Women from six popular NGO's gather to discuss civic issues

CHENNAI : Women working in close association with the public from six different NGOs in the city, discussed what they thought were some of the most pressing civic issues, in a workshop organised by Chennai-based NGO, Prajnya, on Tuesday. Uncollected garbage, ‘drinking’ water that smells and tastes of sewage, apathetic placement of TASMAC outlets and lack of accountability among government officials, formed the four categories of complaints at the consultation titled ‘Namathu Nagaram Namathu Urimai’ 
“The platform not only offers a space for these women to voice out their opinions, but also encourages them to think of solutions so that at the end of the day, they are not only aware of the problems but also have an idea of what an ideal solution could be,” said ACR Sudaroli of Prajnya. The women also spoke at length about the need for an equal voice for women at Government and decision-making levels. 

The consultation was organised after a report on water and sanitation was published in July by Prajnya with the help of five women, many of whom were a part of the workshop. The women, from the NGO ‘Roshini’, were cooks, tailors and vegetable vendors by day, but set out to survey households for the report in the evenings. On Tuesday, 13 such women participated in the workshop, from organisations like Centre for Women’s Development and Research, Positive Women’s Network, and Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development. 

One of the participants, Jaleela, said, “As far as we’ve seen, piles of garbage in public spaces pose one of the biggest health hazards in the city today.” Jaleela, along with two others, came up with a set of solutions that included segregating the waste at the domestic level and timely waste collection. 

The workshop was held to arm these women with enough information ahead of the local body polls to help them make an informed decision. “The women have to know what to expect from a candidate contesting for the polls,” said Sudaroli. The women also touched upon rural issues, based on their work experience. “A lot of rural health centres do not have doctors round the clock although they claim 24x7 services,” said Velankani.