For the women of Brahmondiha village, Self Help Groups (SHGs) are much more than a mere instrument of saving and credit. They are a vehicle to reclaim their identity and dignity. A medium to transform “loose” characters to models for younger girls and women.
Deep in the undulated forested landscape of Bankura district in West Bengal is their village. They live not far from the so-called ‘developed mainstream’ yet miles away from empowerment and access to information. In the Brahmondiha panchayat, women are shaking the very roots of age-old beliefs, societal norms and discrimination.
Asima considers 2014 to be a watershed year for their village and their lives
PRADAN came to work with us and organised an exposure visit to some Adivasi villages in Jharkhand where women had come together into SHGs. They were born amidst poverty, like us yet there was a sense of determination and belief in them. They had collectivized and they were strong. The first thought that struck us was, if they can then why not us? We knew the time had come to start a new narrative.
That is how Anima, Archana and Asima and about 300 women like them, from marginalised Scheduled Caste communities, stepped out and started their own journey. They came back to Brahmondiha with conviction to start a movement exclusively for women like them. SHGs proliferated – each hamlet saw women sitting in groups and discussing pertinent issues, every week. Progress was slow but they were persistent.
Implementation of Government schemes was riddled with corruption. The women approached the officials in the panchayat and the district with concrete written plans. They collectively demanded work under MGNREGA for the very first time. They started engaging with Anganwadis too and as time elapsed, they began conversations with families where women suffered domestic violence.
The opportunity for them to test their mettle came with Integrated Participatory Planning Exercise II (IPPE II) under National Rural Livelihood Mission.
The government officials asked us to submit our village development plan in 30 days. Simultaneously, came the jibe– “these ‘women’ will never be able to make it”. But, that strengthened our conviction. We submitted the plan the following week! We slept little and ate little. We visited every farm and nook and corner of the villages, held meetings with all families. Villagers remarked that we were working like Goddess Durga with 10 hands!” exclaims Archana.
Work started as per the plan. SHG women, as a collective, were at the forefront. The Block Development Officer (BDO) was so impressed with their work that he arranged a separate room in the Panchayat office building for them to conduct their meetings and to keep their records.
The mobility of women has increased remarkably and instances of domestic violence have subsided. Tangible infrastructure work and change is easy to measure. Societal change not so much. Anima succinctly sums it up –
Twenty-two years back I came to this village after my marriage. Removing my veil and draping a sari with pleats was considered obscene. All my life I have been called “Dhanar Bou” (Dhananjay’s wife). When I finally discarded the veil and wore my sari differently, I was called a “loose woman”.
How these four years in SHGs have changed our lives! People call me Anima or Anima Di now, in this village and beyond. We have our own identities, and are not just somebody’s wife or daughter-in-law. My association with Brahmondiha Matongini Sangha has helped me change so many notions in my own head and among the villagers.The old lady next door (who used to taunt me as “loose” some years back) got her two sons married last year. As I went to meet the new brides, she told her new daughters-in-law to be like me- independent and fearless! My eyes were moist.
For the women of Brahmondiha village, Self Help Groups (SHGs) are much more than a mere instrument of saving and credit. They are a vehicle to reclaim their identity and dignity. A medium to transform “loose” characters to models for younger girls and women.
Organization: Professional Assistance for Development Action
Designation: Employment Facilitator
Number of Positions: 1
Locations: 1)Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
PRADAN aims at providing relevant employability skills to young women from its states of operation – Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh- and help them get linked to appropriate employment opportunities. A major destination of employment is in the four southern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi NCR Region in potential sectors such as manufacturing, automotive, e-commerce, garments, textiles, hospitality, healthcare and retail industry. PRADAN is looking for a person to liaison with employers and young women who are engaged so that they work in a dignified work environment, able to retain themselves and build a long-term career for themselves. The person would be reporting to Integrator, PRADAN.
Key Deliverables:
QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES:
Education
Applicants must have Degree/Post Graduate Degree/ Diploma preferably in Social Sciences, Rural Development/ Management or equivalent, from a reputed institute.
Experience
(1) Minimum 3 to 5 years of experience in rural / urban development / skilling / employability programmes.
(2) Experience of working with employment generation programs is preferable, and not mandatory.
Skills and Competencies:
(1) Good written and oral communication skills in English and functional communication in Hindi and Tamil is preferable
(2) Excellent interpersonal skills
(3) Excellent team skills
(4) Willing to travel
COMPENSATION OFFERED
Compensation offered to the selected candidate shall be commensurate with qualifications, experience, and past salary history.
LOCATION
The job requires the person to be on the go; can operate from Coimbatore but should be willing to visit the employment facilities on a regular basis.
Founded in 1983, PRADAN has been at the forefront of innovations in rural development and has played a significant role in the design and implementation improvement of major rural development programmes. Given the deep deprivation in rural pockets, particularly among tribal and vulnerable groups, we promote sustainable livelihoods, integrated with work on issues of Gender, WASH, Health, Nutrition, Climate Change, Skilling and Governance. We currently work across 8 states, reaching out to 2.8 million households in collaboration with more than 100 NGO partners. PRADAN is an equal opportunity organisation. To learn more, please visit us at: www.pradan.net.
As an Executive (Communications), the incumbent is supposed to be a knowledgeable, self-motivated and passionate individual with a creative bent of mind. The major focus area would be to promote and help flourish the practice of reflective writing and process documentation. The role involves content generation, curation, presentation and publication of articles for internal forums and external agencies including mainstream media. The person will also be responsible for organising training events for the same. Creating and implementing the media strategy to showcase PRADAN’s successes and challenges will be another key aspect of the position.
The qualifying degree is a minimum of 16 years of education (A Master’s degree in English literature, or any other social science stream).
A degree or diploma in Mass Communication from a reputed institute is preferred
Nature of Engagement: Regular position with a probation period of six months.
Remuneration: Based on qualification and experience the CTC would be in the range of INR 8 to 10 lakhs per annum. The CTC includes basic pay and other allowances. Apart from this, provision of deferred benefits such as PF, Gratuity, NPS, Insurance (Term life insurance, hospitalization insurance for self and dependents and accident insurance policy) are provided.
Place of posting: In PRADAN locations (possibly district town or state capital)
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Those shortlisted will be invited to a selection process in Noida, tentatively in the first week of September 2024.
PRADAN is an equal opportunity employer. Women candidates are encouraged to apply.
Interested candidates with the relevant background and fulfilling the eligibility criteria are visit our website https://www.pradan.net/join-us/#careers and fill the ‘Application for Executive (Communications)’.Applications close by August 31, 2024.