ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN TO POWER THEIR HEALTH

As we all know, poverty and health are connected. The accessibility of health among other social resources is conditioned by several other economic, social and cultural determinants. One of the important learnings of our first hand experience of working on health and reproductive rights issue in communities of Mewat and Gurgaon districts of Haryana was the criticality of viewing efforts at improving women’s health as closely entwined with larger issues of social and economic backwardness of women in traditionally male-dominated societies. Women in the rural areas of Haryana have little control over their lives. They have little power to take part in decision making in family matters. Dependency on male members of the family can be observed in almost every sphere of their lives including their health. In part women’s low status in the family and lack of decision-making power can be ascribed to her almost complete economic and social dependency on men.

It was therefore clear that the impact of any stand alone women ‘health’ program devoid of interventions that address the other associated socio-cultural and economic determinants impacting accessibility would be largely circumscribed.

Thus, over the years the focus of Sukarya’s efforts has shifted from exclusive ‘health’ programs to programs focusing on social and economic determinants impacting health outcomes. With the intention of dovetailing economic and social empowerment intervention with ‘direct’ health programs; Sukarya has enlarged its programmatic area to include income enhancing livelihood supporting initiatives for women.

Empowerment of women has thus emerged as a strategic thrust area in Sukarya’s work on women’s health issues. The idea is economically empower women through micro-credit and entrepreneurship development income enhancement programs which will in turn make women socially mobile and aware and help them overcome some of the social, economic and cultural impediments to leverage their enhanced social and economic standing to access better health care for themselves and their families.