Weaving better alternatives for women displaced by climate change

By Teresa Rehman

KOKRAJHAR, India (AlertNet) - Swdwmsri Narzary, 19, a nimble weaver, rests her fingers on her loom and gets a faraway look when asked to recall her last few years of struggle dealing with the pressures of climate change.

Orphaned at an early age, Swdwmsri lived with her elder brother and his family in Bijni, a rural village in Assam province's Chirang district. But increasingly unpredictable weather conditions - drought one year, incessant and untimely rains the next - made life gradually harder as the family's crops repeatedly failed. With the family on the verge of starvation, Swdwmsri had to drop out of school. Her brother decided not to waste money sowing new crops and instead used his remaining cash to migrate to a nearby city, Guwahati, in search of a job.

Swdwmsri realized she had to find her own means of livelihood. But she had few options. It was then she met a lady from her village who promised her a good job in Guwahati.

THE PERILS OF URBAN WORK

Both nervous and excited, she took up work as a poorly paid maid in several households. She also worked as a baby-sitter in one home - until she was molested by the landlord and forced to flee to a friend's home. Even the busy city traffic made her anxious, and once she was nearly run down by a speeding bus. Dismayed by what she saw as a harsh life in the city, Swdwmsri longed to go back to her native village and her favourite activity - weaving the traditional patterns and motifs of her tribe, the Bodos. But like many women displaced by climate change, she found she had few resources or options to improve her situation.

Then one day, as she was waiting to catch a bus, she met an old acquaintance. Bimala, another migrant from Bijni, said she had been able to return home and find work with the Roje Eshansholi (Beloved Weaving) Cooperative Society, a weavers' collective based in Kokrajhar. The cooperative, set up by schoolteacher Malati Rani Narzary, seeks to create alternative work and dignity at home for impoverished Bodo tribal women vulnerable to climate change-related displacement, ethnic conflict, and human trafficking. "I realized that Bodo women ... were some of the finest weavers in the region," Narzary said. "I decided to hone their weaving skills to suit the demands of the national as well as the international market." After initial training, weavers and spinners in the program are separated into self-help groups that work in their native villages.

SPINNING A NEW LIFE IN MUGA SILK

From a modest beginning of only five members and four looms in 1996, the society now has over 1,000 women beneficiaries in Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Chirang district, some in very remote areas. More than 500 spinners and 50 weavers work in muga silk, the traditional golden silk of Assam. Young girls like Swdwmsri and Bimala are allowed to stay at a women's residence at the project's headquarters, where they feel at home and secure. "We send part of our earnings to our families. But we would rather stay here and do what we enjoy most - weaving," Bimala said.

Fashion designers now visit the weavers to help them create new products that will sell well. Swdwmsri remembers how a lady from the National Institute of Design in the Indian city of Ahmedabad came to relate that their traditional handloom material has been turned into scarves, cushion covers, curtains, table mats and other goods. "I have never used a table mat in my life. But I am happy that my handmade products adorn the homes of the rich and the famous and even plush hotels in big cities," Bimala said.

Narzary's aim of giving Bodo weavers a larger platform for their efforts has taken shape in the form of the Bodoland Regional Apex Weavers and Cooperative Federation, an umbrella organization for all the weavers in the area. The organization has helped weavers showcase their products in trade and textile fairs and fashion shows.

"I feel proud that apart from preserving our age-old weaving tradition, we are also able to hold back our young and vulnerable girls from working as domestic help in big cities. Moreover, they cannot be lured by the unscrupulous middleman and end up in brothels," said Narzary, who is chairperson of the federation.

Teresa Rehman is a journalist based in Northeast India. She can be reached at www.teresarehman.net

Reuters AlertNet is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Weaving dreams of prosperity

Teresa Rehman catches up with enterprising women in Guwahati who are making a livelihood by creatively designing Assam's traditional fabrics into trendy outfits

Picture this: Sipping tea with homemade pithas in a cosy living room and choosing from a lavish spread of mekhela chadors and salwar kameezes. Getting tips from the homely designer and casual haggling are part of the package.

All this is becoming a part of life now. Almost every locality in Guwahati boasts of a “neighbourhood designer”. These designers, mostly housewives operating from home, set up their own looms with a few weavers, sewing machines and dyeing units. Most importantly, their skill is publicised by word of mouth, especially at weddings and other functions.

Attending a workshop with some Japanese tourists in 1993 was an eye-opener for one of these new designers, Anita Chetia. “The tourists criticised the Assamese people for not being able to harness the golden thread of Assam -- the famous muga silk,” says Chetia.

“I always took care to dress up tastefully and used to design my own clothes,” she says. Eyes gleaming with pride, she adds, “Once a lady called me at a wedding. I walked towards her but could not recognise her. The lady then said that she had, in fact, identified my clothes and not me.”

