A decade back Bimala Tharu Magar was dragging a stressful life as her husband used to quarrel with her every single day. She and her husband both were alcohol addicts. Not a single day passed off peacefully. She used to remain depressed and had never hoped that her life would change again turning everything wonderful.
“Those days were like hell. I used to think my husband was so mean and did not love me. He always asked for money for alcohol and gambling,” she recalls,” We were leading a miserable life and had lost all hopes of a happy life.” Her husband even assaulted her physically. She used to think that was all because of their low income and misuse of that meager income for alcohol. They both lacked education, which plays the most important role in making life peaceful. Now she thinks of it as a long nightmare.

Things changed after she started working for one of MS Nepal Partners, Women’s Welfare Association (WWA) in Tansen, Palpa. “After taking adult literacy class and joining office, I have learnt the necessary things related to awareness,” says Bimala, who served WWA as a peon. However, things were not that easy. Her husband opposed her joining WWA and even going for training and literacy classes. It was very difficult to convince her husband as well as other members of society. Later on, when she started earning well being a part of Women’s Saving Group (WSG), everyone began to respect her. “Once I could draw loan from my account of WSG, and the foreigners who promoted the WSG programs came to visit my place, things started to change. My husband and all now seek my suggestion if they want to start anything new,” an elated Bimala says.

Bimala has two daughters and one son; all of them go to school. She can see a bright future for her children as they are receiving education. “Now I have realised that not only low income but also lack of awareness had led us to alcoholism. Now, I am not involved with WWA because the organisation is not functioning well due to low budget. I earn comparatively less but we don’t have any disturbances at home. And this is because we are now aware of what is right and what is wrong.”

Similarly, the case of Sumitra B.K. also proves that WSG has been crucial for raising the living standards of rural women in districts where local NGOs, partners of MS Nepal’s Gender Pilot Project are working. Considering one or two successful cases, the life of all rural women cannot be generalized. However, in the process of collecting related information, it was found that programmes like WSG have been substantially beneficial at least for a few rural women, who remained active and wise in various partnership programmes supported by organisations like MS Nepal, GTZ, Helvetas etc.

“Nothing can be changed overnight, it takes time, one should have patience,” says Sumitra, who also believes in “luck” that plays a crucial part in making one successful. According to WWA officials, Sumitra was a literate girl when she joined WWA’s training. She had a keen interest in achieving higher studies but could not do that owing to her family’s low economic status. Fortunately, she got the chance to take different training provided by WWA. Now eighteen, Sumitra has become capable of conducting adult literacy classes apart from training-classes for rural women aspiring to involve in income generating activities like “growing vegetable,” “cutting and sewing clothes.”

She grew vegetables for a few years, ran adult literacy classes and remained an active member of WSG. As a lower caste woman she faced difficulties and had to face criticism when her financial status started growing but she did not mind being criticised. “In fact, the cutting-sewing business significantly contributed to raising my economic condition,” she recalls. Sumitra now runs a tailor shop at Butwal, a town near Palpa. She earns enough to meet basic requirements of her family members. She knows her responsibilities very well. “I don’t want to get married at an early age like my other friends because I have not reached the age for marriage. Moreover, I have big responsibility towards my family members,” she added but did not like to elaborate particularly about her family members.

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