Trained under the leadership development program of Landesa in Uttar Pradesh; promoting village level leaders for supporting land rights of the poor, especially women.
For the elderly in village Chittpur, Israwati Devi is a much-loved daughter-in-law; for the fellow women, she is a 'sister' always ready to guide them; and for the young girls, she is an example of a strong and fearless woman. From Panchayat leaders to block and sub-district officials, all consult her for development initiatives.
In Uttar Pradesh- India, where there is a sharp disconnect between land and women, Landesa initiated the Women Leadership Development Program to change the narrative by developing women leaders who can advocate and strengthen the land rights of the poor and women.
Israwati Devi, who was an elected representative from her ward in village Chhitpur, showed interest and participated in the programme. She was convinced that land is valuable, especially in the lives of women but was skeptical as to whether she would be able to do something to improve the situation. As part of the program, she attended all the classroom sessions and received on-field support from Landesa's Field Officers. She also got a chance to interact with government officials through the exposure visit and gained the confidence to take up the land allocation work in her village.
As learned in the training, she carried out a survey to identify eligible landless families in her ward. She also convinced other ward members, especially women, to conduct a similar survey in their respective wards, within 20-25 days the survey was completed. She then held several conversations with revenue officials and the village head to conduct the meeting of the Land Management Committee and ensured the presence of fellow villagers. Along with peer women, she played an active role in facilitating the LMC meeting and advocating land allocation to the deserving ones. Since then she has been tirelessly advocating with the revenue officials to take the process forward.
“Initially when I stepped out from home, the community was not supportive, but I never gave up. The training has given me the confidence to go to several offices and help fellow women''. Today, the community appreciates her efforts and has great expectations from Israwati Devi.
Despite a lot of opposition from the 'Pradhan' (village head), and challenges within the family, Israwati Devi continues to tackle the issue of land.