Dear
Friends, |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
Self-Employed Women’s Association, SEWA, is a trade union of women
workers in the informal economy in India with 700,000 members of which
nearly 500,000 are in Gujarat where SEWA’s headquarters are located.
SEWA’s members are the poorest working women including homebased
workers, street-vendors, small producers and labourers. Since its inception
over 30 years ago, SEWA has sponsored around a 100 co-operatives and federations,
including the SEWA Bank. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As
you may be knowing SEWA has been facing some problems with the Government
of Gujarat in recent times. Although SEWA is not affiliated with any political
party and works with all democratically elected Governments, since last
year it has become the target of the Government of Gujarat. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In
2001 there was a devastating earthquake in Gujarat in which over 20,000
people died and hundreds of thousands lost their homes and livelihoods.
SEWA had a large presence in the worst affected districts and SEWA members,
their families and neighbours were badly affected. SEWA supported its
members in the worst-affected districts, first through relief work and
later with long-term rehabilitation with livelihood restoration as our
base. SEWA worked with its sister organisations especially the local Associations
of the women. Taking note of these efforts, the international agency IFAD
approached SEWA to undertake a seven-year programme of large-scale rehabilitation
of victims of the earthquake which was to be a unique partnership between
IFAD, the Government of India, the Government of Gujarat and SEWA. For
two years the project went well and SEWA was able to reach 14,000 families
especially the poorest of the poor. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
However,
after two years of its implementation, and in spite of regular audits
and programme monitoring by the Gujarat government, the government deliberately
withheld all reimbursement of expenses incurred by SEWA and its sister
organizations for progammes already carried out. The total outstanding
amount was a staggering Rs 2 Crores or Rs 20 million, an amount that was
impossible for SEWA to reimburse or compensate in any way. With no funds,
all the employment and other economic activities in the three project
districts came to a halt, and caused immense hardship to the local people.
12000 SEWA members, many of them the poorest, who had worked on the project,
could not be paid and literally had no food in the house. We tried all
ways to get the Government to pay, but after many months of no payment
and no employment, many families had to sell their vessels, cattle and
other hard-earned assets and many of them have been forced to migrate
in search of livelihood. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
At
the same time, there were many attempts to try and break the SEWA solidarity
in the three districts of the project area. Government officials would
go to the villages and speak against SEWA especially to the menfolk. Officials
would call meetings and try to get people to speak publicly against SEWA.
A team of officials went to the villages to make a video which would highlight
negative things about the project. SEWA organizers and leaders were publicly
insulted in meetings. SEWA women leaders were summoned and told to leave
SEWA and start rival organisations. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SEWA
attempted in all ways to dialogue with Government, contacting higher officials,
rushing to meetings which were called at the last minute, trying to meet
the Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister. But instead of easing the
situation the Government slapped a special audit which was used to justify
the stoppage of funds. Even though there was no justification for this
, and no provision in the project agreement for a such a special audit,
SEWA was transparent and opened all its accounts. These accounts had already
been audited by Government appointed auditors and approved by Government
itself. Furthermore the IFAD mission had also looked at the progress of
the project and had already suggested certain changes in systems and practices,
which SEWA had begun implementing. When the special auditor was unable
to find any misuse or misappropriation of funds, he began to question
the expense policies and the basic premises of the project. The special
audit became only a means to send misinformation and to leak to the press. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
Government of Gujarat deliberately attempted to malign SEWA. It leaked
the queries of the special auditor to the newspapers in the form of “financial
irregularities” when no such irregularities had been found. We were
maligned in newspapers in Gujarat and all over the country. SEWA has built
up its reputation and credibility over 30 years of dedication and clean
and transparent work. Our Executive Committee met on October 5th 2005,
and decided to withdraw from all projects of the Government of Gujarat.
We held a press conference in Delhi and announced this decision. On November
11th, 2005, with the support of Gandhian organizations in the state, SEWA
organized a silent rally to protest the cessation of employment opportunities
for workers in our state and the shrinking space for civil society. 5000
women marched through the busy streets of Ahmedabad and to the Sabarmati
Ashram for a rally and prayer meeting. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Since
then the Government has continued the harassment in various forms. We
have been receiving letters from various Government departments for return
of projects in which the funds have been spent, audited accounts submitted
and the project closed, in some cases ten years ago. Recently, Government
has illegally put it’s name in as co-owner of a piece of land owned
by SEWA in Patan district and where a Handicraft Centre is being run by
SEWA. Similarly, organisations which are sponsored by SEWA, or are close
to SEWA, are being harassed, for example, the Associations of artisans
in Kutch (Kutch Craft) has been told to vacate it’s workshed which
was given to it by the local Government 15 years ago. Projects on which
SEWA is working with Government of India, such as Shanta project for the
widows and orphans of the 2002 riots, are being blocked by the Government
of Gujarat. In order to destroy our reputation the Government has posted
on its own website a report which is totally one-sided and defames SEWA. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
newspaper accusations of “financial irregularities” have proved
to be false. The Government itself has never written anything to us accusing
us of financial irregularities. In fact it finally released Rs. 23 million
to SEWA for reimbursement of costs. An independent, highly reputed auditor
was appointed by us and this auditor has given his report saying that
all our accounts are clean and above board. This report is available with
us for distribution. It has not reimbursed expenses of 3.3 million which
we are still claiming and following up. However, till today the Government
of Gujarat has not acknowledged our letters or made any statement disclaiming
the newspaper reports of financial irregularity, or tried to clear our
name in any way. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In
spite of all this we have tried to continue a communication with the Government.
We have been writing and asking for meetings with the Chief Secretary
to sort out all the pending issues. The founder of SEWA, Elaben Bhatt,
has been asking the Chief Minister of Gujarat for time to meet him. However,
we have not got any response. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
We
have often asked ourselves why the state government has decided to attack
us at this time and in this manner. Clearly, there are no simple answers.
What we have learned is that when a mass-based organisation – and
that too of poor, working women of all communities and castes –
grows and expands its base, it disturbs the traditional power balance
all along the line. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Also,
the fact that SEWA organizes women of all faiths and castes is not acceptable
in some quarters. And it is these poor women who take the lead for social
change in their villages. Further they do so in a clean, and transparent
manner. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
attacks on SEWA, is part of the present government’s attack on civil
society, in general. Harassment of other civil society organisations in
Gujarat by the state government, conducting vigilance enquiries withholding
their funds and damaging their reputation, points to the fact that SEWA
alone has not been singled out by this state government. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SEWA
is however rooted in the Gujarati soil and the solidarity within SEWA
is strong. SEWA’s members are wholeheartedly with SEWA and we are able to turn to each other for support. When the Government stopped funds, SEWA members contributed 25,000 kilogrammes worth of foodgrains for their sisters. They also contributed a day’s worth of income to their sisters in the affected districts. In addition, Rs. 2 million worth of membership dues were contributed towards the project. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Our
friends are also with us and we have received hundreds of letters of support
from our friends in India and abroad. We are confident that we will emerge
stronger from this crisis. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The stoppage of funds has resulted in the out Migration of families in search of work | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Migration Data of the village of Surendranagar and Patan under Jeevika | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| With regards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yours Sincerely |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jyoti
Macwan General Secretary |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||