Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Pacifica Faculty Ecological and Community Fieldwork Research-Winter, 2005
Pacifica Faculty Ecological and Community Fieldwork Research
Bihar India Feb 27- to March 14, 2005
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As research advisor to Rikshaw Films, I will return to India again this winter quarter to conduct Phase II of my research on the psychology of women’s empowerment among the Dalits (Untouchables) of Bihar while other members of our team will film a similar liberation movement among post-Taliban women in Afghanistan. For more information on our project or to view a rough 8-minute trailer about our documentary film AWAKENING please read the web log posting below and visit www.rikshaw.net. For information about the research attitude we attempt to bring to the work please visit the
Pacific Graduate Institute Ecological and Community Research web site by clicking on the URL above this posting.
# 1/19/05; 3:37:43 PM
AWAKENING-Rikshaw Returns to India
FORUM FOR WOMEN’S AWAKENING
(NARI JAGRAN MANCH)
Nari Jagran Manch is an autonomous Women’s Organisation based in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India.
The Vision:
Fostering the spirit of community on the values of gender-justice, human dignity and interconnectedness.
Its thrust for micro-credit among dalit women envisions a sustainable way of life for poor rural communities struggling to survive in a market economy.
Background:
Significant proportions of the population in Gaya District, Bihar, belong to the dalit castes. Also known as harijans or untouchables, they literally live on the margins of society.
Bodh Gaya’s development as an International Tourist Centre has pushed the dalits further down the poverty line. Illiteracy, impoverishment and dehumanising conditions of life are crippling factors for the dalit population in the context of an aggressive market.
Dalit women and girl children are the most vulnerable groups, subject to different forms of exploitation.
At present, Nari Jagran Manch with its pro-poor commitment, reaches out to 1200 dalit women members organized in 100 groups in 35 villages.
Area of Work
Rural areas and slums around Bodh Gaya and in the neighboring Manpur and Chandauti Blocks of Gaya District.
Aims of the Organisation:
- Mobilising dalit women to build group solidarity and claim their space on social platforms.
- Enabling its women members to active catalysts in shaping de-centralised grass-roots communities.
- Facilitating economic empowerment through micro-finance and promoting sustainable livelihoods for women from the poorest strata.
- Advocacy for women’s rights and gender-sensitization for a social order based on justice and mutuality.
Activities and Programs
These have evolved over the years in response to changing needs.
At present Nari Jadran Manch
* Organises and trains community workers and 100 women’s groups for collective action at the grass-roots (demands for just wages and poverty reduction government schemes, health and education programs, de-centralised local self-rule)
* Facilitates economic self-reliance through micro-enterprise credit programs that can turn micro loans into productive assets.
* Intervenes in cases of atrocities against women
* Arranges for water pumps for clean drinking water in remote villages
* Promotes organic farming and bio-intensive cultivation of small plots
* Supports the education of dalit girls in 20 non-formal village centres
* Organises / joins rallies, demonstrations and campaigns for women’s rights and related issues
* Collaborates – with a women’s perspective – in local NGO Forums and People’s Movements.
* Networks with regional, national and international women’s movements
Volunteers
Are welcome to visit our programs and support the process of women’s empowerment in the best of their ability
Sources of Support
- A modest annual budget to support the community workers and for some training programs
- Contributions are always welcome. Our present priority is to strengthen the women’s micro-banking enterprise through a resource fund.
Contact Address in Bodh Gaya
Nari Jagran Manch
(Behind Shanti Buddha Guest House)
Japan Temple Road
Bodh Gaya – Bihar
824231 – INDIA
Phone: 0631 –2201159
Cell Phone 9431223195
Email: maryclobo@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.dalitwomenpower.org/
# 1/19/05; 3:35:03 PM
