Towards a Gender Equal World: the EU Gender Action Plan III

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• Gender marker: G2-Promotes gender equality as a primary objective

• Period of implementation: 2019 - 2024 

• Amount: EUR 920,000

• Geographical area: Asia and the Pacific

• Implementing partners: Swayam Shikshan Prayog 

• Link to the project: 

  • https://isudwog.swayamshikshanprayog.org

• GAP III’s Areas:

  • Equal participation and leadership

  • Green and digital transformation

In one of India’s least developed districts, Osmanabad, women and girls face particular challenges. The district’s economy is primarily dependent on small-holder agriculture and has undergone a severe crisis in the past decade because of drought, failed crops, low farm gate prices and more. The situation has resulted in farmer suicides, male migration, and the increasing feminisation of agriculture. 

The mission of the Inclusive and Sustainable Development for Women and Girls (ISUDWOG) project is to empower civil society organisations to bring transformative change into the lives of these vulnerable rural women and girls. Funded and supported by the European Union, the action was developed alongside local stakeholders who see transformative potential. 

Women and girls have a critical role to play in addressing the challenges faced by the district. Starting with a scoping study conducted in 2019, implementing partner Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP)’s Osmanabad team identified various opportunities for small businesses in the area and began to organise meetings with women leaders on the benefits of cooperatives and rural value chain development. 

The project aims at enhancing women’s voice, leadership, and participation in social and economic life by working closely with a wide range of grassroots organisations, including Women's Community Based Organisations (WCBOs), Women's Joint Liability Groups (WJLGs), Women's Entrepreneurship Mentors (WEMs), Women's and Girls' Cooperatives/Production Societies (W&Gs), as well as Gram Panchayats (village governing institutions). 

Targeted groups include 3,000 women and girls in the area: 2,400 women and girl farmers, 1,000 women and girl micro-entrepreneurs, and 650 women and girls from Co-operatives/Producer companies in 120 villages across eight blocks of Osmanabad. 

Main activities include: 

• Participatory planning.
• Capacity building/awareness raising.
• Organisation of value chain focus groups and participatory elaboration of value chain strategies 
• Establishment of partnerships/alliances (such as the Alliance for Sustainable and Inclusive Development of Osmanabad - ASIDO).

Women and girls have incredible potential to transform both their own lives and their communities, particularly in regions like Osmanabad which have deep economic challenges. Often these challenges can start being addressed by coming at them from different directions – in this case, by empowering women. The ISUDWOG project can thus prove to be an important model on how to help with gender issues and build up local economies all at the same time.

“Swayam Shikshan Prayog empowered me to embrace modern farming and nurtured my entrepreneurial spirit. My journey – from a small landholding to a flourishing dairy and khova business – embodies SSP's transformative impact." Anita Barate.