Mahila Milan
Encyclopedia
Mahila Milan, meaning "women together," is a credit scheme designed to assist women pavement dwellers
in Bombay
.
Assisted by SPARC
, Mahila Milan runs a number of programmes. These include:
agreed to help create a sister organisation complementary to its own, to encourage more women to enter leadership roles in slum development and poverty alleviation, with the assistance of SPARC
.
Mahila Milan was formed largely in response to a 1985 Supreme Court
ruling that granted the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
authority to demolish household structures on the sidewalks of Mumbai
. These were the homes of those known popularly as “pavement dwellers
”. Many NGOs and community-based organizations planned mass action to confront these demolitions, however SPARC activitsts found that women from pavement settlements did not want confrontation and preferred to work out a way that the city was able to coexist with them. A survey carried out by SPARC between July and October of that year found that pavement dwellers were not transient populations, but people who had lived for over two decades in the city. This was documented and published in "We The Invisible
", which detailed the background of these people from the poorest districts of India
- victims of underdevelopment
, communal violence
, floods, famines and other crises. There were no evictions, and by March 1987 Mahila Milan was established to help poor illiterate women in each settlement understand the politics of why they cannot get land in the city for their house, and to develop a strategy to present to the city.
Mahila Milan have been active in advocating the earmarking of vacant land for the homeless, and designing strategy to help the poor into their own homes. The organisation became a model for other NSDF-affiliated organisation sbetween 1985 and 1995, providing principles and frameworks to form the basis of discussions between informal settlements and cities. In 1995 the government of Maharashtra
integrated pavement dwellers for the first time into the classifications of households entitled to land for relocation in the Slum Rehabilitation Act
.
Pavement dwellers
Pavement dwellers refers to Mumbai dwellings built on the footpaths/pavements of city streets, which use the walls or fences which separate building compounds from the pavement and street outside...
in Bombay
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
.
Assisted by SPARC
Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers
-Introduction:The Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers is one of the largest Indian NGOs working on housing and infrastructure issues for the urban poor...
, Mahila Milan runs a number of programmes. These include:
- Milan Nagar, a cooperative designed to seek alternative siting for their housing;
- Opening bank accounts establishing saving schemes to assist women towards purchasing new homes
- Providing each family with essential food and clothing
- Dealing with crises, such as the provision of emergency loans, or assisting with police-related problems.
History
Mahila Milan was formed in the 1980s, when NSDFNational Slum Dwellers Federation
The National Slum Dwellers Federation in India was established by Jockin Arputham when he fought on behalf of a community of 70,000 to appeal a 1976 eviction order....
agreed to help create a sister organisation complementary to its own, to encourage more women to enter leadership roles in slum development and poverty alleviation, with the assistance of SPARC
Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers
-Introduction:The Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers is one of the largest Indian NGOs working on housing and infrastructure issues for the urban poor...
.
Mahila Milan was formed largely in response to a 1985 Supreme Court
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
ruling that granted the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
The Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika is the civic body that governs the city of Mumbai and is India's richest municipal organisation. Its annual budget is even more than that of some of the small states of India. It is also known as Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai or the Brihanmumbai...
authority to demolish household structures on the sidewalks of Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. These were the homes of those known popularly as “pavement dwellers
Pavement dwellers
Pavement dwellers refers to Mumbai dwellings built on the footpaths/pavements of city streets, which use the walls or fences which separate building compounds from the pavement and street outside...
”. Many NGOs and community-based organizations planned mass action to confront these demolitions, however SPARC activitsts found that women from pavement settlements did not want confrontation and preferred to work out a way that the city was able to coexist with them. A survey carried out by SPARC between July and October of that year found that pavement dwellers were not transient populations, but people who had lived for over two decades in the city. This was documented and published in "We The Invisible
We the Invisible
We the Invisible was a report based on a 1985 census of about 6000 households, funded and carried out by the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers, to ascertain the scale and nature of Mumbai's pavement dwellers...
", which detailed the background of these people from the poorest districts of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- victims of underdevelopment
Underdevelopment
Underdevelopment is a term often used to refer to economic underdevelopment, symptoms of which include lack of access to job opportunities, health care, drinkable water, food, education and housing...
, communal violence
Communal violence
Communal violence refers to a situation where violence is perpetrated across ethnic lines, and victims are chosen based upon ethnic group membership...
, floods, famines and other crises. There were no evictions, and by March 1987 Mahila Milan was established to help poor illiterate women in each settlement understand the politics of why they cannot get land in the city for their house, and to develop a strategy to present to the city.
Mahila Milan have been active in advocating the earmarking of vacant land for the homeless, and designing strategy to help the poor into their own homes. The organisation became a model for other NSDF-affiliated organisation sbetween 1985 and 1995, providing principles and frameworks to form the basis of discussions between informal settlements and cities. In 1995 the government of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
integrated pavement dwellers for the first time into the classifications of households entitled to land for relocation in the Slum Rehabilitation Act
Slum Rehabilitation Act 1995
The Slum Rehabilitation Act 1995 was passed by the government of the Indian state Maharashtra to protect the rights of slum dwellers and promote the development of slum areas. The Act protected from eviction anyone who could produce a document proving they lived in the city of Mumbai before...
.