A ROLE MODEL WOMAN
65 years old, Geeta Devi Kafle of "Janaklyan Women's Group", Mahottari district gave up the long held caste discrimination practice.
She has been a role model of the Khayarmara VDC of Mahottari district. Now she eats what so-called Dalit (Untouchable) people give her. She allows Dalits in her home. The women's group participated in the Cornerstones training and changed their philosophy toward the age-old caste discrimination practice.
In Nepali phenomenon the society is divided into caste groups with hierarchy. Those of the so-called higher caste (Brahmin, Chhetrri) discriminate against the lower caste (Dalits). The level of discrimination is inhumane to the effect that Dalits are considered untouchable and ostracized from the society.
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Success Stories
Mona Shrestha
Facing challenges with determination
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“Women were merely confined to their household duties and were highly dominated by male members. Men married several times with the hope to have a son. Daughters were always rejected,” says Mona Shrestha while reminiscing her past.
She beamed as she said, “It is different now. Heifer’s cornerstones and its values have changed the mindset of the people. They have started to respect women and have understood the importance of educating girls. We are gradually overcoming the social barriers prevalent in our community.”
These changes would not have been possible without Mona’s determination. Born in a middle class ethnic Newar family in a rural village of Nawalparasi district, she got the privilege to study till tenth grade. Her education was stopped after she was married at the age of 17 with a man from Palpa district. As she was the only female member in her husband’s home, the responsibility of all household chores fell upon her. Poor economic condition led Mona and her husband to migrate to Narayani, the plain land in central Nepal, in search of better life. But life had more hardships in store for her. Life became more difficult for her as the community they chose to settle in was rooted in caste discrimination, gender injustice and domestic violence, alcoholism and gambling.
As they didn’t have any resources, they leased a piece of land. They had to share fifty percent of the produce from the land. They had to take loan in the interest rate as high as 60% to buy seeds for farming. Every year they took loan with the hope that the crop would yield good income but only to be disappointed at the end. All their hard earned money used to be spent in clearing the debts which left them with scraps that would hardly meet their ends.
Though Mona wanted to work and support her family, she was not allowed to work for being a woman and could not even decide for herself. The family environment was suffocating but she had no choice but to resign to her fate.
In 1998, she approached a local NGO, Women Feeling Unity Forum (WFUF), where they encouraged her to form a women’s group. With the hope of a better life, she formed a group with 20 women like herself and took the responsibility of a secretary. In the beginning, it was challenging for her to motivate these women to join the group and attend monthly group meetings. As the women were not allowed to come out of their houses, they were scared to face the wrath of their spouse. At the same time, women themselves were not sure if they would actually be able to reap benefits from the group activities. Convincing them to start group savings was even more difficult for Mona. Amidst her own busy schedule of looking after the household chores, taking care of her children and giving hand to her husband in the field, she took out time for group activities and motivate her group members to continue the group.
WFUF introduced the group to Heifer in 2000. Heifer provided them trainings on Cornerstones, group management and goat rearing. Each member also received a gift of two goats from Heifer. Equipped with the technical knowledge in rearing goats and other skills, Mona’s income also gradually increased. She says, “The goats from Heifer were the first asset of my life and Cornerstones guided me to approach the community to bring positive changes.”
With the income from goats and a loan from the group, Mona started a small scale pig and poultry farming and earned good income from it. This enabled her to pay back her loan and her family could also enjoy nutritious foods and have a better living style. She also invested her money in a grocery shop and for the education of her sons. After these achievements, her husband and other family members also started to respect her.
Currently, she is working as a treasurer of the group. Initially, the group was saving NPR 5 (US$ 00.6) per month as their group saving fund. Later she convinced the group members to increase this saving to NPR 10 (US$ 0.13). Mona became a source of inspiration to other group members and she always encouraged women to remain united in the group. In every meeting, Mona shared the knowledge and skills that she received from the trainings and promoted improved livestock management.
Mona facilitated to form four other women groups in her village. She continuously mentored these groups and passed on her knowledge that she gained from various trainings. She also took leadership to pass on 40 goats to a pass on group formed by her group, Arohi Women’s Group.
Mona likes to keep herself occupied with learning new things in life. With her own effort, she has taken various trainings on the importance of feeding iodized salt, family planning, kitchen gardening and other such trainings from other NGOs and government agencies. She is also good at sharing her skills and knowledge to her group members and other women in her community. She is always busy in various social works like attending pregnant women, vaccinating children and creating awareness on the importance of community sanitation and personal hygiene, girl child education and other activities to improve living conditions in her village.
She has also guided other women of her group to start small scale poultry, duck and pig farming and she was also instrumental in starting her group’s communal banana farming. Her zeal for the development of her community is well appreciated by all.
Written in June 2003
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