Put hunger high on political agenda: Shabana Azmi

11 Mar 2009 03:01:00 GMT
Source: ActionAid International- India
ActionAid
Website: http://www.actionaidindia.org

Shabana with community women leaders, Lali bai (left) and Rambati (right)
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Shabana with community women leaders, Lali bai (left) and Rambati (right)
Adam/Actionaid
Renowned Indian actor Shabana Azmi inaugurated the HungerFREE Women Speak Out exhibition on International Women's Day in New Delhi. The exhibition, which was organised by ActionAid, captures the stories and images of courageous women from several marginalised groups in India.

Azmi was joined by three other women campaigners. All activists - the Bollywood star as well as Rambati, an emerging Sahariya tribal leader from Madhya Pradesh, Lalibai, a determined warrior against manual scavenging and Naish Hasan, a founder-member of the Indian Muslim Women's Movement - called for women's access to land and resources to help end hunger.

"It is outrageous that the issue of hunger does not get the focus it needs to. It is an important and emotive issue that must be pushed to the top of the country's political agenda," said Shabana Azmi.

Some 70% of the female workforce in India is engaged in agriculture yet only 10% of women farmers own land. Also, the main producers of food often go hungry. Why there is such rampant hunger was discussed at the exhibition.

"There is no single factor," said Kate Nustedt of ActionAid. "Denying women control over land and other fundamental rights has placed women firmly amongst the poorest of the poor."

Government needs to act

Rambati challenged the government's claims of instituting women-friendly policies, demanding actions rather than just words. "Our government keeps declaring that it has done a lot for the betterment of women. Please go to the interiors of the country, go to the villages and see if that's true," said Rambati.

Like the rest of the Sahariya community in her area, Rambati had suffered the effects of a drought from 2000-4, a period during which many survived eating berries and bark from the forest. But many also died.

Today Rambati and other Sahariya women are ensuring that they have a say in decisions which affect their lives. As a result, joint land titles that belong to both wives and husbands are slowly increasing in their villages.

Lalibai from Mandsor district of Madhya Pradesh exhorted the government to help women of her community give up the dehumanizing practice of manual scavenging. This practice involves clearing of dry latrines of dominant caste families and carrying the excreta in cane baskets for dumping outside the village.

"The government needs to quit double standards. On the one hand, they tell us that manual scavenging is banned, on the other hand, they don't give us land or other livelihood schemes to get rid of it completely," revealed Lalibai who is a confident proponent of an ActionAid-supported campaign called Garima, literally meaning dignity.

Naish Hasan states that Indian Muslim women should not let forces of patriarchy speak on their behalf. "It's high time that Muslim women talk about what affects us," she said. According to the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (Indian Muslim Women's Movement), education and livelihood are two major concerns for Muslim women across the country.

"Let's tell the politicians that they will not get our votes if they don't deliver our rights," she added.

Solidarity

At the exhibition Shabana Azmi and other activists lit a lamp to celebrate solidarity amongst women fighting to end hunger. Images highlighted rural and urban women who have brought about a positive change in their communities and their own lives.

The exhibition also featured short autobiographical films on Dalit women and their campaign for land. "These inspiring films should be shown to women of marginalised communities across the country," suggested Tara Rao in the audience.

The exhibition is drawing in young women and men, academics, art enthusiasts, college students and media persons.