Working Women’s Forum – Indian Cooperative Network for Women organises side event of UN’s 62nd Commission for Social Development at Chennai
The Working Women’s Forum (India) – Indian Cooperative Network for Women
(WWF – ICNW) is the only women’s cooperative privileged to be awarded a side
event on ‘Empowering
for equality: Women's Crucial Role in Cooperatives as Catalysts for
Transforming Social inequity and patriarchal practices’ during
the 62nd Session of the Commission
for Social Development (CSocD62) (UN HQ) on 8 February 2024. The
event was held at Chennai.
Dr Nandini
Azad, President, Working Women’s Forum – Indian Cooperative Network for Women
(WWF-ICNW) welcomed all to the historic side
event of the UN Commission for Social Development (62nd session). This is
the third time it has been held in
Chennai, Tamil Nadu (near the tip of the South Asian sub-continent for the
readers outside). Th city is also the headquarters of the Working Women’s Forum
and Indian Cooperative Network for Women.
Cooperative
leaders had come from far off to tell their story and connect with all of the registered online participants, from 40
countries, panelists and 300 grassroots women workers in India watching from several
States of India namely Tamilnadu,
Karnataka Andhra Pradesh & Telangana.
WWW-INCW
has 6,20,000 women connected in 270 trades through 13 branches of South India. Dr
Azad expressed gratitude to the UNCSocD62 for awarding the panel from New York,
entrusting largely poor women workers from mass organisations, the Working
Women’s Forum (with UN ECOSOC Consultative Status for 27 years).
In her
opening remarks, Dr Nandini Azad paid tribute to the legendary founder Late
Padma Shri Dr Jaya Arunachalam, whose 94th birth anniversary is today. As is customary
in Asia as she initiated, organized unregulated informal sector women into this
mass organisation.
Today
the organisation’s clout and its rise to global leadership is evident in 44
years and they are key players in global policy formulation with their voices
and issues of informal sector women heard in all parts of the globe: New York,
Germany, Netherlands and Japan.
WWF-ICNW
is represented on both the global unions/alliances of International Cooperative
Movement today by being elected to several countries’ apex cooperative bodies.
The
panel today was divided into 3 sections, both live and video. First a brief on new
status report on the WWF-ICNW was given by the Dr Nandini Azad. The International
Raiffeisen Union (IRU) Secretary General was the Keynote speaker. The IRU is the
world’s oldest cooperative union from Germany and DGRV, the association of
German Cooperative banks was represented by IRU Secretary General, Andreas Kappes, very committed cooperative
leader in Europe and globally.
In his
keynote address, while bringing in the flavour of European leadership in
cooperatives, he was proud that IRU elected the ICNW President Dr Azad as the
first women on their global board in 50 years. Recently WWF-ICNW was re-elected
to the IRU board (second time in 100 years). He spoke about the role of women
and international commitments for gender equality.
The Asian pioneer Hirofumi Kobayashi, Executive Director, Institute for the Development of
Agricultural Cooperation in Asia
(IDACA) set up by the iconic Ja-Zenchu, the largest Japanese Agricultural Women’s Cooperative
participated from the IDACA institution. He also spoke, on the Working Women’s
Forum / Indian Cooperative Network for Women, in its International Grain Survey
and IDACA experiences on the need for training and capacity building in
cooperative/movements from Japan, Asia, Africa etc. He said that focusing on
training was very important along with credit provision.
Xiomara Cespedes, Chair of the Gender Equality
Committee of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) sent a congratulatory
message to the WWF-ICNW leadership, members, institutions having had Nandini
Azad as a former member of ICA Gender Equality Committee, Brussels. She
emphasized the need for Gender violence solutions as essential with financial
inclusion.
Pieterson Boogaard, Head of Agribusiness
FMO, Netherlands, one of the biggest banks in the Netherlands spoke on efforts
in reducing gender inequalities through financing and a study that they
commissioned to evaluate one of our investment funds active in Africa. Some of
the findings were:
Evidence shows that ‘gender neutral’
approaches are ineffective in reducing gender inequalities and can even
exacerbate pre-existing inequalities, or at least perpetuate current
differences. Therefore, gender sensitive solutions, such as improved access to
finance, training, business development services and technical support, are
important tools in promoting gender equality. It is FMO’s aim to actively
contribute to reducing inequalities by, amongst other things, actively seeking
investment opportunities that positively contribute to the full inclusion of
women in economic, social and public life. FMO has committed to gender equality
in a Position Statement and is a signatory of the 2X Challenge initiative to
mobilize $3 billion in capital towards women’s economic empowerment. FMO has
developed a gender lens approach for Financial Institutions’ investments. Yet,
a gender approach for agribusiness investments remain less evident and thus a
task ahead.
