Gender impact analysis for the SOIR-IM supported project of manthan at rural Gaya.

It is of utmost importance for any development project or programme to prioritize those issues where women do not have equal access to the rights discussed in different human rights conventions. These rights are also essential for any nation and its society to achieve the target of MDGs (Millennium development goals). 1. Target groups- The target groups identified under the proposed project are completely women of marginalized section. They belong to Scheduled castes, now they are also segregated by Bihar government in two categories by which majority of them are known as mahadalit .Mahadalits are those who have minimum benefits of government schemes for scheduled castes. The target group women are mainly from Mushar and Paasi caste of scheduled caste living in the village of Gaya districts. The project will provide its facilitation services to 800 women/adolescent girls through its skill training activities; which will further strengthen the rural women members of self help groups. The basic literacy class activities will cover 120 out of school children of women members of SHGs.Here the special focus will to enroll the girl child in primary school for further education. 2. Generally women and men both are involved in the work outside home in case of marginalized section. Though the inside work or household work, child caring and caring of old age people are mainly assigned to women. We never found that men are helping women in cooking, or in family caring activities. The family is represented by male member and in case of political activity they took the decisions on behalf of self and also women. This is the pure form of traditional rural society of Gaya which is still going on and also practiced by the marginalized section of society. 3. Male members are allowed and responsible in the major decision making process, i.e during election of people representative, participation & representation in local gram sabha (village committee), purchasing of land, decision of children marriage, and number of children etc.Women are not expected to participate in decision making and representing the family. They can decide what to cook in the kitchen. Now they have little role in children education by motivating the male partner for enrollment in school. We can easily say and it is also visible that men and women do not have equal influence on a decision, whether it is related to family or to the society. 4. Men have absolute access to major resources within their community. Male member can take a decision to buy land (if they are capable), or to plan for taking loan or to open a bank account (in general condition) and to receive education on a priority basis. If the family can afford the cost of education or health for one child they will prefer to utilize that amount for the male child or the male adult. This is why some time even women refuse politely to accept those services for the sake of male member due to this ongoing routine practice. Women have to work and men

have to take the rights on resources; this is the overall situation in the proposed target area and among the target groups. Now due to intervention of SHGs based project of SOIR the above mentioned target group women have access to bank through group account and male members are ready to send their female members and adolescent girls to receive basic skill training and literacy to women/girl child. 5. The proposed project will come across to many problems concerning gender equality, i.e. domestic violence, early child marriage with dowry, limited time & permission of male for women and girls to learn or to attend any school or centers, level of extreme poverty and overall rural male attitude towards rural female. This is why the project has incorporated the awareness generation activity to sensitize the overall target community and make women confident towards their own rights as an individual and their important role in family /society. The project will also provide the skill training at the village level to address the issue of time consumption on traveling and it is almost free to motivate the poverty driven target women. 6. The important requirement to make a project more gender sensitive is to incorporate gender related issues in each activity through gender sensitive facilitators and implementation of more women based projects for a long term attitudinal change in society.Marginalised women will also benefit in terms of their attitude towards in-laws and girl child. Some time marginalized rural women face gender bias even from senior women themselves though it happened due to ignorance about the issue and its impact. The above mentioned issue will be addressed with special focus on gender sensitivity and its regular practice in the routine life to make women strengthened in family and society. 7. Women are expected to understand the issue of gender and its impact through project intervention, and this will help men to think on the relevance of gender sensitization in our day to day life. The behavior and thinking approach of target women will positively change towards their girl child and younger female members of family. Male members will also consider providing at least the basic facility available for girl child and women, i.e education, health care, equal meal at household, motivation in routine life and respect as female gender. They will minimize the hindrances in a routine work which will further change their traditional attitude towards women. The skill and awareness received by female member of family will appreciated in society at home and at in-laws house which will compel the male member to accept the positive change and also participate in the ongoing change for the long term goal of gender equal society or a society which is sensitive towards female members.