South Asia Agriculture and Rural Growth Impact Note Series OCTOBER 2019 Challenging Cultural Conventions Challenging Cultural Conventions: Qualitative Evidence from JEEViKA 5 This note is based on the paper Recasting Culture to Undo Gender:  HIGHLIGHTS A Sociological Analysis of JEEViKA in Rural Bihar, India authored by P. Sanyal,V. Rao and S. Majumdar.1 Do large-scale participatory development interventions induce cultural change and change conventional boundaries associated CONTEXT with gender? • An ethnographic study of a participatory In 2006, when the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project was launched, poverty alleviation and livelihoods the state’s rural poverty ration was 44.6% - 36 million of the total program in rural Bihar targeted at 82 million people in Bihar were living in poverty. Bihar is India’s third women shows that giving economic and most populous state with 8% of the total population but ranks lowest socially disadvantaged women access to a on the human development index (HDI). Rural communities in the state defined system of resources, knowledge are often beset by pervasive social inequalities and caste and gender and people, can change normative hierarchies. restrictions and boundaries of gender. Simultaneously, Bihar has also had a long history of progressive • Across treatment villages, the project movements that constantly challenged upper caste hegemony. provided women with the institutional However, these movements have had limited success in address gender scope to step out of their houses and inequality - Bihar ranked lowest on the Gender Equality Index with empowered them to stake claim to lower caste women facing double subordination. Overall, rural Bihar public spaces as well as interact with the was characterized by weak service delivery, complex political and social community at large. dynamics, limited inclusion of the poor into institutions, few economic • Women associated with the project opportunities, and a frail development infrastructure. It was in the midst experienced an improved status of this that JEEViKA was piloted and implemented. in society as well as within their households on account of their access to credit as well as group solidarity. • The program also improved women’s political participation, with more women _______________ participating in village assemblies and 1. The original paper is available at http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/ freely voicing their opinions. en/346831467995637047/pdf/WPS7411.pdf Impact Note 5: OCTOBER 2019 out credit and livelihoods programs and linkages with government subsidy schemes. In 2006, the project was first piloted in six high-poverty districts2 based on the concentration of poverty, high Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe populations, adverse status of women (reflected by sex ratio and female literacy levels), and availability of basic infrastructure. The project is expected to reach all thirty-eight districts of Bihar by 2022, and cover 12.5 million households. By 2016, the project had mobilized 1.8 million rural households in 154,626 SHGs across 102 villages in 6 districts. Following the tiered structure, these SHGs had been federated upwards into nearly 10,445 VOs at the village level and 102 block level federations. EVALUATION DESIGN INTERVENTION This note draws on analysis of ethnographic work over a twelve cycles of data collection over a three-year period (2011 JEEViKA or the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project is a to early 2015) from four villages (2 treatment and 2 control).3 community-based anti-poverty intervention of the Bihar The “treatment” villages were randomly selected from the set government that was initiated in 2006 by a low-interest of treated villages in two different districts – Muzaffarpur and loan and technical assistance from the World Bank to the Madhubani. Each “treatment” village was then matched with Government of Bihar. The core objective of the intervention a set of “control” villages using propensity score matching was the socio-economic empowerment of the poorest of methods on the basis of village level data.4 poor families by establishing self-managed institutions for a majority of the population – Self-Help Groups (SHGs). As a first step, preliminary studies were conducted in each of The project mobilized women from the target population - the villages using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods one per household - into bankable SHGs with 10-15 members. to gain an understanding of the village layout. Qualitative data A group of 10-15 SHGs was federated upwards into was then collected at regular intervals through interviews, representative Village Organisations (VOs). These VOs were observations, and focus group discussions that were guided finally federated into Cluster-Level Federations (CLFs) that by set themes modified through the course of data collection. spanned 35-45 VOs. This tiered structure was instituted to This process matched with the experimental design, allowed support the implementation of the project and the CLF for a thorough understanding of cause-effect relations and was envisaged as the foundational organisation for rolling mechanisms of change over time. The design gives insight Figure 1: Community Platform under JEEViKA Policies and Schemes Ministry of Rural Development Other Government Departments and Services Private NGOs Sector Banks JEEViKA Society Build Districts Generate Innovation Institutional Demand for Technical Blocks Capacity Services Support Resources and Resources Cluster Level Federations Producer Groups Village Organisations Deliver Last Mile Services Self-help Groups Source: Enhancing agricultural livelihoods through community institutions in Bihar, India - JEEViKA Learning Note Series, No. 5. _______________ 2. Gaya, Khagaria, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Nalanda, and Purnia. 