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N o t a l l w h o w a n d e r a r e l o s t Beyond the End of the Road with Natalie Elwell Program Coordinator Action Learning Communication & Gender World Neighbors, Inc. India: Hot Air and Heated Debates
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Page 1: India Digital Trip Report

Not all who wander are lost…

Beyond the End of the Roadwith Natalie Elwell

Program CoordinatorAction Learning Communication & Gender

World Neighbors, Inc.

India: Hot Air and Heated Debates

Page 2: India Digital Trip Report

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My role in supporting World Neighbors’field staff to integrate gender into programs took me to Karnataka, India in May.

I get claustrophobic in crowds so I was a little hesitant – imagining swarms of people competing for the thick, hot air. Although more densely populated than our Central American villages, Indian villages and even the city centers are not nearly as crowded as the images I’ve seen of places like Bombay and Calcutta.

My other irrational fear about this trip was that I wouldn’t be able to find Laxmi – a colleague I hadn’t seen for about 2 years – in the sea of Indian faces I knew would be waiting outside the airport. Turns out she had the same concern about spotting me among all the white tourists unloading from the plane.

No worries –Laxmi’s glowing aura

shines in a crowd. Laxmi, the

reproductive health coordinator and the team driver waited 8

hours in the 100+degree heat for

my delayed arrival.

Page 3: India Digital Trip Report

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No sooner did I land in Goa than I was off again, in a car this time, for an 8 hour ride to the program area.

The fascinating scenes along the road kept me awake for most of that trip, as well as on the many long drives we took during my 10 day visit. The program area is about half a days drive from our office. There is no place for our team to stay in the villages, so we stayed in a city center about an hour away from the villages.

Clockwise from bottom were some of the sites along the way: villagers decorating water buffalo for a festival; monkeys scavenging for mango peels; women of the Lambadi community (known as India’s gypsies or untouchables) in their traditional dress; families washing their clothes and themselves in the river.

Page 4: India Digital Trip Report

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I spent the first day working with our staff and our local partner, learning about their work and developing a tool to assess the status of women in the villages.

Many of the staff are all from the villages we were assessing. They earn about a dollar-a-day working on this gender project. It takes them away from their farm and housework, but it is clear to them that if there aren’t social changes no matter how hard they work on their farms they will always live in poverty.

Page 5: India Digital Trip Report

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What is strikingly clear is that gender inequity is not only detrimental to women and girls, but reduces an entire community’s potential.

Our needs assessment illuminated not only for us, but more importantly for the community deep and complex problems. Problems such as: dowry- grooms’ families threatening and murdering brides over dowry disputes; abandonment of woman who do not produce a male child; rape and forced marriage of young girls to older men.

This in addition to the “usual” gender inequities of double or triple workload, less education for girls, abuse, lack of mobility and little involvement in family and community decision-making and leadership.

Photo by Subhash Gumaste

Page 6: India Digital Trip Report

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Subhash, our India Country Directory, had once held the conviction that education was the answer. However, he says that has recently been crushed by the realization that these problems are as deeply rooted in the educated class as they are among the poor.

I witnessed this every day through newspaper accounts and debates on talk shows. The women’s movement in India is very strong in some regards. They have legislation on their side, but not enforcement and their advances are being countered by a major backlash. This woman

claims to be 102. I wish I had had

the chance to ask her about the

changes she’s seen in her lifetime.

Photo by Laxmi Madras

Page 7: India Digital Trip Report

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Although these problems incite a sense of urgent need, it’s a bit daunting to initiate a gender equity program in this context. Progress may be slow, but there are already encouraging signs. By involving the men in assessing women’s status, amazing things happened.

When the women’s contributions and needs were affirmed they gained the confidence to stand up for themselves. The men were amazed (and maybe shamed) by how much more work their wives and daughters did and offered to take several of their tasks. Cultural practices were openly analyzed for their harmful effect on women and the community. As a village, they made a commitment to work for change.

Men and women compare their assessments of

women’s status in their village

Page 8: India Digital Trip Report

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Since the villagers had been so tolerant of my probe into their personal lives, I conceded to their request to quiz me on my life and culture.

Their main interests centered around our marriage rituals and our food. They were also very curious as to how my father had come to give me permission to travel so far alone. They would never understand how floored my father would be if I ever did ask his permission to travel. So I redirected and told them I’d gotten the courage to come alone from Laxmi, who had come all the way to the U.S. by herself.

Subhash, on my left and Laxmi,

on my right acted as translators.

Page 9: India Digital Trip Report

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On my last day with the team, they shared another side of their culture –shopping. They were determined to outfit me in a sari.

I get sensory overload in American malls, so you can imagine how the swarming market streets, under the searing sun, with incense and exhaust strangling the muggy air left me dizzy.

We ducked from one cloth shop to the next and then wound our way through a labyrinth of stalls to a seamstress so I was suited properly for a traditional Indian send-off.

Page 10: India Digital Trip Report

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Before getting on the plane in Goa, I spent two days at the Bambolim resort. After being surrounded by such extreme poverty I had trouble, at first, allowing myself this luxury. But while this hammock soothed my sadness, the warm ocean breezes brought reminders of hope.

I left India energized by our team’s efforts to improve the lives of women and their families.

If you’d like to join us in these efforts, please visit http://www.workofwomen.org/.

Page 11: India Digital Trip Report

Thanks for your interest. Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments.

Natalie ElwellProgram CoordinatorAction Learning Communication & GenderWorld Neighbors, Inc.4127 NW 122nd StreetOKC, OK 73120 USA(405)[email protected]

Next stop – Burkina Faso