新作坊

Ocean in a drop of water: empowerment, water and women

摘要：

This self-sufficiency of villages was, however, eroded with the advent of the colonial rule, and the capitalist centralization that ensued In 1863, the state Public Works Department (PWD) was formed and all the water recourses, like talabs (tanks) and Johads (reservoirs), were usurped from the control of the people and society at large and became the PWD's domain. Continuing in the same vein, by 1865 the "reserved forests," protected forests and revenue lands, arable land and non-cultivated land were also taken away from the people and handed over to the Crown. These resources ceased to be available to the people and were declared as "revenue" available to the Crown. This translated into a considerable decrease in community resources and communities' loss of control over their Indigenous resources. It also marked the end of the communities' interest in their upkeep. Although the resource issues remained the same, the vision changed, the systems for resource management changed, and so did the local people. The British pushed their traditional knowledge into the category of obsolete, non-scientific, and backward. After independence in 1947, the government followed the path of modernization and industrialization carved by the western intellectuals. This centralized and top-down approach led to increased bureaucratization and to the continuing alienation of local people. Rajasthan, the second largest province of India, is a very dry state. The annual average rainfall does not go beyond 60cm while the national average is 110cm.(1) The semi-arid region of the Alwar district in Rajasthan is located at the Aravali hills. Availability of water is a common problem in this region. Low rainfall and increasing deforestation left the area devoid of any vegetation and resulted in low water tables. In the 1970s, the government of Rajasthan declared it a "dark zone" indicating rapid depletion of ground water and severe drought conditions. In 1986, with the help of a local NGO, Tarun Bharat Sang (TBS), the villagers started building johads--water reservoirs--made of simple mud and rubble barriers, built across the contour of a slope, to store run-off rainwater. Since the main sources of livelihood in this area are subsistence agriculture and the rearing of livestock, the construction of johads had a concrete socio-economic impact in this district. In a short period of time, with the help of TBS, over 2500 johads were constructed in this water-starved area.(2) The water collected in johads during monsoon time is used directly for irrigation, drinking, and other domestic purposes of the villages throughout the year. The johads harvest the rain and hold it to improve percolation and recharge the water table. I define empowerment as a process of discovering one's internal strength, agency, and capacity to effect change in the institutions, behaviours, and ideologies that form the basis of one's experience of systemic oppression and exploitation in daily life. Empowerment also means devising strategies to challenge and change one's subordinate position in the society. In case of the district of Alwar, the program initiated by TBS together with the villagers, provided women with a platform to raise their "voice." The first step developed a sense of self in relation to others. The second and the third step of choosing the sites for the construction of johads and volunteering physical labour for the construction of johads involved active participation of women. This process of reclaiming traditional water harvesting technique of johads empowered women in their communities because it gave women an opportunity to act independently, devise their own strategies to collect water and gain control over their lives. The symbiotic relation between participation and empowerment facilitated women's capacity to tackle their own problems by themselves. Women also acted as allies in their struggles and started women's not only self help groups but also women's banks. Women's groups foster a gender-based solidarity among women. This process of empowerment was driven by women themselves through their establishment of, and active participation in, grassroots women's groups with a long-term commitment to social change.