This inspired Chetia and she started off with two looms and an initial investment of Rs 10,000. “I took a risk but I told myself that even if my clothes did not sell, I could at least wear them myself. But it was a sellout and my salwar kameezes made out of mekhala chador material have been equally popular.”

With 17 employees, Chetia is today a successful entrepreneur. She participates in the trade fairs regularly. She is also the vice-president of North East Women Entrepreneurs Association. “I feel proud that I am economically independent now,” she says.

Like her, Anjali Das of Ganesh Nagar area of Basistha specialises in embroidery work and had been doing it since 1978. “I do embroidery on mekhala chadors, sofa set covers, table clothes, sarees and salwar kameezes. I feel very happy that I have my own source of income,” says Das.
For Anjana Goswami, the illuminating moment was when she discovered an old chador of her mother-in-law some 17 years back. “I was inspired to weave similar designs. With a loan of Rs 2,000 from my husband, I got eight such clothes made out of akhi thread,” she says. But they were sold out and she got more orders.

Gradually, Goswami expanded her business and now has four looms at home. She also makes gamochas, cotton mekhala chadors and dupattas with different designs. “I am also undergoing training on vegetable dyes at the weavers centre. I intend to experiment with vegetable dyes which also has health benefits,” she says.

Goswami is justifiably proud of her achievements and says, “I could repay the loan I had taken from my husband. I also file my own income tax returns and have got my looms insured. My designs have been bought by Assamese non-resident Indians too.”

Though not a graduate from any reputed fashion schools, these neighbourhood designers are giving some of the well-known fashion designers a run for their money. “I am making wall paintings of these old designs and hope to show them to some of the leading designers of the country,” says Goswami.

Fashion designer Meghna Rai Medhi welcomes this trend. “People are learning about fashion and they should be encouraged. Going to a fashion school is important but it is not imperative if one has talent and skill. Though many of them are not aware of the technicalities, their final product turns out to be quite uncommon and appealing. I don't see this trend as a threat to us designers. in fact, we can join hands and work together,” adds Medhi.

Noted danseuse Garima Hazarika has a passion for collecting traditional tribal designs. “We have seven looms at Mitali Sangha, our organisation. I take care of the designs and colours here and we make Assamese cushion covers, table mats, dupattas and salwar kameezes. I also improvise designs for jewellery,” Hazarika says.

The wedding season is the peak time for these neighbourhood designers. Tultul Bora is “booked” from June to December, designing wedding trousseaus. “I have even bought old and torn chadors and mekhalas for their design. People prefer to come to us as we can match various hues with different designs at a reasonable price,” says Bora.

Chetia adds, “I have designed wedding trousseaus for the entire family at times. I have also designed exotic kurtas for the groom.” Most of these neighbourhood designers admit they did not have the slightest inkling about being so successful. “I never thought that I would be able to start my own business. Initially I used to do embroidery on kanjivaram cloth and gradually shifted to paat. I took a loan of Rs 3 lakh from the State Bank of India,” says Bora.

Minoti Barbara, who operates with her three sewing machines from her residence on Zoo-Narengi road, says, “I started off by designing casualwear, specially designer baby frocks. College girls throng my place and I suggest designs and colours according to their constitution.”
Leena Mahanta started off with two looms and an investment of Rs 10,000 in a bid to help the Bodo women in her neighbourhood in Birubari. “I try to create of fusion of contemporary designs with e traditional assamese designs. People from all over Assam and even designers come to me to collect the textiles,” says Mahanta.

Affordability is one of the main factors why people throng these neighbourhood designers. “If my customers have a limited budget, I also allow them to pay in instalments,” says Mahanta.
Most of these women feel proud that they are making good use of their time. “Instead of whiling away time in idle banter, I feel happy to contribute to the family income and take care of my household at the same time,” sums up Anjali Das.
ends

Prayers answered: women enter Vaishnavite monastery

Ban on entry of women into places of worship comes out of deep-seated religious and cultural prejudices. However, a recent development in Western Assam's Barpeta district offers a ray of hope to those in search of justice, reports Teresa Rehman

20 May 2010 - Barpeta, Assam (WFS): From time-to-time, women have tried to breach the long-imposed ban on entry into the 'kirtanghar', or the sanctum sanctorum, of Patbausi satra and its neighbouring satras in Western Assam's Barpeta district. Among them were former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and literary stalwarts such as Amrita Pritam, Nabaneeta Deb Sen, and Mamoni Raisom Goswami. The reason for the denial was to preserve the 'purity' of the satra (a Vaisnavite monastery) which had been out of bounds for women for centuries because traditionally, menstruating women were considered 'unclean'.

