They also serve - in silence

WOMEN'S DAY was celebrated with all the trappings of glitz and hype by the media on March 8. Features, chat shows, debates, films... everywhere the spotlight was on famous women and feminist issues. Nevertheless, when it came to personalities, it was the so-called icons in the realm of politics and the arts who hogged the limelight. There was not much focus on women involved in ushering in societal change in their own understated way.

Metro Plus caught up with four such women who remain unsung despite their meaningful missions of striving for development at the grassroot level. In brief encounters, these women throw light on their work and their motivation to surrender lucrative careers and switch over to social work.

When Kaveri Natarajan started Kaingkarya Social Welfare Organisation, she was keen on "focussing on career development and welfare of underprivileged children." But within a short span, her objectives expanded to encompass family counselling, creating health awareness, initiating illiterates into non-formal education and uplifting the status of women. Today, her work covers 40 slums and 10 schools in the city.

A personification of modesty and sincerity, Kaveri, who quit a flourishing academic career to "directly interact with the underprivileged", has also shown deep concern over the plight of girls employed and in many cases exploited - physically and economically - in the "export units" in the city. Kaingkarya is involved in a massive drive to help defaulters and dropouts in the government-run schools. "If a child does not attend school for more than three days, our person immediately contacts their residence to check out the reason. And in times of crises, we counsel children," she adds. "We have also evolved specific ways of making children, particularly girls, who are exploited for domestic work, pursue education simultaneously. In every possible way, we help children get basic education and vocational training."

To P. Saraswathi, who has been involved in the field of development for over two decades, it was the "gaps" in the social, economic and educational structure that proved to be a spur. "I could not remain a silent spectator, though as a woman one is expected to play stereotyped roles. Initially, there were some impediments, but after a point, career goals and personal desires merge," she says.

"A lot has been done with regard to pre-primary and primary education. But all the tall claims about friendly approach, activity-based learning etc. seemed to be the prerogative of English medium and affluent schools. Nothing was being done to fill the gap between creative apptitude and what the system offered to students at government schools. I wanted to fill this void and evolved various creative methods to make learning a fun- filled experience for the tiny tots at these schools." This, Saraswathi does through workshops and personalised training for teachers. When learning ceases to be a drudgery, the number of dropouts will naturally dwindle, she points out.

While Saraswathi focusses on the preparation of innovative teaching modules for the elementary level, Elizabeth F.Negi is involved with gender issues and the plight of the girl child in economically backward families. Her efforts with regard to documenting the inhuman practice of female infanticide is a pioneering one. "Even in this century, the stalemate over women's situation continues. We are still victims of gender bias and conditioning," she says with anguish. Consciously concerned over the haplessness of women in the weaker sections, Elizabeth organises programmes on gender sensitisation for NGOs working in the districts where female infanticide is prevalent. Despite shuttling between the Southern districts and Chennai, Elizabeth has a host of publications on her pet themes - female infanticide and gender discrimination. "When we work in these backward areas, we realise how fragile the life of the girl child is. Neither she nor her mother has any choice - even about survival," she points out.

What is remarkable about Elizabeth is that she gave up the small scale industry that she was managing to take on social responsibilities.

Child labour irked Virgil Mary D' Samy ever since her college days at Stella Maris, where she did her Masters in Social Work in 1979. She has since been involved in addressing problems relating to child labour. She founded Arunodhaya Centre for Street and Working Children with the sole objective of eliminating the social ill. At present, Arunodhaya reaches out to 10 slums in North Chennai covering approximately 2,000 families. Rehablilitating street children has been the organisation's yet another prime goal. She has organised several State level training programmes for grassroot level workers in the field and has brought together domestic workers under a single umbrella for a convention.

Virgil goes a step further and creates awareness about government schemes for the downtrodden (such as the one for marriage, pension and ration cards). "We have also started a self help credit union to inculcate the habit of saving among the slum dwellers," she adds.

Even as the gender barriers fall, the problems remain - particularly in the economically weaker sections. The feminine legacy of subordination lives on and the imbalance in the social structure continues to have an impact on the lives of hapless children of the underprivileged classes. People like Kaveri Natarajan, Virgil D'Samy, Saraswathi and Elizabeth have only proved that women can shape society in their own little way without any hoopla.

T. KRITHIKAREDDY

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