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MYSORE, KARNATAKA, INDIA (15 December 2003) - Women inevitably bear the brunt of the hard daily struggle in India's slums. With a population density of up to 2,000 people per square hectare, basic services are often nonexistent.

Many residents 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 this has a significant impact on the quality of women's lives.

Under a component of the Karnataka Urban Development Project, which 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.

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 micro level to bring about constructive changes in the living conditions of the urban poor.

Self-Help Groups Work
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 India's preindependence days.

The inhabitants were shunned by society. It was a life of filth, disease, and ignorance, recalls Karupama, 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 KUIDFC Social Development Officer for Mysore, Aneetha Amanna, 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 the identified slums, in an effort to build rapport and interact with slum dwellers.

In Kuduremala, for example, RLHP has slowly and firmly moved in to help the 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 savings 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 programs, 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 important, they can get out of the clutches of unscrupulous moneylenders.

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 now she is able to earn about Rs30 a day (less than a dollar a day) and is also able to repay the loan in a timely manner. 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 supporting her decision, she says she feels more respected running a business compared with her previous work.

"I don't know what ADB is, but it has certainly helped us," says Ms. Karupamma.

Overcoming Discrimination
These self-help groups were, however, forced by circumstances to move beyond economic empowerment toward social empowerment. In so doing, the women developed social skills and enhanced their ability to identify other issues around them. One of the major causes of women's impoverishment 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 land owner), to the long-term occupants. The title deeds - in the names of both the husband and wife - were recently given for the 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 resulting in about 800 inhabitants now living in reasonably decent houses. 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 bubbling enthusiasm and confidence is visible, especially among women like Papathi, a domestic worker who earns Rs 700 (US$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."