But Assam Governor J B Patnaik, who visited Barpeta recently, decided to break the rule and set an example for posterity. The governor was visiting the Patbausi, Sundaridiya, and Barpeta satras in the district. Surprised by the exclusion of women in the satra, he courteously reasoned with the authorities of the Patbausi satra, located some three kilometres away from the Barpeta satra. He then took with him a group of 20 women who were waiting outside to receive him.
These satras or monasteries were founded by 16th century saint Srimanta Sankardeva who propagated Vaishnavism, a sect of Hinduism. But the saint had never discriminated against his women devotees. While the satras located in other parts of Assam allow entry to women, the ones in Barpeta continued to follow this ancient custom. The satra was set up by Srimanta Sankardeva at Patbausi where he had spent 18 years of his life. It was here that he completed the 'Kirtan Ghosa' (religious text). Some of the articles used by the gurus and the 'Sachipat Puthis' (ancient manuscripts) have been well preserved here.

Mixed public response
This historic intervention by Governor Patnaik, who also happens to be a Sanskrit scholar, created quite a stir. The public response was mixed. Many were outraged and upset, while a few were relieved that finally a path had been paved for women to enter the satra. There was also an unexpected triumph. A few days later, the management committee of Sri Sri Sankardev Than, Patbausi satra, formally opened its doors to women. And this raised hopes of a similar decision by the authorities of the nearby Barpeta satra.

Surprisingly, the move has been welcomed by the satradhikars, or heads of the other satras. Sri Kosha Kanta Dev Goswami, the head of Sri Sri Chamaguri satra in Majuli, the largest river island in the world, was positive about the decision. "The Barpeta satra should soon follow this. Both men and women have equal rights to a place of worship. Earlier, even the Kamalabari satra in Majuli was restricted to just male devotees but they too opened their doors for women," he says.
Many, however, are of the opinion that the sanctity of the satra and religious conventions need to be maintained. They feel that doing something just for the sake of change doesn't make sense. "I would never want to hurt anybody's religious sentiments. If I am not wanted in that place, I will not go there," says Runima Mahanta, 34, a Barpeta-based housewife.

Others adopt a moderate stand although they may feel humiliated that their husbands are allowed entry while they have been denied the same. Argues Manavee Bordoloi, a lecturer at MC College in Barpeta, "Although Srimanta Sankardev never discriminated against women, I feel modification can be brought about only through mutual discussions and not through any kind of revolution." “The women living in the localities surrounding the satras harbour a lot of superstitions and blind beliefs, which they would be better off discarding."

Sahitya Akademi awardee Nirupama Borgohain dismisses the argument that all religious sentiments must be condoned. According to her, if a sentiment is based on a wrong idea, she cannot respect it. She agreed that the move to breach the 'kirtan ghar' by the governor and the women accompanying him was a "bold step". However, she fears that it may just be an isolated incident unless of course there are concerted efforts by women themselves to demand their rights to enter it. According to Borgohain, this is unlikely to happen. “The women living in the localities surrounding the satras harbour a lot of superstitions and blind beliefs, which they would be better off discarding."

‘Breach’ attempts
In fact, many groups who have tried to breach this rule earlier. A group of women led by Padmashree Sheela Barthakur of the Sadou Asom Lekhika Samaroh Samiti, a women's literary body, had in 1988 gone to the satra authorities with a petition to allow women to enter the premises. They were appalled, however, by the fact that a group of women had tried to physically assault them on that occasion.

Guwahati-based social activist Anima Guha, who too was denied entry, is forthright. "It's a matter of shame for us that we had to wait until the 21st century for this to happen. When we had tried to reason with the satra head some time ago, he told us that it is the local women who oppose the entry of women because women tend to be more conservative," she recalls.

Signs of change
Women's entry to religious places has time and again been the focus of controversies. In 2006, a group of women lawyers had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Kerala Government to lift the age-old ban on women devotees entering the Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala. Right from 10 years till 50, women are not allowed entry into the temple as Lord Ayyappa is believed to have taken a vow of celibacy. In 2007, in a radical breakthrough from the centuries-old dress code of Kerala's Guruvayur temple, the shrine's management decided to allow women wearing salwar or churidar-kameez to enter the temple.

Northeast India came into focus in 1988 when the Idgah Masjid, a mosque in the Laban locality of Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, set a precedent by opening its doors for women. Sayeedullah Nongrum, the general secretary of the Shillong Muslim Union which runs the mosque, said, "Islam is very liberal. Even during Haj, women pray with men; only a partition divides them. If we can send our women to the market, why can't we allow them to enter the mosque?"

It may have taken centuries; but finally, it seems the 'women not allowed' signboards at ancient places of worship are slowly coming down. (Women's Feature Service) ⊕
20 May 2010

Giving her all for the green cause
It was Karachi-based journalist Shabina Faraz's passion for environment that helped bring climate issues to the mass-circulating Urdu press.

By Teresa Rehman

A cynical editor from a leading Urdu newspaper in Pakistan once told her, “Who would read drab and lacklustre stories on environmental issues? You have exceptional writing skills. You should concentrate on political writing.”

