Not a Country for Women

A recent Spanish documentary entitled "Not a Country for Women," portrays women's role in Indian society and offers horrifying testimonies of what too many women in India are forced to suffer every day. 

Click here to listen to a report (in Spanish) on the radio station Cadena Ser. 

We agree that this country is full of lights and shadows and, as in the words of one of the commentators, we believe that "India has started to follow a course of undoubtable modernization and of gender equality and which will be unstoppable. It is a country that has begun to move forward and it has begun to move forward with women of resilience." (min 37:00)

Red tape

I always remember the phrase a friend of mine used to say about India: “In India you'll need to wait patiently at many places for things to follow their due course.  So when you travel there, be sure to take a thick book with you so that you can just sit quietly and read while you wait." I'm sure that, among other things, he was referring to bureaucracy; in that case, I know he could say the same about many other countries, including Spain.

All this talk is here because after several years, our project is still awaiting a reply regarding our registration process. We're keeping our fingers and toes crossed because we so look forward to the positive changes and opportunities that having that official recognition by the Indian government would surely bring.

Finally, we'd like to thank our readers for their patience. We realize how long it's been since we've updated our blog. Some might even have thought that our education initiative had disappeared. Well, it hasn't and we're as enthused as ever and working as hard as ever to make it a success.

One Volunteer's Trip to Gulabgarh by Alessandro Bordoli

I spent one week in Gulabgarh, and although my time was limited, the place had an immense impact on me. The trip there from the nearest airports, Srinagar and Jammu, is long and follows treacherous roads along awesome heights through the mountains. As you travel there, you really get the sense that you are traveling somewhere remote, which for me was a new experience. When I finally arrived in Gulabgarh, exhausted, I was amazed by the innate beauty of the location. The village is situated on the banks of a river and surrounded by the towering and snow-covered peaks. It is firmly nestled between the river and the mountains, almost as if delicately dropped in the spot, and the feeling I got as I walked through for the first time was of the overwhelming sense of being far far away from the world I have always known. The silence and the beauty of the spot fill all the senses and produce a feeling of having arrived to one of the most beautiful places on Earth, an area still largely untouched by the forces of man.

In the week that I spent in Gulabgarh, I stayed with a family from the village, and I soon started to get a sense of how life in the village is. Electricity is not always reliable, nor is running water. Phone service is hard to get and the internet remains out of reach. Despite these obstacles, however, the people have an incredible culture and sense of family and friendship with their neighbors. If the electricity is not working, they build solar panels or use candles and lamps.  All people are bound together by their experience and by a great pride in the beauty of their home.

The people were all so kind to me as well. They welcomed me into their homes and bars and treated me as they would family. They went out of their way to make me feel at home, and constantly probed to see if I was enjoying my experience. It was a truly beautiful thing, to live in a place so far from my family, friends, and
the world that I grew up in, and yet to feel at peace there. I have many fond memories from my time in Gulabgarh that I will take with me forever: playing soccer on the cricket field in the pouring rain with other kids from the village, writing in my journal by the candlelight about my experiences there, the warm smiles of the people I met in my short time there.

The vibrancy of the culture there will always stick out in my mind, as well as the happiness of the people and the stunning beauty of the location. These are the things I think of when I think about Gulabgarh (which I often do). When you go, the place just sticks in your mind and heart. I was there only a week, and yet I miss it in a way. It felt strange to leave a place after such a short time and feel such an attachment, but such was my experience there that it has created a longing to return someday, a longing that I hope I can answer by going back next summer.

Our W.L.P. volunteer Alessandro

Today we want to introduce you Alessandro - he will travel in June to Gulabgarh to visit our women from the Women's Literacy Project, get to know them and to work in the school (Himalyan Cultural School of Paddar).

This is very exciting: for us, for Alessandro and of course for our women.

Here's a short interview we had with him:

Name: Alessandro Bordoli

Age: 23

Coming from: Vero Beach, Florida, United States of America

But living at the moment in Spain; the reason:

Teaching English for a year at a School of Languages in Santiago de Compostela.

