Spurred by the spirit to serve

"I THINK you learn so much more about a country by working there rather than just visiting it. I find India fascinating," says 24- year-old Lucy Butler. Lucy was selected by the AIESEC to come to Chennai for two months to work with the Joint Action Council for Women (JACW). She has been helping them compile their directory of self-employed women in the city. Through exchange programmes, AIESEC develops leadership qualities in young people. The world's largest student organisation, with its headquarters at Rotterdam, AIESEC networks 84 countries and has 50,000 members. It enables the youth to gain cultural understanding, employability skills and develop a sense of social responsibility.

A brilliant student at school and college, Lucy has a B.A. (Hons.) degree in Economics and will be taking up a job in a consultancy firm at London.

What made her apply for this job at JACW? Is she interested in gender issues?

"The AIESEC matches your qualifications and aptitude with what is suitable. It always has an interest in gender issues," says Lucy. "Being a woman in England is an issue as much as it is in India, it's not as if you are equal to men there. I've met well-educated women here who are similar to professionals in the U.K. The difference lies in the home life of the less-educated. In India, a majority of them are beaten by their husbands and they put up with it thinking it's the husband's right."

She hastens to add that three months is not long enough to voice a strong opinion on any issue.

As for the database for the JACW, the main criterion is that the women have to be self-employed, entrepreneurs, professionals or craftspersons. "The experience was valuable as I got to meet quite a few self-employed women though it required a lot of running around and it was sometimes difficult to get the information back. We have steered clear of personal details (except of course, name, age and address and income) and concentrated instead on their work, whether they are on their own or in business, partnership and the nature of their job. It is encouraging to see how motivated they are and the professional standards they maintain."

"Lucy was responsible for 25 per cent of the entries. They have to be followed up. Our sources are newspapers, including the neighbourhood ones, the Directorate of Industries, Chepauk, South India Women's Entrepreneurs' Association, Small Industries Service Institution, etc.," says Shakuntala Balaraman, founder- president and secretary of the JACW.

A voluntary organisation, registered in 1983, the JACW aims to protect and promote the development, status and dignity of women and secure their rights and privileges.

"The directory will be useful for the marketing of the products of self-employed women in Chennai and inspire other women professionals and craftspersons to set up self-employment units of their own."

For someone in her mid-twenties, Lucy is widely travelled. She has done a stint at Tanzania in the summer of 1999 with the AIESEC, working at the British foreign office. In 1997, she opted for a GAP activity project in China where she taught English for six months to groups of up to 50 teenagers.

How well does India compare with China in the way women are treated?

"I think the women in China are more independent. On the surface level they are treated on a par with men and allowed into the same jobs. My impression is that women in the lower economic strata are better off in China than in India."

Lucy represents the spirit of the typical young white who is adventurous and enterprising. In these months, she has visited Kolkata, Agra and Varanasi.

What travel arrangements did she make? "You just have to reach the nearest train stations and proceed," she says simply.

The problems Lucy faced in India "are the same that you find in any unfamiliar country. The heat and dust, for one."

But what makes you cringe is the attitude of many Indian men to a lone white girl. "Men often call out to you and make passes and you have to keep reminding yourself that not all Indian men are like this. I found this particularly bad in Hyderabad."

The culture differences appear to increase as the weeks go by and the noise and the pollution seem to get you down more. But despite this Lucy would like to come back.

"There is a saying that the more you travel, the more narrow minded you become. But not me," she laughs. "Through travel you discover what matters to you and what is important. By visiting India you realise how much the family matters."

KAUSALYA SANTHANAM

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