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
Rishimaya Poudel
Story of change
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Rishimaya Poudel, 26, was born in Naya Gaon of Thaprek Village Development Committee (VDC) of Tanahun, a western region of Nepal. Though her parents were poor and had to work as agricultural labor, she was lucky enough to get an opportunity to study till tenth grade. Soon after the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examination, she was married at the age of 17 to a farmer in Chitwan.
As she reached her husband’s house, she was almost shocked to find a small dilapidated thatched house where seven family members lived. From the very first day of her arrival, she had to face insults from her husband’s family just because she didn’t get dowry. Her husband also remained silent due to the fear of his parents. Facing insults and verbal abuse gradually became a regular part of her life.
Food was always scarce in her house. In a small piece of land they owned, they had to depend on monsoon rain for irrigation. The land was also arid due to the lack of manure. Although all the family members worked as agricultural labor in other’s land, the income was never sufficient.
When her SLC examination result was announced, she was disappointed to find that she had failed in one subject. She wanted to re-appear for the exam but her family denied giving her NPR 20 (30 cents) to fill the examination form. She then was forced to quit her education and kept herself confined to household chores. A year after the wedding, she got pregnant. Everyone in her family expected a boy and got disappointed when she bore a girl. Soon after her delivery, at a time when she needed love and support, she was treated with indifference and was also made to labor in the field. She could not even breast feed her daughter due to lack of nutrition and had to replace it with rice starch mixed with little cow milk which she had to borrow from her neighbor.
After few years, Rishimaya and her husband separated from the family with a small piece of land (72 sq. feet) in the village where they built a small thatched hut. Both of them continued to work as agricultural labors. Meanwhile, she also became a mother of two more daughters. As the family increased, it became more difficult for her to manage enough food to her family with the meager income. Good clothing and enrolling her daughters were a far fetched dream to her.
In 1993, when she heard that Heifer is implementing a project in her village, she immediately took the leadership and formed a women’s group. As she was the only literate member of the group, she was unanimously selected as a group secretary. After the group was formed, Rishimaya took great effort to keep the group united. It was very challenging to her to encourage other members to come out of their abode to attend monthly meetings and convincing them for monthly saving was another ordeal for her. In every meeting, she initiated the women to bring up their issues and problems and actively participate in discussions.
In every meeting Rishimaya shared the knowledge and skills she had received from the training, and promoted improvements in livestock raising to lessen the burden on their families. From the group fund she took loan of NPR 12,000 (172 US$) and started dairy cow raising from which she earned enough income to take care of her family. She paid the loan back within 2 years.
In 1998 she along with leaders of other groups, worked hard to coordinate with other women groups in the area to form a federation. She was unanimously elected as the joint secretary of the federation --Women Groups Coordination Committee (WGCC). As the board member of WGCC, she got chance to attend HPI-Nepal Project Partners meeting. Later she was trained as the gender motivator, she also got chance to participate in group management training through HPI. She is also trained in Poultry Health.
In 2000 June she received two goats as the pass on animals and received goat management training. In the next year she completed pass on of two animals. Now, she owns two milking and 3 pregnant cows, 6 goats and 500 commercial layers poultry.
With her own effort she took a 6 month Legal literacy class from the Asia Foundation, and she served as a volunteer teacher on this subject to her group. As the gender motivator, she has trained 50 women of two groups in different locations of Chitwan. Besides these, Rishimaya also engages herself in awareness generating activities like women health check ups, vaccinations for children, community sanitation and personal hygiene, and other activities for improving living conditions in her village. She is also voluntarily conducting poultry disease diagnosis and providing necessary suggestion to her group members and other community members as well.
Gender justice training has helped Rishimaya to strongly unite her family. She was able to convince her husband that there is no difference between son and daughter. He has now become an advocate of gender justice in his own community.
She is using the income from cow milk, goats and poultry for the education of her three daughters and better nutrition for her family. She has used income to construct a small three-room brick-walled and corrugated-roof house. She has taken leadership to construct bio-gas and encouraged other groups to adopt it.
Under her leadership, her group has started dairy cow raising activity and established a milk collection center for their husbands, who collect milk and sell to others. Now, both husband and wife are actively involved in the economic activities of the community. Ten members of her group have started small scale commercial poultry raising.
Rishimaya regularly provides her assistance to these new groups. She has devoted considerable time and energy for the development of her community. She has been an excellent role model in her community.
Written in June 2002
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