I finished my Bachelor’s Degree last year in Political Science and Economics at the University of Florida. My eventual plan is to go to law school (perhaps in the area of international law) and then politics, but I decided to take a few years off to see new places and experience new cultures before I settle into school and a career. My family is Italian and we visit our relatives every summer in Italy, so I have traveled extensively throughout Europe, and I have always valued international experience.

Occupation: Language and Culture Assistant – I teach about the culture of the United States as a supplement to the English courses offered at the school

Travel Dates:

Departure Date: June 5^th, 2013

Visit in Gulabgarh: June 8^th to June 15^th (about one week working at the school and helping Tashi)

Tashi picks me up in Srinagar and then takes me to Gulabgarh for one week.

What brought you to the W.L.P.?

I met Mari de la Fuente this year, a fellow teacher here in Spain, and we had talked a lot about volunteer opportunities. I have always dedicated several hours a year to volunteering and always seek out new opportunities. I had a specific interest in volunteering in a long-term program in Africa or Asia for this coming summer, since I have almost a month (June) free. Unfortunately, most volunteer programs ask for sizable program fees, and this is something that is difficult for me to afford as a student with a large amount of debt owed for my university education.

Mari mentioned her past experiences with Tashi and the W.L.P. in India, and I thought it was perfect. I quickly emailed Tashi, and from our first email exchange I could tell this was the opportunity I was looking for. I am thrilled to be able to travel away from the normal tourist destinations and experience the true culture of this region, so far away from my own home.

Why are you interested in this project?

I love to volunteer. My parents came from very poor backgrounds, and have found success through hard work, but they have instilled in us (my 5 brothers and I) an awareness that not all people have been as fortunate as us. They have taught us to always give back, and to help people. This experience in Gulabgarh is especially exciting as it is an international one, and in a place that I have never been.

What are your feelings when you think about your visit?

Excited, as this is an opportunity that I have always sought. However, of course I have the normal feelings of nervousness going to a new place, traveling by myself, and going to a region of the world that most people know mostly as an area of conflict.

Are you interested in volunteering, too?

Just send an email to Tashi – lonpoadventure@yahoo.in

Women's literacy project, Gulabgarh - How the women of Gulabgarh found me

Ever heard of Gulabgarh? Where is that? On the edge of the Indian Himalayas? I thought the Himalayan range was in Tibet and Nepal ... in India, there are mountains? ....

This was the way I felt when I first heard of Gulabgarh. I myself, for the first time in India, had no idea of this country: its diversity, its colors, the culture, the landscape, the people. Just respect. A sentence of Michael Obert, a German travel journalist, could have been mine: "For a long time the idea of a trip to India inspired fear to me. I did not feel ready for the subcontinent and I feared that nothing might become of it. "

Today I can say, yes, India has not left me. What fascinated me, among many things on my trip to India (tour of Rajasthan), were the women. The barrenness, poverty, simple life, and then these proud and so sincere women. Quite strange, but they have left me the least. They activated me to think about me and my own life, as a woman. I myself grew up in Germany, well protected, with a good education, a college degree and a good job.

Later Tashi Chering, my Indian guide, told mein his reserved manner, about the W.L.P., which he has founded. As the result of a linguistic misunderstanding (yes, my English skills are upgradeable), I initially thought that it was a literary club for women (sorry!) and was interested only partially in the project.

Later, it turned out to be a mistake and I learned that the W.L.P. is a school for women in Gulabgarh in which the women are getting a chance to learn to write, to read, to count and to learn English. I looked at my Indian map for Gulabgarh and learned that many women living in the remote region of Paddar, in which Gulabgarh is located, have received no school education. Everything I had heard about the project, for me had hand and foot and I trusted Tashi.

But still – isn’t it better to support a project that is advocating directly for the education of girls? A project that takes care of the future of the girls in India?

But who take care for the girls on-site? Who is learning with the girls? Who makes sure that the girls get an education as equal as the boys? Who are the good examples for these girls? And who educates the boys of today that later, as fathers, they will make sure that their daughters will get a very good education? The moms!

And when I realized this, I realized that I want to support the WLP.

I am not a feminist, but I think we women of the world should stick together. And my thanks go to Tashi, who sticks, as a man, also by women J.

