Participatory Research as an Education Experience for Women

Abstract

Shantiben lives in a small village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, a city in the state of Gujarat in Western India. She belongs to the dalit community of her village, has six children and is employed in a nearby textile factory. The work is tedious. Quite frequently she is detained in the factory till after sundown. The pay is also not very high. When asked why she continues with this work, Shantiben replies: "what else would I do? I do not know how to read or write and if I was to go to Ahmedabad in search of a better job who would look after my children?" Shantiben started working in this factory when she was eleven years old. Her mother was working there at the time. When asked whether she would like her two daughters to continue in her footsteps, she is uncertain. "These days it is difficult to find good jobs, more so for women. Employers often ask whether we can write our names. How should we able to write our names? We do not go to school. And even if we did go to school, what good would that do. At least if my daughters come to the factory with me, we will have some more money to eat and live. If I send them to school it will just add to our problems. Men do not want to marry educated women."