Women and their needs are still largely unaccounted for, with policies unfavorable to them. Through the formation of women’s groups and associations, women’s issues and needs were made visible in various arenas – community, market, and policy processes. The experience of Surendranagar Mahila Bal Vikas Mandal showed that the needs of women workers and farmers such as savings, health care, child care, and insurance can be addressed through well-governed and managed organizations. These basic needs must be met allowing women to achieve economic freedom and agency.
Surendranagar Mahila Bal Vikas Mandal (SMBVM) is registered as a Trust in the Surendranagar district in Gujarat, India. It has a membership of 161 groups, largely salt pan farmers/workers composed of 86,000 small and marginal women farmers of which 16,426 are youth women members. The membership of SMBVM ranges from small and marginal agriculture farmers, women in animal husbandry, salt pan farmers/workers, and farm labourers. SMBVM advocates for the needs of members. In the desert, through 184 cooperatives, 30, 000 families are earning their livelihoods through salt farming. SMBVM provides supportive services like healthcare and childcare to its members. It provides economic services through banks and provides platforms for the members to sell and make their crafts and produce. SMBVM gives microcredit, or microfinance, to members through SEWA bank, which is considered by many to increase micro and macro productivity by lending to individuals to pursue a business, finance a home, and various other ways to establish one’s self. Other economic tools used by SEWA for its members are insurance, housing, social security, pensions, fundamentals of personal finance, and counseling.
Read the case study here: India_SEWA_and_Surendranagar_Mahila_Bal_Vikas_Mandal
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