And yes, the Indian women cannot get rid of me. Even on my last trip to India I was introduced to a very remarkable Indian woman.

78 years, short grey hair, jeans and sneakers, studied medicine in London, born 2 sons, made a career as a doctor in Delhi and be divorced from her husband at age of 40 because of a "bad marriage". Unfortunately, I forgot to ask her name.

The power of this woman - I wish it for myself and for the women of Gulabgarh.

Greetings, Andrea

Volunteer work in India: Soumya Pande and Carmen de la Fuente, two sides of the same coin

Thank you, Cristina Negreira, for your wonderful report. Our congratulations on a job well done, which offers new and interesting insight into a major, current issue. We love it!

Cooperación na India: Soumya Pande e Carmen de la Fuente, dúas caras da mesma moeda

Our Very Own Magi

On this special day of gift giving, we would like to share, not the story of the three wise men, but that of a very kind and generous wise woman called Teresa, a sponsor of the Women's Literacy Project who has donated extensively to our cause.

As a teacher, Teresa knows that illiteracy is at the root of the great gender divide that exists in India. Hence, she is aware of how the lives of the women of Paddar will improve through literacy.

We know Teresa well and can easily speak of her intelligence, her wit and her commitment to helping the needy. Through her generosity, she has helped sustain this literacy project since its launch in 2010. She has always asked to remain anonymous, but we felt we needed to pay homage to our most generous and concerned benefactor on this day of giving and solidarity.

Indian Women Struggle for Change

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Statistics show that women in India have achieved a great deal in recent years, including a reduction in maternal mortality rates, and an increase in both literacy rates and education levels. However, there is still much to be done to reduce the gender gap. 

In reaction to the gruesome gang rape in Delhi, a protest movement emerged which was born, according to the women who started it, "'of their outraged realization that no matter how accomplished they become, or how hard they work, women here will never fully take part in the promise of a new and more prosperous India unless something fundamental about the culture changes.'"

According to the N.Y. Times article "Indian Women March: 'That Girl Could Have Been Any One of Us'"), "sociologists and crime experts say the attacks are the result of deeply entrenched misogynistic attitudes and the rising visibility of women, underpinned by long-term demographic trends in India." These atttitudes must change.  How, then, can we contribute to this change?

The Women's Literacy Project of Gulabgarh is aware that, no matter how small our effort, we can all help to improve the situation of Indian women and we therefore support whatever measures and efforts must me taken to achieve this aim. In our case, actions begins with increasing the literacy rate among the women of rural areas in Paddar.

Among other things, literacy empowers women by increasing their self-confidence and providing opportunities for them to improve their lives at both a personal and professional level. It also raises awareness, helping women to recognize what their collective needs and rights are, thereby providing them with an essential tool for understanding why this affirmative struggle for change is so important. Finally, literacy can show women how they can remain united in this positive undertaking.

On a positive note, we see that people have joined together in this movement to demand a safer existence for all women throughout India. Let us hope that this union is a long-lasting one, capable of bringing on other greatly needed changes in social attitudes that will close the great gender divide.

India still lagging behind China in female literacy rate

According to a recent article by Carrie Lennard, Government Labour and Education Manager at Euromonitor International, the one-child policy in China (in place since 1979) and its preference for educating males is doing damage to the Asian giant's growth rate, so much so that its total employed female population is forecast to contract by 1.2% between 2012 and 2020.

In contrast and partly owing to increased female incomes, during that same period India saw a real growth of 64.2% in consumer expenditure on education.

This reinforces our conviction that we must promote female illiteracy because improved literacy among women translates into improved health as well as school enrollment and outcomes by enabling women who enter the workforce to invest in their children's health and education, that is, in their children's future.

Statistics and predictions tell us that literacy is the key to social and economic development and improvement at several levels. It can mark the difference between extreme poverty and a bright, hopeful future for an entire society, not just for women. What is more, in countries beset by conflict, literacy can contribute to peace.

India may still be lagging behind the other Asian giant, but it can do a lot to bridge that gap and why not, to get ahead of its rival neighbor. If rivalry means improving the social conditions, health and education of its people, then let there be rivalry.

