Spectateur du Monde

At home...

I am in India for almost 3 months and now that Jenny and Raquel have left this country and that the new DI’s are coming, it seems a new chapter is about to start.
I didn’t have the opportunity to write sooner, because in April I started giving English lessons to Elected Women Representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (village councils), in Barrod village, and also to young girls, in Dughera village. I am only focused in these two villages because it is the only way I can create any change (hopefully effective) and, of course, I always go there with an Indian DI.
I really love my work because it doesn’t consist only about teaching English, but also empowering the women and young girls. For example, I am giving short courses in the beginning of each class, in Dughera village, about women’s rights, self-esteem and body image, among other subjects.
However, I still have some difficulties in convincing the women Punch to come to my lesson. So, last Tuesday I went door-to-door to motivate the women, with the help of the husband of the Sarpanch (head of the village council). One of them had talked with me before and when she knew what I was doing in her village she said “I don’t speak your language”. However, this time I had the opportunity to introduce myself to her. It is true that first she said she was too old to learn, but when I replied that my father always say we are always learning she agreed… So, now it seems that things are going in the right direction…In fact, I also went on Friday to the Panchayati meeting to present myself to the rest of the women Punch. I explained them the purpose of my work and we agreed to meet on Tuesday at 12 o’clock. However, they left the meeting after signing their name. In other words, they didn’t discuss anything with the other PRI members. Only the Sarpanch stayed and, even so, in a corner… I asked her why she was not getting involved in the discussion and she said she “felt hesitations”. I replied that it is normal to feel a bit insecure before speaking in front of many persons, but the people elected her because they trust her to represent their interests.
After my conversation with the Sarpanch, I decided to present myself to the male Punch and then I asked them what they were discussing today and what they thought about the participation of the women Punch in the meetings. They said that they put themselves apart because they feel insecure and I told them that it is important if they encourage them to speak because everybody’s opinion is important and it is not by chance that they were elected… I also talked about the importance of women having equal rights in their society and I contrasted that with the situation in the West. I told them that some rights are universal such as freedom of choice, something that is still a dream here. Then they asked me if I liked India and I answered that I like their culture (music, dance, food, clothes…), but I was not very happy about the situation of women… So, when they inquired me if I would like to live here I told them that I was born with many rights taken for granted and I can only live where I can exercise them…In the end I told them that I admire very much the village women because they work a lot, in the house or in the field, and they can still have a smile in their faces by the end of the day.
It was the first time I attended a Panchayat meeting and that I spoke to so many men, and older than me, about the situation of women in their country, I can conclude that we had an interesting conversation and I always tried not to impose my point of view, but share it in a friendly way, even if they told that women still have to have restrictions, in other words, a limited freedom because that is part of their culture… However, I continue thinking that dehire dehire (slowly slowly) it is possible to make small changes…As a matter of fact, at least I made them think about the situation of women and something must have stayed in their heads.
Besides the field work, I wrote two reports (a quarterly and an annual report) about the “The Hunger Project” that consists of strengthening the women’s participation in the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Regarding my daily life, everything is quite the same except for the fact that now I can take a true shower (not from the bucket!) and I am trying to improve my chai and chapatti skills, even if I am not a cooking expert (J).
I also had the opportunity to travel, so Jenny, Bao and I visited the Taj Mahal and even if it took us many hours to arrive there, it was worth the effort. It is simply unbelievable! And, last weekend, I went with Raquel to Jaipur, so we had a nice time seeing some monuments (i.e. Ambar Fort, Hava Mahal and Birla Temple) and also buying some souvenirs and, of course, we had to bargain!
All in all, I like my life here, even if it continues being a challenge, and my work really fulfils me in such a way that now I can call this place my home.

posted by Naty Bett @ 5:45 AM