3. In treatment villages, JEEViKA had been operating since 2006, no project intervention in control villages. 4. Based on the 2001 government census on literacy, caste composition, landlessness, levels of out-migration, and the availability of infrastructure. Impact Note 5: OCTOBER 2019 into social processes as they unfold and the provision of a control allows for a comparison of the variation in processes Box 1 in similar rural landscapes. “Earlier I never used to go anywhere. But ever since Four dimensions of change emerge in the analysis of the my association with JEEViKA, I've started managing a qualitative data - increased physical and spatial mobility, lot of work outside home. Typically, I would go out to group solidarity, access to money, and finally access to conduct meetings and to do SHG related work. I even public spaces of deliberation and action. This impact note had to go live in the block office once until our bank mirrors the paper and will focus on mobility and access to linkages were done. But then I realized that if I keep the public sphere. going out for JEEViKA work and not for work that my family needs done then it will look bad. So now I go to the market when my children need things. I even KEY FINDINGS go to their school when needed. One thing is for sure, The intervention gave women privileged access to that when a woman starts going out of the house, then resources, a new identity anchored in their SHGs and away the in-laws and everyone assumes that she can manage from caste and kinship (symbolic resources), access to low everything, both inside and outside the house…” cost credit and an avenue for savings (physical resources). Sita Devi from a treatment village in Muzaffarpur - In addition, it provided them an institutional environment district, Cycle 4 through the tiered structure of SHGs, VOs and CLFs, which was instrumental in developing new cultural competencies, and discourses that defied the traditional conventions Greater Physical & Spatial Mobility of gender. Across the sample an easing of traditional restrictions placed The interactions with women and the community revealed on women due to political empowerment of lower castes four dimensions of empowerment and change: (1) increased as well as a dramatic rise in male-out migration was noted. physical and spatial mobility; (2) group solidarity; (3) access to This contributed to subaltern discourses and opened up money; and (4) finally access to public spaces of deliberation space for women to fill gaps in the local labor market (as and action. agricultural labor) as well as compelled them to step into the public sphere to address their family’s care giving needs. Figure 2: How JEEViKA Induces Cultural Change In treatment villages, women from both upper and lower castes that were drawn into the project fold were forced Patriarchy/High Poverty and Social Exclusion/Strict Gender Norms to be mobile, thereby accelerating this social change. Some of the symbolic spatial boundaries that formed the basis of gender identities in these geographies began to get dismantled with pressure from the interventions’ institutional requirement of mobility. As a result, for the first time, women laid claim to spaces that had traditionally been male-dominated and out of bounds for them. JEEViKA women started taking pride in conceptions of Build Strengthens ‘gareeb-didi’, poor woman/sister, and ‘saksham-didi’, capable women’s cognitive networks capacity woman/sister, propagated by the intervention as symbolic resources that would bolster solidarity and a strong collective Provides identity tied firmly to group affiliation. These discourses had physical resources been successful in dis-embedding identity from conventional categories of caste and religion. Women have more: JEEViKA provided women with the institutional scope to step • Access to credit out and interact with the community at large, which began • Access to livelihoods • Economic, social and cultural capital the process of undoing the everyday practice of gender. This was particularly significant for lower caste women, who were among the first to join the program. These women quickly Feedback loop Greater took on leadership roles and experienced a change in social mobility status as the program gained recognition. More political Mini The new ideas and discourses encouraging women’s mobility participation social that were