My visit to a literacy lesson

It's been a long wait, but finally here's a short video clip of the visit I made to the WLP class in Gulabgarh, where I was able to observe at first hand how the students of the project were progressing in their efforts towards achieving literacy and numeracy skills.

I was delighted and also moved when I saw this group of women doing something for themselves for a change, even if that meant reconciling their classes with babysitting for their grandchildren. Women never seem to stop looking after their families, so often forgetting to care for themselves.

I'm enthusiastic about this project and convinced that our efforts will help the women succeed in becoming literate, thus more independent and self-confident. The changes that take place in them will not only be for their own benefit, but also for that of their family and their community.

It was a true pleasure to share that short time with them and to check their notebooks too! 

Congratulations to these ladies - the students of the Women's Literacy Project, Gulabgarh!

Mari

Kavita Parmar: the prosperity chain

We're glad to be back after a rather long recess with an interesting interview with an Indian fashion designer who fosters responsible purchasing through her collections of modern garments, wonderfully crafted by artisans from India and Spain. Click on the image below to watch the interview by RTVE.

Kavita Parmar is a fashion designer from India who currently lives and works in Madrid, Spain. She established the firm IOU which creates unique, modern garments - beautifully crafted products imbued in tradition.  IOU tries to connect the garment with the craftsman through what it calls the "prosperity chain" thereby fostering responsible purchasing.

Ms. Parmar provides work for several Indian cooperatives. "We use technology to connect the consumer to the artisans, bringing back that emotional connection between consumers and what they are buying. In this way we promote responsible purchasing because when we know how much work is involved behind the product we are buying, we value it more."

For Kavita, "India always means starting from scratch because India is like that. There everything is always possible… and then there's this enormous projection of colors, smells… it's intense… India stimulates all your senses… it's wonderful… it makes you feel again."

Exceptional women creating amazing projects that add

a human dimension and value to what they do.

"Our century's greatest injustice

Interesting talk by Sheryl WuDunn, journalist and author of "Half the Sky", which you can watch on TED (interactive transcript provided).

Ms. WuDunn does not focus her talk specifically on India or even on the problem of women's literacy, but rather on what she terms "the central moral challenge of this century: gender inequity." This major challenge is behind many of the problems that developing countries are facing today. Essentially, this broader issue is what inspired us to launch the Women's Literacy Project, Gulabgarh.

At one point Sheryl WuDunn quotes Larry Summers, chief economist at the World Bank, who once said: "It may well be that the highest return on investment in the developing world is in girls' education." Ms. WuDunn goes on to say that "...when you educate a girl, she tends to get married later on in life, she tends to have kids later on in life, she tends to have fewer kids, and those kids that she does have, she educates them in a more enlightened fashion."

The WLP is convinced that if its students understand the importance of literacy and numeracy they will then work harder and in a more informed way toward the education of their daughters.

The WLP also shares the speaker's idea that "individuals can make a difference... individuals, together... can all help create a movement. And a movement of men and women is what's needed to bring about social change…"

Finally, according to Sheryl WuDunn, "...research shows that once you have all of your material needs taken care of… there are very few things in life that can actually elevate your level of happiness. One of those things is contributing to a cause larger than yourself." I suppose this is what those of struggling for women's literacy feel: the joy that comes from knowing we are contributing to a much larger cause than ourselves.

We've just added a new resource to our blog page Women's Literacy: resources.

"Creating Authentic Materials and Activities for the Adult Literacy Classroom. A HANDBOOK FOR PRACTITIONERS" by Erik Jacobson, Sophie Degener, Victoria Purcell-Gates.

This handbook focuses on creating authentic materials that help students link classroom activities to real life situations. Students learn best when they are motivated to learn and authentic materials can be highly motivating.

In the case of the WLP students, we find that working with documents such as the ones proposed in the handbook would be especially encouraging. Some instructional objectives linked to these authentic materials could be:

Being able to read

• food labels to discover ingredients for health/religious purposes
• descriptions and even expiry date of prescribed drugs or first aid products
• narratives for their own enjoyment or stories they can share with their children
• informational texts to learn new information
• newspaper articles to learn about topics such as testing, parenting, etc.
• reports of test results to learn about child’s scores and performance
• magazine health articles to learn about good nutrition for themselves and their family..." and so many more. 

