Home 
Publications Catalog Online Publications ADB Review Article
Taking Charge
|
MYSORE, KARNATAKA, INDIA
Women inevitably bear the brunt of the hard daily struggle in India’s slums. With a population density of as many as 2,000 people per square hectare, basic services are often nonexistent. Residents often have to line up for hours for water. Most live in tiny shacks. They suffer from poor drainage and terrible sanitation, with open sewers and garbage contaminating the local environment, causing a high incidence of waterborne diseases. An additional problem is the indignity of no private—or public—toilets. All these have a significant impact on the quality of women’s lives.
Under a component of the Karnataka Urban Development Project, which the Asian Development Bank (ADB) started financing in early 1996, efforts have been made to substantially improve the health and living conditions of more than 30,000 slum dwellers in the state of Karnataka—65% of whom are women and children.
In 1999, when ADB adopted its Poverty Reduction Strategy, a regional technical assistance (RETA) to facilitate participatory development involving local community and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) was approved.
“This was helpful as the RETA provided funds to train local NGOs and local community leaders to plan and implement poverty reduction initiatives in consultation with stakeholders,” says Alex Jorgensen, ADB Principal Urban Specialist, India Resident Mission.
Working in partnership with local NGOs, both ADB and the state government’s executing agency, the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC), decided that women should be empowered at the microlevel to bring about constructive changes in the living conditions of the urban poor.
"I don’t know what ADB is, but it has certainly helped us"
- Ms. Karupamma, Kuduremala resident
Kuduremala was a typical small slum in Mysore. Once a dirty, dingy place, no outsiders dared venture there after sunset, though it was near Mysore University. “Kuduremala” means horse-grazing ground—named so because the then King of Mysore used to stop there to graze his horses. The story of the residents, who were the so-called “unclean”—scavengers, rag pickers, laborers, sweepers, and toilet cleaners—dates back to before India gained its independence.
The inhabitants were shunned by society. It was a life of filth, disease, and ignorance, recalls Ms. Karupamma, the oldest resident of Kuduremala, who has seen the transformation of the settlement. “We lived in thatched-roof houses, which were situated beside the drainage. During the rainy season, the drainage overflowed and dirty water stagnated everywhere, causing the spread of disease. Some huts even collapsed,” she says.
According to Aneetha Amanna, KUIDFC Social Development Officer for Mysore, 13 slums were identified in Mysore, where programs began in June 2002 with the assistance of three NGOs: Rural Literacy and Health Program (RLHP), Organization for the Development of the People, and SUMANA. The NGOs started by conducting a survey in all slums identified to build rapport and interact with slum dwellers.
In Kuduremala, for example, RLHP has slowly and firmly moved in to help people organize themselves over several years, so the settlement was well placed to partner with the ADB-financed project. RLHP also created four self-help women’s groups. The first began from a community of only a few households—all of which had a monthly saving of less than one dollar. Collectively, these savings have now grown to where members can get credit to meet family needs. KUIDFC also provided seed funds, and subsequently loans were given to women to start small businesses.
Through self-help groups and savings program, life is looking better for the slum residents. Women now are able to obtain loans to buy books for their children or start small businesses. More importantly, they can get out of the clutches of unscrupulous moneylenders.
Ms. Papamma, a mother of two who previously worked as a rag picker, started Kuduremala’s first sundry shop in mid-2002 through the credit facility scheme. She says she is now able to earn about Indian rupees (Rs)30 a day (less than $1 a day) and is also able to repay the loan promptly. Ms. Papamma’s tiny shop sells items such as sugar, coffee, chocolates, rice, and bread, and she now provides a credit facility to customers. With her husband’s support, she says she earns more respect in running a business than in doing her previous work.
“I don’t know what ADB is, but it has certainly helped
us,” says Ms. Karupamma.
These self-help groups were, however, forced by circumstances to move beyond economic empowerment toward social empowerment. In so doing, women developed social skills and enhanced their ability to identify other issues around them.
One of the major causes of women’s poverty is the lack of equal access to rights and control of economic resources. Gender-biased laws, policies, traditions, and attitudes cause this discrimination.
With the help of RLHP and Mysore Slum Dwellers’ Federation,
the women joined forces with men and demanded that land ownership
for the slum be transferred from Mysore University (the landowner)
to the long-term occupants. The title deeds—in the names of
both the husband and wife—were recently given for houses in
the community, marking a major triumph for the women.
The project has also provided slum areas like Kuduremala with improved drainage, low-cost sanitation, community centers, and hygiene campaigns. According to an RLHP representative, Mr. Venkatesh, the residents decided—after some initial resistance—to adopt RLHP’s advice and suggestions, providing reasonably decent houses to about 800 inhabitants. There are now neater alleys and proper access, a school for children, and a community hall. When RLHP first came to the slum in 1987, Mr. Venkatesh recalls that only 3% of the children went to school.
Having achieved a lifestyle that was unthinkable before, the people of Kuderamala want to move ahead. The enthusiasm and confidence are visible, especially among women like Ms. Papathi, a domestic worker who earns Rs700 ($16) per month. When asked if she wants her children to move to a bigger city in search of better jobs, Ms. Papathi says, “We want our children to go to Bangalore and even America to become doctors or engineers.”
© 2008 Asian Development Bank Privacy | Terms of Use |
 Top of page |