This observation, fortunately, did not deter Karachi-based journalist Shabina Faraz from pursuing her passion for the environment. Today, she is credited with having introduced environmental issues in the mass-circulating Urdu press in Pakistan. Through sheer persistence, Shabina managed to push her climate stories into the Urdu media, past unyielding editors, and eventually won the hearts of many readers.

So much so, that the same editor who had advised her to concentrate on politics earlier, proposed to start a regular page on environmental issues, although he still remained sceptical: “Are you sure you will find enough issues to write regularly on the environment?” he had questioned. His scepticism was well-founded though; the Urdu press normally did not have much to say about environmental issues.

But for Shabina there was no looking back. She recalls how her writing actually influenced government policy. For instance, in 1999, the authorities gave a petroleum company permission to undertake exploration activity in the Kirthar National Park, located in the Kirthar mountain ranges of Sindh. Spread over an area of 3,08,733 hectares, it was Pakistan's first National Park to be included in the 1975 United Nation's list of National Parks around the world.

Protesting against the exploration activity was not easy. Although civil society groups and NGO activists had taken a stand against the government's decision, the media was indifferent to it. There was only one television channel, PTV, at that time and it was government-run. “The private channels came much later — in 2002. In such a situation, the role of print journalists assumed importance,” she recalls.

Lone campaigner
Slowly English newspapers started focusing on the issue. Shabina was the lone campaigner in the Urdu media, which reaches out to hundreds of thousands of ordinary readers. As an editor of the Urdu environmental weekly Jareeda, supported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), she wrote detailed and compelling reports explaining in layman's language what exactly a national park is, its importance and the legal aspects. After a two-year crusade, the government was forced into withdrawing its decision.

For the journalist this was a personal victory. She now found it easier to write on other environment-related issues. Support from her readers grew, followed by general public attention.

She won many accolades and awards; it was a proud moment for her when she received the Green Journalist Award 2009 from Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. The award was in recognition of her work on climate change and women in Pakistan.

Shabina had indeed come a long way. Born in 1965 into a family with a strong literary background, she majored in Urdu literature. As a child, she had read the works of Mirza Ghalib, Meer Taqi Meer, Meer Dard, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Muneer Niazi and Nasir Kazmi. “It was difficult to grasp many things then. But I was eager to learn,” she says. Of course, there was one other thing that was close to her heart: the environment.

Equipped with a Masters Degree in Urdu Literature from the University of Karachi, she did not take the conventional path to academics but instead started working as an Assistant Editor with the Jasoosi Digest Publications, the largest group of entertainment magazines in Pakistan. She wrote many short stories and translated classical stories from English to Urdu during this phase. Three television dramas and two documentaries in Urdu followed. While doing this, she also managed to introduce environmental issues in stories for the first time.

The turning point
The turning point came when she was invited by the IUCN for a five-day workshop on Forest and Wildlife at Faisalabad. It opened a whole new world of possibilities. She started writing on environmental issues for the Jang group of Publications, the largest media group in Pakistan. “Here, 95 per cent of readers read Urdu newspapers, with 85 per cent reading the Jang. I felt like I was doing something worthwhile,” she says.

In 1995, Karachi witnessed unusually heavy rains. The old port city has two rivers, the Malir and the Liari, running through it, besides many rain-fed drains. However, the land mafia and influential citizens had encroached on the drains and, as a result, after the heavy showers, the entire city was flooded.

“We pointed out the illegal encroachments and published the original maps of the city. After a month, the authorities took action and demolished many high-rise buildings. I am happy that as a journalist I could manage to mould public opinion on the issue,” she says.

But the government's efforts on environment are only cosmetic, she says. “It declared 2009 as the National Year of Environment, but organised only two conferences,” she rues, adding, “Pakistan's electronic media revolves around politics and politicians and stories of corruption. If they telecast any environment-related news they fail to cross-check facts and tend to look at every environmental issue through the lens of corruption and politics,” she says.

Getting people together
Shabina has created and supported the Forum of Environmental Journalists of Pakistan with the help of IUCN. Today, grassroots organisations seek her advice; television channels HUM and AAJ TV invite her for talk shows on the environment; and even the regional language press like the Sindhi media often reprint translated versions of her articles. She also works with BBC Urdu and has written a book on environmental issues in Sindhi for children. Soon it will be a part of school curriculum.

She is now delving deep into the lost water resources of Pakistan, like the legendary Saraswati river, which disappeared because of geographical and climate changes. “We have already lost three civilisations — the Indus, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa — to climate change and water scarcity,” she says.

Women's Feature Service

Bringing back millet to cope with climate change, empower women

By Teresa Rehman

CHIZAMI, India (AlertNet) - Seno Tsuhah, a primary school teacher in this picturesque village near the Myanmar border, wants to help local women cope with changing climate conditions in Nagaland by promoting an old practice: the cultivation of traditional varieties of millet.

