Rosemary Dzüvichü
The Woman’s Tribunal Against Poverty held on the October 17, 2007 at New Delhi was an opportunity for Grassroot women leaders across the country to come together and make a strong statement on the ways in which the policies and programs of the Government are being experienced by women who lace acute social and economic discrimination. The Tribunal was organized by NAWO, WNTO, Consult for Land Rights and dozens of leading women organizations across the country who came in solidarity to bring together women’s voices against poverty in powerless without the participation and leadership of women and that the government’s promise to end poverty and Social Exclusion cannot be achieved unless women's agenda are made central to its policies, programmes and budgets. The Tribunal was initiated through the Feminist Taskforce of the Global Call to Action Against poverty and was observed in Peru, Egypt, Delhi to commemorate the occasion and draw the attention of policy makers worldwide to the significance of women’s experiences and their integral role in any efforts to end Poverty and Social Exclusion.
A Jury comprising of leaders from different fields representing social development, Culture, Academics, Media and Politics were identified to receive and represent the testimonies of the Women's Tribunal Against Poverty. They included Dr.Ruth Manoramu from Bangalore University, Dr.Gopal Guru of Jawaharlal University, Dr.Rose Kerkeua, Sheba George, leading activist of Gujarat .Annie Raja and well known social activist Nikhil Dey and myself from Nagaland University. More than four hundreds women from powerful and moving experience of testimonies, experiences and petitions, submitted before the Jury.
The Tribunal was organized around key themes and questions which are relevant to the issues of Women and their experiences of pove11y and Social Exclusion- Right to Work and livelihoods, Land Rights, Housing and Natural Resource, Governance and Pat1icipation and access to Food Security, Public services and infrastructure. Testimonies from women were presented on migration and displacement. Access to NREGA, PDS and Women in the unorganized sector under Livelihood and Food security. Adivasi Women and Land Rights, Single Woman’s access to ownership, evictions, women in agriculture, SEZ and Displacement were some of the testimonies presented before the Jury under Land .Housing and Natural Resources, access to NHRM, SSA, Disaster and relief were testimonies delivered under Public Services and infrastructure, Citizenship and Identity, Claiming power in Decision making bodies, women and conflict, women and violence brought moving testimonies from women of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerela, Tamil Nadu, snake charmers of nomadic tribes from Andhra Pradesh. Kashmiri Women living in conflict and violence and Women’s voices from the North east on discriminatory customary laws and practices, post conflict experiences, relief and rehabilitation etc.
The glaring verdict at the end of the long day was that ‘the poor’ in India can be identified as the Adivasis, Tribals, Nomadic and Denotified tribes, Migran the Muslims, based on the living testimonies of discrimination and suffering, from women all over the country, presented before the .Jury.
The role of the policymakers and politicians in governance was emphasized in the stories of corruption, nepotism and favoritism, which encouraged, poverty. The Police and the Bureaucracy came under severe criticism from all over the country in the living testimonies of women in cases of rape, conflict and violence and access to livelihood. Accountability, Transparency and monitoring of all Government programs like NREGA,NHRM, SSA, PHS, Disaster and Relief and Rehabilitation 'was the voice of the day for women's access to better livelihood and infrastructure and public services.
The strong Recommendations from the Jury which formed the' Women's Charter Against Poverty' was submitted to the President of India Shrimati Pratibha Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, that very evening, at the conclusion of the Tribunal. Hundreds of women activists signed the Banners Against Poverty in an innovative action of imprints of painted hands of solidarity. Yadi Enbo from the Feminist Taskforce shared a moving experience of the Women's Court of Shame held in Gambia, Africa in her message of solidarity and encouragement.
At the end of the day, testimonies of discriminated women from other parts of the country echoed the same situation faced by women in the North East Region too, whether it is in terms of land rights, housing or natural resources, access to public services or governance and participation, the strength and courage of these women who came forward to share shocking revelations of the apathy or the Police, bureaucracy, politicians all over the country was a lesson on why poverty still persists among certain sections of society in India's so called 'democracy.' Discrimination on the basis of 'caste' in denial of access to children's education, access to health services, employment and PDS , ‘unsociability' rearing its ugly head in higher education institutions in Orissa, traumatic victims or rape and violence in Gujarat and Rajasthan smear campaigns against aspiring women leaders, the plight of Scavengers in Delhi's own city, who have no access to the big slogans put forward by the Government surely was a warning that the Common Minimum Program or the National Development goals needed to seriously take women's concerns and voices into consideration in the march towards Development.
The writer is a Jury Member of The Women’s Tribunal Against Poverty, New Delhi
