Women and peace-building: community development perspectives in Hyderabad, India

In 1990 HMI, aware of the need for reconciliation and relief work as an immediate intervention to communal rioting, brought together people from the divided Hindu and Muslim communities living in Hyderabad's Old City.(5) HMI facilitated the establishment of the Aman Shanti Forum,(4) an organiza...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian woman studies 2002-09, Vol.22 (2), p.122
Main Author: Rajeswari, C. Raja
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Children
Community development
Hindu-Muslim relations
Peace activism
Politics
Religious aspects
Social aspects
Women
Women civic leaders
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Summary:In 1990 HMI, aware of the need for reconciliation and relief work as an immediate intervention to communal rioting, brought together people from the divided Hindu and Muslim communities living in Hyderabad's Old City.(5) HMI facilitated the establishment of the Aman Shanti Forum,(4) an organization aimed at promoting peace through reconciliation and healing processes with members--men and women--from Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities. By 1996 the Aman Shanti Forum had identified the need for long-term intervention in those communities that needed it most. HMI thus laid the foundations of its grassroots community development work in Sultan Shahi, the most prominent area of violence in the Old City and the worst affected area during the 1990 communal violence. HMI started a similar project in 2000 in another area of Hyderabad, Shankernager, a slum with wide caste disparities. These projects are called as Aman Shanti Community Centres. In the Sultan Shahi and Shankernager Centres, women succeeded in not only eliminating a source of conflict in their communities, but they also increased their sense of solidarity in the process. The friendship, solidarity and sisterhood that is emerges as the women work together to find solutions for a variety of variety of problems is empowering to the women as individuals, and to the group as a whole. HMI is unique in specifically developing programs aimed at creating opportunities for interfaith groups to build bridges between their communities. The starting point for any grassroots peace-building must be based on the practical. Women give primary importance to food for the family, their children's education and economic security. HMI's interventions contribute to building sustainable peace by addressing basic needs, including the strengthening of women's capacities in economic, social, cultural, and political matters. Creating opportunities for women from divided communities to share their achievements and challenges, as well as acknowledging the positive changes their efforts have made, are essential steps in peace-building. As Dyan E. Mazurana and Susan R. McKay observe
ISSN:0713-3235