Society of Women in Action for Total Empowerment

SWATE, Society of Women in Action for Total Empowerment, is a grass-roots movement of more than 10000 rural women living in Karur District of Tamil Nadu in South India. In Tamil, the word SWATE symbolizes the "morning star," which brightens up the sky at dawn. It is believed that when you see SWATE, it is a sign of hope for the new day. As an organization, SWATE embodies the hope of its members that women's liberation and development will bring about transformation of the society as a whole towards a more just and sustainable world.

SWATE is...
• A self-governing body guided by principles of democracy and collective decision making...
• A pressure groups for obtaining social and gender justice through legal action, public action and solidarity
Campaigns....
• An economic ground for and source of women's political participation and leadership
• A forum for solving village problems and for promoting women's and village development

How is SWATE organized?
SWATE is a coordinated body of village women's groups, called sangams. Women become members of SWATE by participating in a sangam in their village. Sangams elect a president and secretary every three years, who serve on SWATE's executive Committee. Sangam members work together to solve village problems and address women's issues in their village. Any problem which can not be solved by a sangam on its own is brought to SWATE to be taken up by a Problem Approaching Group (PAG). A Finance Committee administers the Savings and Credit Program and a Fact-Finding Team investigate abuses against women or other social conflicts.

What Does SWATE Do?
SWATE has three major functions:
• To support sangams in fighting for basic amenities in their villages, through official channels, public legal action.
• To empower women socially, politically and economically by taking action to Promote gender justice and
fight against oppression of women.
• To provide credit to women through a Savings and Credit program which enables individual members and
SWATE as a whole to become economically self-sufficient.

Women's Rights as Human Rights
What is SWATE?
SWATE, launched in 1991, is a grass root women’s organisation with a membership of 12,169 rural women. Its membership, mainly concentrated in Karur district in Tamil Nadu, is gradually building up in other districts as well. It is a federation of village level women sangams registered under the Society Registration Act of Tamil Nadu in 1992. From 1992 itself, its members are running a savings and credit program. It has its own structure and functions. Once in three years elections are conducted. In the executive body there are 7 office bearers and one representative from each panchayat. All together there are 36 executive members. The office bearers meet once a month, the executive once in three months, and the general body once in six months. All decisions of the organization are made through its leadership at different levels.

The organization strengthens itself numerically, economically, socially, politically and culturally through various social and political interventions particularly in those issues that affect women. Its particular focus is on the fight against the atrocities and oppression against women. Soon after its formation, SWATE took initiatives to highlight such issues as violence against women, female infanticide and the menace of alcoholism. SWATE remains a hope for many women in distress as the word literally means the morning star, the "hope of the dawn.”

Objectives
• To support economically and socially marginalised women to organize themselves locally and to get
federated under SWATE.

• To support women to get the basic amenities and needs of their village fulfilled through their collective action
through official channels, public and democratic actions.

• To provide credit to women through savings and credit programmes and to promote overall development of
individual members and SWATE as whole to become self-sufficient.

• To empower women socially, politically and economically and taking actions for gender justice and
fight against poverty and violence on women.

• To enhance political participation and role of grass root women, and thus promote governance with
gender perspective.

Activities
Formation of Sangams:
With the objective of enrolling women in SWATE, informal meetings, awareness camps and cultural programmes are being conducted in various villages to encourage women to form themselves into groups (sangams) and then get these sangams federated into SWATE. At present there are 12169 rural women in SWATE as its members, with 7974 saving members. This enormous strengthening of SWATE is only because of SWATE's Activism against violence and for development and empowerment of women.

Strengthening of Sangams:
At village level women sangams meet every fortnight, panchayat-level meetings take place once a month and the cluster level meetings, once in three months. Sangam activities, gender related issues, basic amenities of the villages are given importance for discussions in the meetings. The members’ inclusion in the federation has strengthened the organisation through which social mobility of women increased by activities under Self Help Groups. Women break up the traditional belief of subordinate role and prove their individuality through their collective endeavours in taking up problems affecting them. They are also involved in local issues like getting basic amenities in their villages viz., road, drinking water, bus commuting, fair price shops, bridge construction, drainage, street light etc. Apart from this, trainings and exposure are given to develop the capacity of sangam members and SWATE as a whole.

Strengthening of livelihood and Economic activities:
The activities under this program are implemented to strengthen the economic base of rural women and to enable them to become economically self sustained.

Savings and credit programme:
As the established banks and other financial institutions had been refusing to extend credit facilities and financial help to the poor rural women, women’s groups decided to launch a savings scheme and set up their own Bank. SWARE has also set up a grain and seeds bank (where seeds and grains collected during harvest time are stored and are to be used later when needed.) This helped start fair price shops in the villages. The women themselves run these shops.

Economic programmes:
To enhance employment opportunities and to promote economic sustenance, SWATE provides credit facilities as well as skill training to the group members. It also mobilises loans from local government schemes and banks. The main economic activities that are promoted amongst rural women are animal husbandry, fair price shops, grain bank, garment making, textile weaving, mat weaving etc. Each economic activity has its own managing and marketing departments and the professional skill and guidance are provided by SWATE.

Mobilizing government programmes:
To enable the people to rightfully enjoy the benefits accruing from the development schemes of the government, weekly training and counselling are given. Government schemes meant for women are effectively implemented through SWATE in which number of SWATE groups have been selected for SGSY (Swarnajayanthi Gram Swarozgar Yojana) credit facility and linked with Mahalir Thittam. (Women Development Programme)

With this credit facility women’s groups have started self employment means like running vegetable shops, production of cleaning powder, cloth selling; incense stick making, pickle making and animal husbandry. Marketing of the produces through the IGP activities are facilitated by making use of the small shops allotted under ‘Poomalai Thitttam’ of the government SWATE groups also benefit through EDP (Entrepreneurial Development Programme) trainings and programmes. Networking and coordination:SWATE has been making efforts to remove socially built dependency, subordinate role, passive, weak role of women by building up interdependency, connectedness, collectiveness and strengthening through its co-ordination and integration. SWATE is today one of the members of the National Micro-Credit Organisation. It has initiated the Tamil Nadu Anti-Liquor Movement (TALM), which has the support of all the women action groups in the state. With the main objective to eradicate violence and poverty among women, it involves itself in addressing issues relating to violence and violation of human rights. To impart in women the sense of their collective strength and power, SWATE networks with other NGOs and People’s Organisations in the state and has launched s state level Women Forum Against Poverty and Violence (WOMEN MAPOVI - T.N.)