Being able to write

• a journal to record personal responses, thoughts, questions
• a note to teacher to inform of a child's absence, request help for him/her, or other items of interest... and many more.

The publication is available on the National Center for Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) website. We've shared it on our resources page.

A new portrait, another note of thanks

Today we would like to introduce you to Isabel, another of our highly esteemed sponsors. Isabel is a hard-working woman from Galicia, Spain, who believes in helping the illiterate women of Gulabgarh--women she has never met, but whom she understands. She feels empathy for and identifies with the women of a village that is so far away from her own because she shares their personal struggle to succeed in life, to help raise a family and to participate in the responsibilities and the decisions of her household. Isabel is a woman we cherish and admire.

A true fighter, Isabel has come up in the world through her own determination and desire to learn and improve. She has acquired the knowhow and wisdom that come from study and experience and used them to improve her education and her life. Because Isabel is aware of the importance of lifelong learning, she continues to harness and broaden this knowledge. Indeed, at present she is preparing state exams to compete for a job in the health services. For us she is an example of courage, fortitude and optimism.

Thank you, Isabel, for believing in the WLP and for helping us to work toward empowering the women of Gulabgarh through the Women's Literacy Project.

Ladakhi sounds like this

We thought it worthwhile to dedicate a post to Ladakhi because many of the WLP students belong to the Ladakhi nation and speak one of more varieties of the language. Of course, in the WLP school, the women are learning "only" Hindi and English script, at least for now. On the other hand, children who attend the Himalyan Buddhist School (H.C.S.) in Gulabgarh also learn Bhoti, in addition to Hindi and English. How lucky they are to know so many languages!

Festival in Leh. Photo by Raul

But what is Ladakhi and where does this language come from? To answer this question, we've decided to share the information about Ladakhi contained in the Wikipedia; we couldn't have done a better job ourselves.

"The Ladakhi language (Tibetan: ལ་དྭགས་སྐད་, Wylie: La-dwags skad), now also called Bhoti, is the predominant language in the Ladakh region of the Jammu and Kashmir state of India, and is also spoken in Baltistan. Ladakhi is closely related to Tibetan, and the Ladakhi people share cultural similarities with Tibetans, including Tibetan Buddhism. 

Ladakhi has approximately 200,000 speakers in India, and perhaps 12,000 speakers in the Tibet region of China, mostly in the Changthang region. The language has several dialects including Ladakhi proper (also called Lehskat after the capital of Ladakh, Leh, where it is spoken), Shamskat, spoken to the northwest of Leh, Stotskat, spoken to the southeast in the Indus valley and Nubra, spoken in the north. The varieties spoken in Upper Ladakh and Zangskar have many features of Ladakhi and many other features of western dialects of Central Tibetan.

Ladakhi is usually written using Tibetan script with the pronunciation of Ladakhi being much closer to written Tibetan than most other Tibetan dialects."

In case you'd like to know what Ladakhi sounds like—at least a few consonant sounds from the language—we've included the short Keynote presentation below.

For Engracia

Women we admire. Women like Engracia López, one of the WLP’s most respected benefactors. Her story is the story of so many women from around the globe: widowed young, she raised her family through her own effort.

This determined, hardworking woman knows what it takes to survive very hard times. That is why she understands the women of Gulabgarh, their eagerness to become literate and in the process, to prosper and progress, to feel respected and appreciated, to achieve dignity.

Engracia is a wonderful woman who relishes the different roles she has fulfilled throughout her life: mother, worker, friend, neighbor. At the age of 82, she continues to learn and to be an active participant in society.

All of us can learn from women like Engracia. That is why the WLP wishes to share her story with a group of women who are just now beginning to understand the importance of their own education, personal growth and pro-active participation in society.

Thank you, Engracia, for all your help and for trusting in the Women’s Literacy Project of Gulabgarh.

Every woman has a story to tell, each and every one of them has wisdom to share.