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Kalamani aged 43, outside her shop in Thivukkalai, Sri Lanka. A member of a self-help group, Kalamani received a loan and training from Oxfam Australia partner Affected Women's Forum to support her family. Photo: Howard Davies/OxfamGB.
The business of being equal
Marginalised women in Sri Lanka are gaining the skills and confidence to bring about big changes in their lives, as Oxfam International’s Roy Probert discovered during a recent visit.
Kalamani’s shop in Thivukkalai village,in eastern Sri Lanka, is filled with a cornucopia of goods. Bottles of soft drinks, sachets of shampoo and packets of rice and biscuits jostle for space in the room of her house given over to her thriving business.
As a member of a women’s self-help group in her village, Kalamani received a 20,000 rupee (AUD $210) loan from Oxfam Australia, through local partner organisation Affected Women’s Forum (AWF) to start up the business. Across Sri Lanka, Oxfam Australia works with 17 partner organisations on women’s self-help group projects.
Overall, AWF supports about 150 women’s self-help groups with small loans, savings schemes and training programs in Sri Lanka’s Ampara district. Many of the women targeted for the assistance come from female-headed households.
Kalamani, aged 43, has six children aged 8 to 24 and is the head of her household. Her husband is no longer able to work after being permanently injured when a tree fell on him in the forest.
“Before the tsunami, I made a living selling fish door to door. I still do this sometimes, but it is seasonal work,” Kalamani says. “Running the shop has made a positive change to my lifestyle. It’s easier for me to look after my husband and ensure that I am here to cook for my children.”
There are five members in Kalamani’s group — three run shops, one does tailoring and the fifth has a dry-fish business. Each group member invests part of their income into a group savings program and part into their own personal savings. The women can borrow from the group savings for emergencies or for big expenditure, such as a wedding.
Kalamani must repay half the original loan she received from AWF. As a condition of the loan, she pays 500 rupees (AUD $5.20) to AWF each month, 200 rupees (AUD $2.10) to a group savings scheme and 50 (AUD 50 cents) to her own personal savings. Kalamani has taken a loan from the group savings to help pay for her husband’s medication. She has six months to repay the money.
“I need 500 rupees every week for his tablets,” she explains. “But I am confident I can now pay for our everyday living costs. We are able to manage...I get about 50 customers a day. Half of them buy on credit, but most pay within a few days.”
While the self-help groups provide women with income-generating opportunities, they also act as a support network, a forum for the women to share problems and discuss issues such as health, gender and human rights, and a springboard for them to initiate broader changes in their lives.
The groups give the women more space, opportunities and freedom than they have been traditionally afforded in a male-dominated society. Group members are able to build their confidence, self-esteem and independence so they can participate in community decision-making, take up leadership roles and address issues such as domestic violence.
In addition to the self-help groups, AWF also provides local communities with training on women’s rights, gender-based violence, gender equity, community mobilisation and transparent and participatory decision-making, and provides mediation and legal assistance for domestic violence cases.