promoted by the intervention were met with a movement lot of initial resistance including violence and ridicule. Over time as the program gained recognition and community acceptance, women’s improved mobility was legitimized. Impact Note 5: OCTOBER 2019 in creating the required infrastructure to address social Box 2 inclusion and women’s empowerment. It is possible that some “JEEViKA does help build leadership skills and instills of the changes associated with the program are more fluid confidence in us to handle a community. No school, no and long term in nature.Therefore, in order to sustain socio- formal education can teach you that.” cultural changes brought about by participatory programs, - Veena Paswan (CLF Treasurer) from a treatment village in deeper community engagement is required. Madhubani district, Cycle Further, while political participation and changes to local governance were not an intended consequence of the project, Public Debate and Actions the (tiered) institutional structure was successful in improving Under the panchayati raj, gram sabhas (village assemblies) accountability in public service delivery. Policy-makers need were envisaged as spaces for public debate and deliberation to ensure that a constant feedback loop is developed to at the local level in rural India. However, an established system encourage and sustain these institutional changes. of holding these constitutionally mandated assemblies was lacking at the time in rural Bihar and they were not perceived Very often the effectiveness of livelihood programs and as legitimate problem-solving arenas. interventions are determined on the basis of results from quantitative, number-driven impact evaluations that can only In control villages, women rarely attended these village capture impact on tangible outcomes. These evaluations fail assemblies, which were largely male-dominated. Women to capture more intangible, nuanced changes that are critical were seldom recognized as capable of active participation to understanding the processes associated with the unfolding and were denied information and access. In stark contrast, of the program and how change happens at the grassroots, JEEViKA women (especially position holders) actively which is critical to scaling up or replicating interventions. participated in these village assemblies. These women freely voiced their opinions, became conduits/brokers of public services for the community and even arbitrated with PRIs CONCLUSION and other institutions when needed. JEEViKA was successful in bringing about a mini-social While JEEViKA was never intended to interact with the revolution that provided women with both physical and established political governance system, JEEViKA women’s symbolic resources as well as institutional support to defy entry into the sphere of the panchayat can be seen as an traditional roles associated with the domesticated space of unintended consequence of women’s empowerment. the home and adopt new identities associated with being a “JEEViKA-didi”. The project was successful in bringing about changes in self-esteem and wider social capacity of women POLICY LESSONS as well as on social norms such as mobility, decision- JEEViKA was setup in the context of a weak local government making within the households and collective action at the system and frail development infrastructure, and succeeded community level. ABOUT THE Impact Note SERIES This note is part of the South Asia Agriculture and Rural Growth Impact Note Series, that seeks to disseminate research and analysis focused on World Bank financed rural, agriculture and food systems programs in India. Series editors: Abhishek Gupta and Gayatri Acharya. Photographer: Ritayan Mukherjee. We are grateful for the generous support from The South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative (SAFANSI), Gates Foundation, Ministry of Rural Development and various state rural development departments. This note was prepared by Alreena Pinto (Consultant,World Bank) and published by the Food & Agriculture Global Practice at The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 USA. Website: www.worldbank.org. For further information or copies please email: galex2@worldbank.org. Disclaimer: The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this note are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. REFERENCES World Bank Document. International Development Association Project BRLP in M. Takada and M. R. Choudhury. Ed. A Decade of Rural Transformation, Appraisal Document on a Proposed Credit in the Amount of US$290 million Lessons Learnt from the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project – JEEViKA, JEEViKA to the Republic of India for a Bihar Transformative Development Project Learning Note Series, No.1, World Bank Publications, 2017 “JEEViKA II” June 1, 2016, Report No. PAD1892 Sanyal, Paromita; Rao, Vijayendra; Majumdar, Shruti. How JEEViKA, a CDD J. Hancock, M. Penumaka and M.Takada- Note 1, Main Findings of Implementation project in Bihar, India was able to change cultural norms and empower women: Completion Review Report—Lessons from a Decade of Implementation of A policy note.