Sowing seeds is mostly the domain of women in the area, explains Tsuhah, the moving spirit of a local resource centre of the North East Network, an NGO that works on women's empowerment and human rights. In each home, a woman "usually keeps the seeds and the different crop selection is mainly done by her. We are trying to sensitise women farmers to promote crop diversity and revive the traditional indigenous seeds which are suitable for the local soil," she says.

Millet, an upland crop, has long been cultivated in the hills of northeast India, and millet-based 'apong,' a country liquor, is a common brew. But the traditional grain is seen primarily as food for the poor and for animals, and millet cultivation is diminishing, along with the traditional 'jhum' system of integrating multiple crops in a field.

"The earlier jhum systems were very complex, but nowadays it has been extremely simplified and the focus has shifted to mono-cropping," said Subbiah Arunachalam, of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in Meghalaya state.

Increasingly unusual weather, including more erratic rainfall and prolonged dry spells, however, are driving Tsuhah and others to try to revive the crop, which can grow in harsh conditions and needs little in the way of fertilizer or other inputs.

Her centre is in the process of setting up a seed bank of traditional millet varieties and has so far collected about 15. It is also collecting traditional millet recipes and organizing food festivals and exhibitions to pass on the information. "We are trying to ensure that the seeds are preserved and accorded due importance. If some seeds are lost, there is always a scope of sharing the seeds," she said.

Climate change is leading to increasingly temperatures in places like northeast India, and wheat harvests are expected to suffer as a result. Cultivation of rice, another staple, releases too much methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from paddies, environmentalists say.

MILLET SEEN AS A RESILIENT CHOICE

Millet is seen as a more resilient choice, not least because it requires much less water than rice or wheat. Millet, cultivated in traditional mixed 'jhum' fields, is usually sown on rocky sloping ground with minimal soil. Planted in April, it is harvested in July, and a millet feast usually follows in August. "Jhum is the indigenous way of maintaining the ecology and rejuvenating life. It is difficult to understand why millet is called a poor man's food," Tsuhah said.

Millet, while a traditional food and widely used for brewing, is today largely used as animal fodder. But it has also won a spot on the shelves of health food shops frequented by India's elite.
The Millet Network of India, in a nationwide campaign, is now promoting the grain as a climate change-compliant crop and a traditional Indian choice.

Srinivas Vatturi, of the millet network, emphasizes that multi-cropping of grains like millet are part of women-led traditional farming, while mono-cropping is largely controlled by men. Men may control money produced by selling mono-crops, he said, but women control food produced at home for the house. Millet also improves not only food security but health, ecological, livelihood and fodder security, he said.

OUTSIDE INDIA'S DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
One problem in expanding the cultivation of millet is that it is not included in India's national distribution system for subsidized grain, said P.V. Satheesh of the Deccan Development Society, an Indian NGO that promotes development among India's poorest.

That exclusion - which has resulted in more Indians eating distributed grains like rice and wheat - has hurt millet production in the country and curbed the diversity of Indian diets, he said. Many young people are no longer aware of traditional crop varieties.

With hunger still widespread in India and a state focus on distributing rice and wheat doing little to curb that, growing nutritionally rich millet at a household level could improve diets, he said. It could be a particularly good choice in remote hilly areas where people are now dependent on food transported all the way from the neighbouring plain areas.

"The farming landscape of the country needs to be redesigned and new food policies shaped, as crops of larger powerful states like Punjab and Haryana are designing the food policies of our country now. Most millet growers are from poorer areas and communities," Satheesh said.

Ketaki Bardalai, executive director of the Foundation for Social Transformation, a northeast Indian NGO, said promoting traditional cultivation systems, mapping millet cultivation pockets and discovering the reasons for its decline are all key, particularly in Northeast India, one of the country's most economically backward and conflict-troubled zones. "Sadly, the growing and consuming of millet is slowly fading. The treasure trove of traditional systems disappearing is also very high," she said.

Teresa Rehman is a journalist based in Northeast India. She can be reached at www.teresarehman.net
Reuters AlertNet is not responsible for the content of external websites.

An author & a trailblazer personality

Teresa Rehman profiles a versatile woman who is intent on making history with her cultural revolution

It is truly awe-inspiring — the manner in which Sheela Barthakur has nurtured and is realising her dream. Founder of the Sadou Asom Lekhika Samaroh Samiti, a close-knit women’s literary organisation, in 1974, the visionary is on a mission to make the women at the grassroots level discover the might of the pen.

“I still have the same verve, the same energy and the same childlike enthusiasm that I had when I initiated the organisation three decades ago,” she says softly. There is, however, no mistaking the intensity and single-mindedness of purpose in that tone.

