NESFAS observes International Women’s Day by organizing a panel discussion on the scope of Women Inclusion in Village Councils.
NESFAS observed the celebration of International Women’s Day on the 8th of March 2022 by organizing a panel discussion on women empowerment, particularly on the scope of “Women Inclusion in village Council” at their office headquarters in Laitumkhrah, Shillong. There were six women panelists present in the event with three of the panelists representing 28 villages where women have already been included in the Village Council. They were, Merrysha Nongrum, Senior Associate NESFAS, Umsawwar, Sita Mary Nongrum, Custodian farmer, Umsawwar, and Bibiana Ranee, custodian farmer Nongtraw. The other three panelists were from Jani Mawiong village who attended the panel discussion to exchange ideas on women empowerment and to address women’s issues that men often neglected. The programme was moderated by Bah Kitborlang Kharkongor from the Mawphor News Channel.
Women play a huge role in the progress and prosperity of every community. However, in many communities, women are often maligned in decision making at the Village Council level. Of the many NESFAS partner villages, only 28 villages have included women to be part of their Village Councils. Amongst the 28 villages, only six villages have appointed women as executive members of the village. Even to this day, women participating in the village council are still considered a big taboo. A great example of this is the case of Jani Mawiong village in East Khasi Hills. Women from this village have broken stereotypes and taken on leadership roles in projects that are being implemented in the village. In the ongoing World Bank funded Community-Led Landscape Management Project (CLLMP) under Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA), many women from Jani Mawiong have become executives of the Village Natural Resource Management Committee (VNRMC). One of the panelists of the day, Lucky Daughter Langstieh, is a Treasurer of the committee and shared her experience to the panel on how it is being the first women VEC treasurer: “It was a historic occasion for me as well as for all the women in Jani Mawiong Village when we were elected as representatives”. However, in spite of the capacity the women have shown in their roles, their participation in the Village Council still remains non-existent.
The panel discussion was thus organized to bring about proper dialogue on how women should be included in the Village Councils (Dorbars). One of the major discussions of the panel was the importance of seeing things from the point of view of a woman and how this empathy can bring about massive changes. Kong Bibiana Ranee, an Executive member from Nongtraw village shared her opinion on how women can identify various issues faced by themselves or the village which have seldom been acknowledged by men: “Being part of the women’s group there are issues we have addressed in terms of marriage, traditional farming, education, well being of our community, and especially creating awareness on teenage pregnancy. With the presence of the women’s group in our village, things have become easier where we are able to identify the day-to-day problems faced by the community. I can say that women have brought huge changes which have led to the betterment of the community.”
Kong Sita Mary Nongrum, a custodian farmer from Umsawwar, also pointed out that the inclusion of women and youths in the village council of Umsawwar have brought about positive changes in the community; “As women and youths are now part of the village council in our community, we have acknowledged so many changes in and around the community. Youths of today are the future of tomorrow.” Kong Sita, who has been part of the village council for 22 years now, also shared her belief on how the collective trio of women, men, and youth can be the catalyst for the prosperity of the community. “I truly believe that the women, youth and men should all join hands to work for the betterment of the community”, she added.
Kong Merrysha Nongrum, Senior Associate, NESFAS, who is also from Umsawwar, spoke of the huge reverence NESFAS has always had for the role Women play in society. “We (NESFAS) believe that women are the ultimate custodians of the land, food, culture, and nutrition,” she said. Merrysha’s thoughts were echoed by Bah Pius Ranee, Executive Director, NESFAS who shared a little backstory on the genesis of NESFAS and how women have always been at the centre of NESFAS’ work to strengthen, revive and promote Indigenous Food Systems: “The voices of women must be heard because they are the ultimate custodians for restoring and reviving traditional knowledge and practices and knowledge for seed saving”.
The three women panelists from Jani Mawiong village, viz. Kong Lucky Daughter Langstieh, Kong Elizar Langstieh, Kong Buldahun Langstieh, were full of hope for working towards a solution that would help them become part of the Village Council in their village. Kong Elizar, Village Community Facilitator (VCF), shared a strong message of her hope in shaping a Village Council with women as members: “I feel enlightened to be present in the discussion today whereby I came to know about the Youths Council (Durbar Khynnah). This is very new to me. I feel what the other communities are doing is right and we should take a step too and strive towards a sustainable future and not be left behind. The power lies in the hands of men but in this generation, we can also be part of the change we wish to see”.
Kong Buldahun on the other hand expressed her admiration for the women from other communities who have brought about big changes by being part of the Village Council and hopes that women from her community will be given the same chance in the near future. “The discussions held today have given me a lot of benefits where I have witnessed the roles played by women in other communities as compared to men. I hope with this discussion we can take it forward and implement it in our own community”.
In the recent past, women have started to play an active role as leaders and in coming forward and raising their voice. With the support of various grassroots organizations like NESFAS, SURE, SSC and government-supported projects like Community Led-Landscape Management Project (CLLMP) and even Churches organizations, emphasis on the inclusion of women in the decision-making process has been strengthened. There is thus, a huge beacon of hope that in these many small ways, the organization and the women community can work towards empowering women in the State and reach a point in the near future where women from all communities will be included to actively take part in the Dorbar Council.
