Grass Roots Collectives

Keerthi Mahila Okuta, Bijapur

About the Member

Keerthi Mahila Okuta, Bijapur is registered organisations that have been functioning since 2003. Both federations are dedicated to working with marginalised women and communities, including Dalits, OBCs, and others living below the poverty line. The federations were established to address issues which the sanghas could not address. Sanghas felt powerless as government departments were not responding to their needs. Moreover, women were unaware about how to avail services and facilities. They decide to fight with a collective voice as it would be more powerful. Hence, Sanghas came together, and formed a federation, which was a apex body. With representation from each of the areas covered by the federation, they democratically elected an 11-member executive committee, which included a President, Secretary and Treasurer. 

 

The main goal of the collectives is to remove the gender-based discrimination and the patriarchal norms that are widely practiced, abolish the Devadasi system, to fight against domestic violence and to preserve peace and happiness within all the families in the villages. Their primary focus is on the prevention of early/child marriage, supporting the girl child to study and peruse higher education. The federations are currently working with Best Practices Foundation as its anchor organisation which is handholding and intuitively strengthening the federation by conducting various activities and organising a wide range of programmes and training for our federation and its members. 

 

Intergenerational dialogues and Digital Literacy: Intergenerational dialogues and approaches have been started in both federations in order to handle adolescent issues. Kishoris sangha have emerged as an alternative learning platform for girls and young women and to address their issues and going forward more adolescent girls must be involved. 

 

Recently the Feminist Digital literacy programme has been rolled out for the kishoris by Best Practices Foundation and cascaded to sangha women by the kishoris.

Local Contact

Address:  Kirthi Mahila Okuta, Nirmala School, near Ramnagar, close to RUDSET, Vijayapura. Karnataka – 586109

 

Primary Contact:

Sangeetha Hugar, President: +91-9380734330

Mahadevi, Treasurer: +91-8970788386

 

Secondary Contact:

Prema, BPF field staff: +91-9902210403

Key Activities

Some additional activities Keerthi Mahila Okuta has been proactively engaged in are encapsulated below: 

 

In an initiative to preserve their traditional medicines, they initiated the Nari Sanjeevini which has their most senior women who have knowledge about traditional medicines and herbs which are locally used, by people who cannot afford the western medicines for small/minor illness. In 2006 under the SM Krishna government, they organised protests to remove and ban liquor shops within the village vicinity and push them outside the village. 

 

They also protested against the Devadasi system that was a prominent practice in their district and have banned such practices. The federation has found alternative means of living for those women who were forced into it. They also work towards prevention of child marriages in their villages and in the surrounding villages. One of our major focus areas for our Kishoris is to support them to pursue their higher education and to reduce the school dropout rates in our villages in whatever is within our capabilities.

Strengthening and supporting member Sanghas on issues of GBV and rights & entitlements

The federation works on GBV, which includes domestic violence, dowry harassment, and child marriage, and on the development of member SHGs by promoting internal savings and lending. The Nari Adalat and Legal Committee members of the federation actively address GBV and domestic violence issues. Dvi-patnitva (having more than one wife) has been a major issue and a struggle and the federation is trying to get justice for the children under these circumstances.

Institutional Strengthening and Committee Formation

To ensure that the CBO continues to function and expands the federation has formed the Sustainability committee (with representation from each village where they have SHGs as members in the Federation) whose sole responsibility is to form women sangha’s and add them as members of the federation. This has reduced the burden on the executive committee members on handling the sustenance of the federation and memberships.

Livelihood linkages and income generation support to members:

The federation also organises livelihood programmes for their members through Kitchen Garden and MOVE training, so far 35 members have attended this training in our federation and 16 businesses have emerged after attending this training. The governance committee of the federation is working on social entitlements and creates awareness on women rights, nutrition etc.

Social Entitlements

The creation of the Governance committee has ensured members are able to avail various social entitlements, schemes and benefits from the government and other sources. Steps have been taken to create a network between the federation’s committee members and Government offices and departments for easy access to resources and information. This has helped the federation gain more visibility at the taluka level. 


Cascading training has been one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways of passing down information and training to the federation members after a meeting and workshops which are conducted at the house space or within the village or sangha level.

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