechanisms
• Engendering Mainstream Institutions: The Mahila Samakhya Experience with Panchayats
• Mahila Samakhya Approaches to Women’s Health
• Embedding Economic Empowerment within an Education Process: The Mahila Samakhya Experience
• Revisiting an Idea called ‘sEmpowerment’s: A Reconnaissance of the Mahila Samakhya Experience
• Ambiguities and Silences
• References
• Glossary
• Notes on Contributors