On what has been an exceptionally long journey, she has spearheaded a “silent cultural revolution” among women. When she had initiated the samiti several years ago, few people understood what she was up to. She recalls an incident in early Seventies, when she had requested the Asam Sahitya Sabha, which was organising a yuva sanmilan, for a few hours’ slot for women. Her plea was turned down.

The movement, which had started with just two members, now has more than 60,000 members in over 208 branches of the organisation all over Assam. It also has branches in Calcutta, Shillong, Delhi and Dimapur.

But is all this work guided by one central philosophy? Yes, she asserts. She refuses to confine herself only to the women writers who have already carved a niche for themselves. “I want a woman even in a remote village to express herself, be it through a poem, a letter, a story or a small speech at a public gathering. I want the woman to discover herself,” says Barthakur.
Her petite looks can be deceptive. As she tucks in the pallu of her mekhela chador and swiftly moves in and out of the pandal, Barthakur issues directions to her fellow members who are aiding her organise the 20th biennial meet of the organisation. The programme was held at Chabua in Tinsukia district recently.

The trailblazer that she is, she has motivated the women in the different branches to initiate their own publications from local financial support. The various units of the samiti work in a democratic manner, which is a unique phenomenon in the country.

It is a labour of love for the women writers. “We treat each other like sisters and we have a sense of mutual obligation. These women come out and participate willingly and take pleasure in their work. They are happy that they have found a platform to express themselves,” says Barthakur.

Born in Charingia village in Jorhat in 1935, she spent a few years of her childhood at Dhaka (now in Bangladesh). Her father, Nabin Sharma, was sent there as an inspector of the tea expansion board in order to popularise the brew. “I have beautiful memories of Dhaka and I still get nostalgic when I think of that place. I remember singing Assamese songs at the convocation of Dhaka University. I used to dance to Nazrulgeeti and Rabindrasangeet,” she recalls.

She owes a lot to her mother Pritilata Devi who was a liberal and broadminded woman. “She was educated at Brahmo Girls School in Calcutta and was, therefore, open to new ideas,” she says.
As a spirited young girl, Sheela loved to sing, dance and play. Despite opposition from family members, she acted in Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwalla’s famous play Sonit Konwari, when she was a student of J.B. College.

She had also qualified at an audition held by All India Radio at Jorhat Sangeet Vidyalaya. “I had to come to Guwahati for the recording and my family members disapproved of it. I protested and came for the audition,” she says.

The turning point in her life was her meeting with her soulmate, Saranan Barthakur. Her husband, who was a very good dancer himself, was a disciple of Kalaguru Bishnu Rabha.
She shares a wonderful synergy with her husband. “He helps me with all the household chores and is my source of support and inspiration,” she says. She smiles, “My son, too, is ever ready to accompany me to the various seminars and conventions of the samiti with his car and camera.”
After marriage, she came to Tezpur and joined Tezpur High School. A visharad in sitar under Ustad Illias Khan from Bhatkande Sangeet Vidyalaya, Lucknow in 1961, she had also taken lessons in Rabindrasangeet at Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan. “I even had my own cultural troupe here and we used to perform dance dramas, ” she recalls.

With her never-say-die spirit, she went on to complete her masters after marriage. In 1991-92, she completed her PhD on Social Change in Assam since Independence with special reference to Sonitpur district. She retired as a lecturer of philosophy from Darrang College in Tezpur.
She was also the founder principal of Gopinath Bordoloi Kanya Mahavidyalaya, the first girls’ college in Tezpur in 1979. She had also conducted several adult education programmes in five villages near Tezpur in 1975.

Since its inception, the samiti now has a long list of accomplishments to its credit and it has become a powerful forum upholding the age-old creative instinct in women. “A writer cannot be created but an atmosphere for intellectual development can be,” she says.

A common meeting ground for its members has been its 19 state-level conferences held so far. In each of these sessions, they try to deal with the socio-economic problems of the women of the area.

Barthakur recalls an unpleasant incident during their session at Barpeta in 1988. “We had gone to the satradhikar of Barpeta satra with a petition to allow women to enter the main temple premises which had been banned since ages. But, the temple authorities had incited a group of women to physically assault us,” she says.

Lekhika, the mouthpiece of the samiti, has helped create many new women writers. Barthakur herself has edited 15 editions of the Lekhika, and has carried and biographies of several women writers who have almost sunk into oblivion. She has also written several short stories and essays.

She has edited the complete works of three eminent women writers — Nalini Bala Devi, Dharmeswari Devi Baruani and Sneha Devi. “It was a difficult enterprise because people till the 19th and even in the 20th century did not think it worthwhile to preserve the works of women writers,” says Borthakur.

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has promised to pay the samiti Rs 5 lakh, which she wants to utilise in instituting an award in the name of the first female filmstar of Assam, Aideo Handique. “Till date, the people of Assam have not accorded her due recognition. Through our samiti, we want to honour the great lady,” says Barthakur.

