I’ve been here 5 weeks now and all the things that shocked me at first have become very normal. So normal in fact that I’m not really sure how we montréalais-es and Ottawa-ins live. Like how do traffic rules work in North America?... how can you have a road block without a cow or donkey? What are stop signs? What is the purpose of lanes and those lines on the pavement?
Also, I don’t think I’ll every be able to be punctual again (I know, I was never really punctual, but here, 2 minutes could mean 10 minutes, 2 hours, or tomorrow). Although I’m pretty sure I’ll catch my flight.
Having some independence will be aaaamazing. I go to the grocery and other shops alone; they are 250 to 500 meters away. But aside from that, I’m accompanied everywhere. Not speaking the language fluently, being an unmarried ‘girl’, and clearly looking like a foreigner makes traveling alone quite difficult. Everyone stares all the time; some with smiles, others looking like they just saw a ghost! I could just imagine if I had blond hair, blue eyes and really fair skin.
My interviews are about 80% done. It’s been taking quite a while to complete them. The transportation here is completely unpredictable,
and now the heavy rains of the monsoon routinely damage all dirt roads that go to the remote villages. De plus, the 2 translators that I work with also have (2) fulltime jobs (office and home). That has made it quite difficult to complete more than one interview per day. But it has given me the opportunity to stick around the office, learn more about what the organization does, help out, and give them some coaching on computer use (Microsoft suite, internet). Lunch time has been declared as ‘English time’, when the women speak whatever English they know. I try my best to encourage them to practice speaking what they know.
The interviews have been very inspiring and revealing. While I already had a rough idea of how the organization promotes social change, it has been a wonderful experience to really go in depth and see how this is happening. Women that have come from such difficult backgrounds have somehow managed to turn their lives around and ensure a bright future for themselves and their families. Most of the women that I interviewed from rural areas were married off at 14 to 16 (one at 11), and many are illiterate. They managed to take their lives into their hands, and through group support and activities, women have managed to get out of their homes, travel outside their villages, provide mutual support to each other, change mindsets on educating girls and marrying girls after 18, refusing dowry, discouraging sex-selective abortion, etc.. 19 out of 20 of these women I spoke to said that they would not (or did not) marry their daughter before 18, and before she would finish 12th standard in school.
While my study is more about the mechanisms of change than measuring the actual impact, the stories about change are truly remarkable. With some of the stories, I just thought of how unfathomably difficult these women’s lives have been. It just makes me feel that any kind of difficulty I’ve had in my life is incredibly meaningless by comparison. It is also very inspiring for my organizing work in Canada with social justice/feminist groups.
One woman was married at 14, and only attained 5th standard education. Her family lived in a tent-like shelter for many years. She worked the fields for 12 hours per day. Her 3 children were born in her home, unattended, no drugs, no doctors. She worked until the day of her deliveries and 2 days after she delivered.
Through her participation in savings groups, she got to know about land and property rights which allowed her to officially ensure that the deed of the land that her home is on has her family’s name on it. But it’s not only about knowing property rights, it’s also about knowing how to deal with usually corrupt government officials, demanding bribes and having to fill out lengthy application forms.
Through her savings accumulation and small loans, she managed to build a small brick hut with her family (replacing their tent), and get an electricity connection to her home (something her father-in-law could not manage to do due to the long and complicated process). Her 3 children are in school and she makes sure they always do their homework. She learns literacy from them also. She has gotten a job with MBUP as a general office assistant, instead of working 12 hrs per day in the field. She has now learned how to make deposits, count large amounts of money and deal with bank officials. She has a great smile and spirit.
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I have 2.5 weeks left in the rural area, and then I head off to Puné (city 200 km east of Mumbai) for 5-6 days. ….And then back home!
