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Women From Across Marginalized Communities Meet the President Pratibha Patil on the Occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

"Women's concerns should be focal in all major policies & programs", said women from across marginalized communities while briefing the President of India, Pratibha Patil on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. They were representing the experiences of more than 400 women from across 20 states of India who had come together to mark this occasion by sharing their personal experiences of poverty and deprivation, and resolving to join hand to ensure that the women's agenda is central to the policies and the programs of the government.

"Women's concerns should be focal in all major policies & programs", said women from across marginalized communities while briefing the President of India, Pratibha Patil on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. They were representing the experiences of more than 400 women from across 20 states of India who had come together to mark this occasion by sharing their personal experiences of poverty and deprivation, and resolving to join hand to ensure that the women's agenda is central to the policies and the programs of the government.

An 8-member Jury comprising of academicians, political thinkers and social activists noted that while the country is growing at phenomenal rates, the lives of the most marginalised women are further impoverished.  Poverty is no more secular - social exclusion and discrimination particularly affect women from Dalit, Adivasi, Muslim communities & Nomadic Tribes - and their socio-cultural baggage of their identities continue to affect their right to life, security, dignity, livelihood and development. Within these communities, women who are single or disabled experience a further disadvantage. Members of the Jury were Annie Raja (NFIW), Dr. Gopal Guru (JNU), Kamla Bhasin (SANGAT), Nikhil Dey (MKSS), Dr. Rose Dzuvichu (Univ. of Nagaland), Dr. Rosemary Kerketta (Ranchi University), Dr. Ruth Manorama (NAWO) and Sheba George (Sahr Waru Women's Action Resource Centre).

The President was presented with the outcomes and recommendations of the Women's Tribunal Against Poverty, and briefed on the wide range of action that were taking place across the world to remind governments to fulfill their promises to end poverty and ensure that they meet and exceed the Millennium Development Goals. The submissions to the President also included two petitions from the participants of the Tribunal on the impact of the SEZ on villages in Raigad, Maharashtra and the urgent need to implement the Forest Rights Act, 2006 in the interest of the adivasi and forest dweller communities.

The President was visibly moved by the accounts of the delegation. She was empathetic about the struggles faced by the Chunmum Devi (Khagaria, Bihar) who narrated her desperation in sustaining a household of four children and her disabled husband on a handful of grain every day. In the context of the recent floods in North Bihar, she stated that her family has lost even the meager belongings that they earlier had. Relief and rehabilitation have not reached the Dalit hamlet where she belongs. The President also noted the struggles faced by single women and widows as recounted by Kausalya Salve of Maharashtra and Nirmal Devi of Himachal Pradesh, and appreciated the activism of Noor Jahan (Andhra Pradesh) and Priyasheela Besra (Jharkhand) to empower women from the Muslim and Adivasi communities, and strengthen their access to productive assets, land and housing.

The President stated her appreciation of ongoing efforts to empower and give visibility to women from the margins and extended her support to the issues that were being raised through the forum of the Women's Tribunal against Poverty, while also requesting the organizers to keep her informed of their future efforts.

The Organizing Committee of the Women's Tribunal Against Poverty
Action India w Action Aid w AIDMAM w BMMA w CADAM w CARE w CBGA w CHSJ w CDSA w CWLR w EIDHR w Ekta Parishad w ICRW w OWSA w ICRW w Oxfam w PWESCR w SANGAT w The Hunger Project w TPMS w Wada Na Todo Abhiyan

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