Maternal Health and Rights - Campaigns
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Evaluation Of ‘HUMARI PANCHAYAT HUMARA RAJ’ Campaign A campaign ‘Humari Panchayat Humara Raj’ was launched in August 2010 in seventy two blocks of twenty four districts in Uttar Pradesh in order to encourage MSAM women to participate in the election process as well as to stand for elections. At a review meeting on 15th of November 2010, campaigners reported that the campaign was successful in increasing the awareness of village women and people about the process of elections and excising their franchise. The campaign encouraged many women to undertake new roles which were a far cry from their daily routine. One of the objectives of the campaign was to make people aware of the unfair use of money, power and caste as vote bank strategy. As a result of campaigning, the issue of development was given importance. The campaigners brought out election manifestos which was used widely during campaigning. However it was not all smooth sailing and some of the women contestents were threatened with violence and even death to deter them from contesting. Pressure tactics were also used on the members of the MSAM to influence their choices. But our efforts did pay off, as in this election fewer votes were cast on the basis of caste and the lure of money and liquor was to some extent overcome. The final tally showed that a total of 180 MSAM women contested in the elections from 22 blocks and 109 gram panchayats in 10 districts. Of these, 111 were elected to the posts of Pradhans, Members and BDCs. Success Story: Guddi Devi
Thirty year old Guddi Devi, a resident of Dhada Bujurg Khas village situated in Hata Block, Kushinagar District, Uttar Pradesh, is a woman from the Scheduled Tribes who lives in a joint family. Guddi Devi’s husband owns a very small amount of agricultural land (10 decimal; approx. 60 decimal make a Bigha) on which she and her husband work; their monthly income is approximately Rs. 1500. Guddi Devi, a member of the MSAM, actively participates in all its programmes and activities. She was also involved in the ‘Humari Panchayat Humara Raj’ campaign and worked tirelessly to promote awareness among women and villagers. The MSAM women nominated her to contest for the post of Pradhan. Guddi Devi was pitted against seven other candidates; but the real contest was between her and the incumbent Pradhan’s candidate who was also a woman. Various methods were used during the campaign by the MSAM, such as organizing debates, cycle rally, puppet shows and a Panchayat Rath Yatra. Besides this, Guddi Devi also did door to door campaigning in each of the seven hamlets that fell within the Panchayat area. Throughout the campaign, her family was a constant source of support. The incumbent Pradhan decided to bribe the voters by distributing blankets, mosquito nets, liquor and cash among the voters in the dead of the night. However his plans failed to materialize because of the constant vigilance of the MSAM women, the male members of their families and the youth. Guddi Devi’s campaigning efforts paid off and she won with a landslide victory defeating her opponent with a margin of 1666 votes. Guddi Devi had achieved this laudable victory without spending even a single rupee. This margin of victory was unmatched in the entire block and even at the district level. At a felicitation ceremony, she was honored by the State Minister of Panchayati Raj with a cash prize of Rs. 30,000. HUMARI PANCHAYAT HUMARA RAJ’ ABHIYAN Women of the Mahila Swasthya Adhikar Manch decided to participate this year in the elections for Panchayati Raj (local elected councils) in Uttar Pradesh, to use their collective ‘voice’ more effectively through village Panchayats for negotiating improvements in health services.
As part of preparations, 50 MSAM women leaders took part in an Orientation Workshop on 29 May, 2010 in Lucknow, conducted by resource persons and rural women leaders from Samavesh in Madhya Pradesh. This helped to build understanding on the importance of women’s participation in governance, and the various challenges of being in elected positions. Women also discussed a proposed Election Manifesto to mainstream their issues in Panchayats. This was followed by a Study Tour to PRAYAS, an NGO in Nainital (Uttarakhand) where about sixty MSAM women leaders heard the experiences of local women who had contested recent Panchayat Elections on behalf of a women’s forum. They learnt about the documentation involved in contesting elections, and also made strategic plans for the next few months. Following this, intensive capacity building sessions were organized across ten districts for around 300 women. The objective was to enable women to participate in the upcoming Panchayat election in the State. These sessions helped the rural women to understand various roles they could play during Panchayat elections to oppose the unfair use of money and power; as well as the entrenched caste-based voting; so that they could promote fair elections and an effective governance system. Simultaneously, a Campaign Manifesto of MSAM women regarding issues related to Health, Nutrition, Livelihood and Social Security (see here) is being used in their community-level campaigning. All candidates are being asked to express commitment to these issues. Women leaders examine health expenditure: Use of RTI
The Mahila Swasthya Adhikar Manch has been monitoring the use of Untied Funds (2008-2009) for their local PHCs and Sub-Centres in five districts, and has used the Right to Information (RTI) Act to obtain the exact details.
Along with this, the MSAM has also carried out a small survey of 412 rural women, mostly poor Dalit labourers, to assess how much poor families are spending on maternal and child care, between April to September 2008:
The MSAM recommends that committees designated to look into the Untied Funds at every level need to be formally constituted and have meetings to plan expenditure. The provisions for helping poor families must be publicized, and all expenses must be made public. Hospitals need to clearly display the list of services being provided and a telephone helpline in case of any harassment by the staff on duty.
This report is being presented by the MSAM leaders in each of the five districts to their district health officials in December 2009.
Complete Citizen Total Rights (Puri Nagrik Pura Haq) Based on suggestions from partners that the right to maternal health needed to be given much more visibility, a campaign was launched in March 2006 under the banner “Complete Citizens Total Rights” (Puri Nagrik Pura Haq) in order to generate greater political will for improving maternal health services in Uttar Pradesh. The campaign ran from March 6th (Celebration of Women Day) to May 28th, 2006 (International Day of Action on Women’s Health) and included events at both the district and state levels. This campaign was carried out by a coalition of partner organizations, women’s organizations and other allies and activists, including WAMA, Healthwatch Forum and MASVAW Networks, AIPWA, and Mahila Federation, and was anchored by SAHAYOG. The two main objectives of the campaign were:
Campaign activities were held in 15 districts and included collecting 35,000 signatures, pamphlets and poster dissemination, screenings of the film “Citizens without Rights”, meetings with Panchayats & elected representatives for greater political ownership of issue, lobbying with political actors to visit health centres, press conferences and media advocacy. At the state level in Lucknow, there were several demonstrations with visual representation of maternal deaths, as well as dialogue with the Director General (DG) of Family Welfare, the State Commission for Women (SCW), 45 legislators in the UP state Legislative Assembly, and a delegation to meet the Minister of Family Welfare and the Chief Secretary. The campaign received widespread media coverage, and a total of 90 articles were published about campaign activities. The campaign ended with the formation of a group of women leaders called Women’s Health Rights Forum, known in Hindi as Mahila Swasthya Adhikar Manch (MSAM).
Each year since 2004, SAHAYOG has brought together grassroots women leaders, partner NGO staff, government officials, health workers and the media on May 28th to mark the International Day of Action on Women’s Health and to provide a platform on which community women can share their experiences with seeking and receiving maternal health services, demand their rights, and make recommendations to policymakers about how to improve these services. The main issues of focus in the last 5 years have been:
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