Jagrutha Mahila Sanghatane (JMS)

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Monthly Archives: March 2019

#JUSTICE FOR _AMBIKA: JMS Campaign reaches out to young Dalit girls in Rural Raichur

JMS YUVA VEDIKE (JMS Youth Forum)

Thanks to all friends who have extended support to JMS and for the solidarity. With your encouragement and with the active involvement of Ambika’s Parents – Madheva and Mariamma – the campaign #JusticeFor_Ambika – has now reached the young Dalit girls in the villages of Raichur (Karnataka, India).


Under the banner of this campaign young girls started to gather at JMS office for learning computer, reading and actively engaging in JMS yuvavedike (JMS YOUTH FORUM)activities. Youths involvement started with the introduction of Ambika and providing them her case story to read and help them to understand the importance of Education and Empowerment of Young Girls. 

Youth Platform JMS
There’s a great excitement among girls in the new space for learning that they have found. Various discussions on education, challenges young girls face along with hands on computer skills have added to this excitement. 

Ambika’s parents are part of this campaign. All pictures and images in this campaign involving Ambika, have her parents’ active and informed consent.

To support this campaign, please click:

https://letzchange.org/api/links/hiLwhkKZVY

#JUSTICE FOR_AMBIKA – APPEAL FOR SUPPORT

March 16, 2019 12:38 pm / Leave a comment

#JUSTICEFOR_AMBIKA

CAMPAIGN FOR EMPOWERMENT OF YOUNG DALIT WOMEN

To Contribute – Please Click the link below:

https://letzchange.org/projects/justice-for-ambika-young-dalit-womens-empowerment-campaign?ref=54iw6UCgQu

 

Poster - Ambika

SUPPORT JMS – #JUSTICEFOR_AMBIKA

Ambika, 13 years, is a Dalit girl who dropped out of school after 5th standard. Her parents are daily wage agricultural labourers and are residents of Jagir Pannur village in Manvi Taluka, Raichur district of Karnataka.

In some unusual circumstances she was found murdered on 26 Aug,2018, far away from her village. On a Sunday, she was taken by her neighbour (man – 25 years of age) without informing her Parents on Aug 26, 2018,on the pretext of taking part in a village religious/cultural fare (jathre), in a village about 30 kms. away on his motorbike. While the parents kept searching for her and complained to the police, the man returned late in the night. Next day, while Ambika’s parents had gone to the police station, he escaped from the house when the police came to search for him and committed suicide by hanging himself on a tree, without leaving a clue where the girl was. The police did not file a FIR on the missing girl nor did they put in efforts to search for her.

Four days later, on 29 August, body of Ambika was found in an abandoned area dumped in a bush, about 30 kms. away. While the police tried to hush up the case by almost forcing the parents to bury the body, Jms Chiguru (Jagrutha Mahila Sanghatan), prevailed upon the police to conduct post-mortem. Later, Jms Chiguru tried its best to move the police to do a thorough investigation into the case and to nab others who might be involved in this murder, nothing moved them. The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) did not respond to the complaint for over four months. Moreover, local religious institution, instead of supporting the parents, tried to malign girl’s character.

Murder of a minor girl Ambika, signifies the issue of vulnerability of young girls, especially from the marginalised communities, and such issues largely go unreported, but for JMS’ intervention. JMS has resolved that NO MORE AMBIKAS is the only way to bring justice to AMBIKA, and has decided to reach out to 500 young Dalit girls from 50 villages for creating safe spaces for young girls. [Read More]

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JMS Campaign for Maternal Health Rights of Dalit women – raises concerns about the sick health system

March 6, 2019 11:20 pm / Leave a comment

New Indian Express, 04 March 2019JMS campaign _IndExpress 04 Mar 19

 

JMS CAMPAIGN FOR MATERNAL HEALTH RIGHTS IN RAICHUR DISTRICT, KARNATAKA

JAGRUTHA MAHILA SANGHATANE (JMS) in Raichur district is a Dalit Women’s Collective of over 2000 women, led by Dalit women’s leadership from the communities. JMS now has sanghatan in 25 Gram Panchayats spread across 4 of 7 talukas of the district.  Initiated in 1999 as a community led organisation,  it has focused on health and healthcare as one of the key intersecting themes, among others. The engagement with Sub-centres and PHCs began in 2002, with a perspective of claiming spaces for Dalit women by regularising and legtimising their entry in PHCs, which was a space they shuddered to enter, then. In the series of community monitoring and citizen rights campaigns that JMS has pursued over the years, human right to health and right to primary health care, has been one of the prominent campaigns of JMS.
Since 2017, JMS has focused on  right to maternal health care services, as the declining public health services are experienced by pregnant and nursing women, especially Dalit women,  as very painful and indignifying experiences. In 2017, with interviews with 234 women very intensive campaign began to press for primary health care services using the evidence on maternal health care. In September – October 2018, again, JMS undertook a survey of 362 nursing women in 43 villages coming under the jurisdiction of 8 PHCs.
The campaign started with interviews by the community women leaders themselves and community meetings were part of such discussion. The report card is compiled in a pictorial format and pie charts with colour codes. The report of the survey and a general entitlement discussion is now being held in each of the 43 villages. The community level discussions converge in a public hearing in each PHC. Such a process has been completed in two PHCs – i.e. Paparao Camp PHC of Sindhanur Taluka and Byagwat PHC of Manvi Taluka. The process will now continue in the other 6 PHCS.
JMS has been doing this campaign with varied degree of intensity for several years now. Since 2017, there has been an intensified campaign. There are several changes one could see – increased ANC coverage, increased responsiveness to women in the community from the health care providers etc. Among the troubling factors two things stand out: informal referrals (directing women) to private hospitals for various reasons. Secondly, unchanged status of women’s HB. The average HB level of 362 women is at 9.3, only 8% women were at 11 (i.e. 28 women). Most of the women had HB below 8.
The struggle continues to revive primary health care and to engage health care providers in a productive  – supporting, cajoling and at times confronting – dialogue.
You can visit https://www.facebook.com/jms.chiguru.3 for regular updates.
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