Women in Control of Their Lives

In the closing session, we asked ourselves what would we say to our colleagues back home, what did the India trip say that was relevant to people interested in improving human flourishing in Scotland, England and Wales? The women in the Self-Reliant Groups set out their case above. Here is a list of things that…

How does what we saw in India compare with what we see in Scotland? Talking to the women in Scottish Groups has produced a model, what we call a dynamic model, that explains, we think, how Self-Reliant Groups leave their mark. The first part of the Scottish model, which can be viewed here, deals with…

At the end of the study trip, Adele, Ashley, Fiona and Karen were joined by Eddie to reflect on the implications of the study tour for the SRG movement back in the U.K. Their findings were clear and direct. To avoid repetition, I will use just the one descriptor here, Self-Reliant Group, or Group for…

When the water levels rise -it has become a matter of when not if- Bangladesh will be submerged and 150 million people will be on the move. We are not talking here of the worst case scenario. It could well be the best case scenario. Climate change is upon us. In the Indian sub-continent, the…

I have met these women in another life. On top of a large refuse tip, the place they called home, in Recife, Brazil. Women who blended into their surroundings, filthy and cowed. They, and their children were tiny, the mothers half my size, the physical embodiment of severe deprivation. Next to one of Mumbai’s many…

India runs to a different rhythm. People rise early and sleep late. Typically they work six days a week. Everyone appears to be on the move all of the time, so getting from here to there can be complicated. Lateness is not unexpected. It is discomforting for an anal Englishman. But maybe there is something…

Joyti’s apartment is one of a complex of 150. These homes are not opulent in any way, but like many in India they are serviced by women and men of lesser means who travel from nearby slums. The apartments are manufacturers of waste. The women and men of lesser means see an opportunity. They organise…

Joyti addresses us from her chair. It hangs in a passageway between two small living rooms in her house. She sits and sways, her feet off the ground, and tells her story, the story of women in India these last 45 years, a story of spreading freedom. There is no greater privilege than sitting at…