Cartographies of Empowerment: The Story of Mahila Samakhya

Mahila Samakhya is as much a story of a government programme for women’s education and empowerment, as it is of the celebration of the struggles of poor women for their rights. Spread across eight states and more than 150 districts in India, the programme grew out of a unique partnership between the women’s movement and the government. In this collection of essays, scholars from different parts of the country chart Mahila Samakhya’s fascinating journey of setting up poor women’s collectives, and women’s agency in establishing an equal space and voice in the public domain – a radical departure from the more common approaches of organising women around economic concerns. The writers explore broad gender issues grounded within the field experience of Mahila Samakhya providing insights into its workings at different levels, its conceptual challenges, strategic choices, the opportunities and pitfalls of partnership with government and, above all, the willingness of poor women to come together voluntarily to address and overcome gender barriers.