SWATI’s mission is to promote the human rights of women and the marginalized communities; influence formulation and implementation of gender just policies; and build an enabling environment for the achievement of the democratic rights of all.

Ms. Poonam Kathuria has been in the field of development for over eighteen years working for women’s empowerment and leadership.  Sharing her views on development of leadership qualities in women, Ms.Poonam provides interesting insights regarding the concept of leadership development.

“Leadership is a very misunderstood concept. We often think of a leader to be at the top. Hierarchical leadership. But that is status quo. More like managerial leadership. Everyone is a leader.  Being a leader doesn’t mean that 20 others have to follow you. The main thing what a feminist leadership requires is initiative, willingness to speak up against wrong, the willingness to do new things, taking risk and above all being inclusive. Anyone who does that in the smallest of ways, even in their own home is a leader. Consciousness of yourself as a person and not just a wife, a sister, or a mother, the moment that comes up, I think you are a leader.”

This leads us to think more upon the various roles played by a woman. What then leads us to address concerns related to gender inequality and recognition of women in our society? How are we different from the western world? When asked about this concerns Ms.Poonam says that, “Culturally we are different from the western world. Attitude towards women, gender equality concerns, recognition of women are all addressed differently in our society compared to the western world.  This is not to say that patriarchy does not exist in the west. Its socio cultural manifestations are different.  In our society we have many women contributing/ earning as much if not more than their husbands. In spite of that she gets up in the morning, takes care of all household chores, cooks for everyone in the family, gives her husband his chai, his breakfast, comes to work and in the evening goes back to cook. So the traditional responsibilities of women do not change in an Indian society and there are professional responsibilities added to it.”

When we think upon the reasons behind such a setup of the society, it leads us to think and raise concerns about our traditional patriarchal system and the masculinity as a concept prevailing in the society. “Patriarchy privileges men over women and breeds a masculinity that is exploitative over women and other men. Masculinity is a trait. Both men and women have it. Same is the case with femininity. However in our society men are taught and raised to be masculine (tough, brave, dominating, decisive, disciplinarians) ) and women are taught and raised to be feminine ( submissive, shy, nurturing, scared, etc.. )

For e.g. women are considered to be alone even if they are in a group. Unless they are accompanied by men they are not looked upon as protected. Scenario further worsens when women themselves don’t feel secure alone without men. This mind set creates a culture of masculinity and violence against women or dominance of men over women. “

SWATI as an organisation has been also working with men and young boys conducting awareness initiatives among men for a better equitable society. Sharing her experiences conducting such awareness programs Ms. Poonam says that, “Men also suffer. When you have an unequal relationship then the whole relationship suffers as a whole. Equal relationship is much nicer than an unequal relationship. If one wheel of a vehicle is small then the burden will tilt on the smaller wheel, but the overall speed will also decrease. So patriarchy is harmful even for men. They can have happier relationships if they consider women as equal. “

Sharing her views on the role of education for a more equitable society as well as for women’s empowerment Ms.Poonam says that “Definitely education has a major role in empowering women and young girls. But the fact should be considered that we have different attitudes with which we educate our daughters and the way we educate our sons. Girls are not necessarily brought up to be studying for employment. Marriage is the first priority rather than career in most of the houses for girls. Marriage for most of the women is the first career .Even if they are working, the fact still remains that a women’s income is always considered as secondary. “

Women’s health is also a major domain which is usually neglected by the society and at times by women themselves. Women’s health is neglected as she consults a doctor only when the health problem tends to be unbearable and unfortunately many times incurable. “It is not just a matter of poverty or lack of money but also an attitude of society or family. Women may be dependent at times on the men to seek these health services just like other decisions in their life.” says Ms. Poonam.” Many more girls suffer and die of easily curable diseases, compared to boys.”

SWATI has been working mainly in rural areas regarding the issues and concerns tending towards gender inequality, violence against women and women’s health.  Activities conducted by the organisation include forming groups in rural areas with young girls and boys and awareness programs with them regarding the constitutional rights of women, rights of citizens and their responsibilities. Community monitoring models are adopted to further implement these initiatives. As far as health is concerned the organisation is also active for health system performing better or delivering quality support in the rural areas. Sharing her work in various areas concerning women’s wellness Ms.Poonam says that “Making women more aware about their bodies and changes in their bodies is a part of our work too. For awareness regarding intimate health we undertake programs such as pre-marital counselling.”

It is very much important to have gender just platforms for women and dealing with the evil of violence against women. We are thankful to women like Poonam Kathuria who have been working in this field and initiating new insights.

You can visit swati at: www.swati.org.in

Asked about a platform like Oowomaniya.com Ms.Poonam says “Any platform for women’s wellness is always a good initiative and there is a difference when people surf for information. It can have a larger impact and that will depend on how it expands.”