Taking joy and pride in her work, she is pondering on the idea of encouraging women writing in other regional languages. “This is just the beginning. With the pen as our weapon, we want to reach out to the international fora,” she says. Going by her words, we are sure to hear more of her in the future.
ends

Business is not a man’s domain: Selima

This article appeared in The Telegraph

Business is not a man’s domain: Selima
Passing Through / Selima Ahmad

The lady means business. Elegant, poised and confident, Selima Ahmad, founder of Bangladesh Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a non-profit organisation set up to bring about women’s economic development and empowerment, is a trendsetter. Draped in a crisp kantha saree, Ahmad says in her typical no-nonsense fashion, “We are here to do business. We are open to any kind of new ideas and business proposals.”

On her first visit to the city to take part in the 11th edition of the Guwahati International Trade Fair, Ahmad is optimistic. She says, “We will talk only of positive things and explore ways in which we can strengthen business relations with the region. We should work on the basis of comparative advantage rather than competitive advantage.” She adds, “With growing globalisation, the West is coming to the East. We are on a mission to strengthen ties with our neighbours.”

Ahmad got into the business of manufacturing artificial silk flowers at the age of 18. She completed her masters in business management from Dhaka University. “In Bangladesh, women are very active. Our government policies are very women-friendly. The work done by the Bangladesh Gramin Bank to strengthen the role of women in the micro-credit sector is particularly commendable,” she says.

The sight of the mighty Brahmaputra makes her feel that things could take a revolutionary turn for both countries if river transport was opened up. “Brahmaputra flows through our country, too, and could link both countries,” she says.

She was initially very apprehensive about coming to Guwahati. “I heard a lot of negative things about the region. But you do not get to know the reality unless you visit a place personally. I am overwhelmed by the hospitality of the people here,” she says. During her brief sojourn to the city, she visited and was enchanted by the ambience of Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra. “It is a beautiful place, which reflects the contours and colours of the cultural heritage of the region,” she says.

Set up in June 2001, the Bangladesh Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry is among the two business chambers for women in the world, the other one being in Sri Lanka. A smiling Ahmad says, “We felt the need for a separate platform for women entrepreneurs.”

The chamber now has 220 members, 10 non-governmental organisations and over 10,000 micro-level women entrepreneurs working in tandem. “Our main objective is to provide support to women entrepreneurs to undertake business and trade activities. We are like an incubator nurturing the business skills of the budding women entrepreneurs,” she points out, adding that they have been providing valuable support to members in terms of training, market access, access to finance, networking, business awareness and capacity building.

The chamber is a strong community voice, lobbying for micro and macro-level women entrepreneurs and providing services and benefits to support the growth of its members. “We serve all kinds of business with a special focus on small rural women entrepreneurs,” she says.
“Our members are not confined to the traditional women-dominated sectors. We have women involved in the information technology sector, media and items made of recycled glass and metals,” says Ahmad.

Discovering a common thread with the women in the region, Ahmad says she was recently in Rajasthan for a counselling session with rural women. “I was astonished by the similarity. All these women have the same problems, dreams, commitments, hopes and aspirations.”
Asserting that business is not a man’s domain, she feels, “It is the mindset of a few disadvantaged people. In fact, it is a very good career option for women as they can find time for their family.”

She sees a bright future for Indo-Bangla ties in five years. “I can feel the pulse. We will have to implement policies, which are conducive to trade and commerce,” she says. Lauding the efforts of the trade fair authorities, she says, “We need to organise more such trade fairs, which can serve as a platform to showcase each other’s products and explore the market. I believe in business and not in unnecessary formalities.” She is also hoping to participate in the trade fair at Shillong, which will be held soon. “We need to know more about each other. This can only be done with a open mind and heart,” she says.

Teresa Rehman

Creating a sectoral partnership

This one appeared in The Hoot.

Women parliamentarians, journalists and civil society members from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh begin to work together on women and HIV-AIDS. TERESA REHMAN describes this coming together of three sectors.

Posted Sunday, Jan 24 23:42:35, 2010

Little did three women meeting for a friendly luncheon at Heritage India at Dupont Circle in Washington DC irealize that they would actually propel a novel sisterhood of women all over the world.

The three friends, Leslie Wolfe, Jane Ransom and Yolonda Richardson were powerful women, heads of three international women?s organizations based in Washington DC ? Centre for Women Policy Studies (CWPS), International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) and Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) respectively.

What came out of the lunch was a resolve to chart a new course of partnership among women's rights organizations. Particularly among three sectors -- parliamentarians, journalists and civil society who rarely work together in a 'safe space'.

Wolfe explains, "We wanted to create an environment of sisterhood and trust which, to be honest, would resemble our own trusting and sisterly relationship. It was especially important to us that our three NGOs were not competitors in any way, as we had different constituencies, different convening strategies, and different sets of expertise."