Key Issues discussed in the
event to summarise were:
Gender
Inequality in Agriculture;
· Intersectionality
of Challenges:
· Gender
Equality in Family Farming - The Way Forward The Case of Indian Cooperative
Network for Women;
· Land
Ownership and Financial Inclusion; Climate Financing;
· Climate
Change and Gender;
· Role
of Women’s Groups; Global Impact and SDGs;
The Jaya Arunachalam Women Micro Entrepreneur Excellence
Awards in South India was also announced today. 9 awards in 3 States
of South India honouring poor women that helped their organization /
cooperative survive by utilising its services with commitment were awarded.
Women members who for 37 years from Rs 200 (2 Euro) to Rs 1,00,000 (1000 Euro) loans
today have been able to educate girls and boys as doctors or as engineers moving
them slowly into the formal sector. They are also employing other women and are
slowly into the formal sector.
Till last
3 years – 24 such awardees have been honoured from South India who have
employed 3 to 4 staff each creating wealth and lifting poor women and girls
from the grassroots.
Jaya
Arunachalam awardees that were announced for 2023-2024 are:
1. Revathy
Vijayabaskar, Electrical Shop, Central Chennai, Tamil Nadu (T.N.).
2. Umamaheshwari
Chandrasekar, Vegetable vendor, South Chennai, T.N.
3. Vasantha
Dhanavendran, Coconut business, Milk vendor, Adiramapattinam, T.N.
4. Rathna Athithiyan,
Floor cleaner manufacturer, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
5. Dhanalakshmi
Jayaraman, Tiffin, Snacks shop, Kancheepuram, T.N.,
6. Vijayalakshmi
Govindharaj, Tailoring, Bengaluru, Karnataka
7. Rathnamani Prabhuraj Arasu, Beedi, (country
cigar) Incense stick, Channapatna, Karnataka,
8. Palaparthi Rajamani,
Milk vendor, Narasapur, Andhra Pradesh,
9. Raidu Kamala, Hotel,
Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh.
The
awardees include vegetable vendors, farmers, country cigar makers, floor
cleaner manufacturers, tailoring, hotel businesses, electrical spare parts sellers
and also incense stick makers.
They are micro entrepreneurs,
who have taken subsequent loans from ICNW-WWF, increased employment, moved from
informal to pre-formal sector, educated their children and got empowered and involved
in the WWF/ICNW women-based activity). 9 awardees provided case studies from
South India during their acceptance speech.
The
side event at the 62nd session of the Commission for Social
Development provides a platform for global stakeholders particularly women
farmers, organisations to share its successful models, advocate for gender
equality in agriculture, and contribute to the global agenda of sustainable
development (including climate change). The focus on inclusive family farming
structures and empowering women farmers is crucial for achieving long-term
prosperity in rural communities worldwide.
Gender
based violence solutions are important to Women’s Human Rights, the right to
live in dignity as women, entrepreneurs, home managers and community leaders.
President WWF Dr Azad said that Youth forums against gender violence, through
street theatre and sports, provide training to resocialise men away from patriarchy
towards gender equality for its cooperative members too.
WWF-ICNW’s generational equality and alliance
with men and boys’ forums for gender equality is along with the Independent
Commission on People’s Rights and Development (ICPRD), a sister concern. It
shows its integrated approach to prevent gender violence by bringing in women
mentors to resocialise boys into combating patriarchy and gender violence.
Gender equality becomes an agenda for the community, cooperatives, nation and
globally with onus not only on women alone.
The
visit of Hillary Clinton as US Secretary of State to the WWF/ICNW headquarter was
historic. World leaders have appreciated the gender and equity model. 6,20,000
members have been the beneficiaries in 4 states of South India across the 270
trades.
Dr Nandini Azad, have a clarion call to the male/female
cooperative leaders to integrate financial inclusion with Gender violence –
i.e., the Gender based violence product in micro finance.