Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Women's forum to share its experience

J. Malarvizhi

It has been asked to comment on draft bill for unorganised sector

CHENNAI : "The south is usually ignored in the drafting of bills and formation of committees at the Centre," rues Jaya Arunachalam, president of the Working Women's Forum (WWF), in Chennai. Her organisation is among the few, though, that were called to comment on the draft Bill on social security for the unorganised sector.

The WWF has been invited by the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector to share its experience in micro-insurance, a safety net mechanism that follows the model of micro-credit.

Participants in micro-insurance can claim benefits for disability and death of spouses, maternity and healthcare under schemes offered by the Forum in association with other financial institutions.

Around eight lakh women in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have benefited in various ways by paying small annual `premiums' for about three decades. The organisationhas found that Self-Help Groups did not herald the end of poverty for one basic reason. "The SHGs can help in regular income generation and maybe provide loans for occasional family celebration," said Dr. Arunachalam.

Health care was another area that was being neglected, she found, and hardly any other organisation had considered health insurance schemes for the poor. The organisation hopes that a collaborative exchange programme with weavers in Varanasi and the Kancheepuram would become possible.

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