Therefore, the trio resolved to do something different. They decided to complement rather than compete with each other in order to have a multiplier effect on the way the toughest women's human rights issues could be address through women's policy leadership -- as policy makers, policy advocates, and policy reporters.

Their idea bore fruit and with grants from Ford Foundation, their first programme titled "Advancing Women?s Leadership in Global HIV-AIDS policymaking" to foster new global partnerships to promote woman-centered HIV/AIDS policy in their countries. Two women each from the three sectors -- parliamentarians, journalists and women living with HIV-AIDS and NGO leaders representatives from three different countries India, Kenya and Mexico came together to attend a series of high-level meetings at the US Congress, Washington DC and the UN Headquarters, New York in June 2008.

The participants resolved to go back to work in their own milieu but also continue this partnership and try to expand it to other sectors as well. The main concern was the similarity in their problems inspite of being from diverse countries, the escalating feminization of the epidemic and the alarming rise in HIV positive cases in married women in monogamous relationships. These revelations broke new ground ? on how the very definition of HIV-AIDS is skewed and how it perpetuated stigma and discrimination. And how the stigma is killing more people than the virus itself. The meeting inspired the initiation of a listserv called Red Ribbon Media where women from these three sectors share news and information relating to HIV-AIDS.

In 2009 again, the resolve moved from "global to regional", the focus this time was on South Asia in order to see some specific regional follow-up plans that two participants each from the three sectors in three different countries -- India, Bangladesh and Pakistan would develop and commit to implementing during 2010. During the South Asia Initiative held in Washington DC in December 2009, the participants resolved to work together on various issues like property rights, sex education for adolescents and access to information on HIV/AIDS. The idea was to bring the women together in new ways that might not reflect their Governments' traditional and current relationships.

The women discussed various issues and how its time to stop focusing on specific "risk groups" of women and instead consider that all women face some level of risk of HIV infection, some level of stigma and discrimination, some level of sexual violence and economic dependency. Once again it dawned on everyone that women and their issues were similar, only the circumstances varied.
Of greatest importance is the fact that women's self-defined needs are not yet at the absolute center of HIV-AIDS policy and programming. At long last, during the past decade, women have gotten onto the agenda at a higher level, but unless we move to the top of the policy agenda, I fear we will still be having these conversations again in 20 years -- and that would be a tragedy for the world," adds Wolfe.

The first step in bringing the three sectors together to achieve a shared mission had been accomplished. Yasmeen Rehman, Member of Parliament from Pakistan feels it's a brilliant idea. "In Pakistan taboo and stigma is a big problem. Some people bracket HIV-AIDS with bad sex behaviour. Moreover, there is no clear-cut policy on stigma and allocation of funds. The silence is killing and we have to come out of this state of denial." She has some ideas like mainstreaming of HIV-AIDs with other health services, educating adolescents and motivating religious leaders to talk about it in the sessions after the prayers called the 'Khutba'. As a representative of the people, she feels that if she goes out and meet HIV positive people, she will succeed in breaking the stigma to a great extent.

Member of Parliament from India, Prabha Thakur who is also on the Parliamentary Forum on HIV-AIDS feels that these three sectors are anyway interlinked though not formally. "I am looking forward to this formal interlinking through ngos, public representatives and media monitors. The ngos give information to the public to create awareness, the MPs can talk on policy making and take it up with the health ministry and media can create awareness through education and knowledge," she says.

Bangladesh already has a vibrant civil society. Mufaweza Khan, Executive Director, Concerned Women for Family Development, an NGO of Bangladesh feels that it is important to take forward the existing policies and programmes rather than creating something new. She feels that care and treatment of HIV positive women is a real issue. "The reporters will write, the civil society will keep them informed and act as a pressure group on the parliamentarians to implement the policies," she says.

The journalists from these three countries have always been working with the civil society but are enthused by the involvement of the Parliamentarians. Journalist from Bangladesh, Zannatul Bakiya working with Channel I, the first satellite channel of the country feels that these linkages will have to created step by step. Yasmin Reema, working with "Daily News", Bangaldesh feels that for 16 long years, she has been working on the issues of HIV-AIDS but in isolation. She looks forward to working in collaboration with these three sectors now.The Pakistani journalists are buoyant about working together too. Sumera Khan, from Express news channel feels all the three sectors will have to do continuous follow-ups and work for the cause. Her colleague, Huma Khawar, a development journalist says, "The meeting broke the ice between us. We will be on better terms once we go back to our countries. We develop a bond in such forums to take it forward. I am very positive about it." Hopefully one luncheon will lead to a chain reaction -- of many more luncheons all over the world and usher in positive changes in women affected and vulnerable to HIV-AIDS.

(The writer is a journalist based in India and has been part of this programme. She can be reached at www.teresarehman.net).