A Movement Rooted in the Soil

In the drought-prone villages of Purandar block, Pune district, something remarkable has been quietly unfolding for over three decades. Women who once had no voice in household decisions are now elected representatives, health advocates, and economic drivers of their communities. This is not accidental — it is the direct result of sustained, ground-level work by organisations like MASUM (Mahila Sarvangeen Utkarsh Mandal).

The Power of Collective Action

At the heart of MASUM\u2019s approach is a deceptively simple idea: people can collectively resolve their own challenges with appropriate external support. Rather than creating dependency, the model builds on what communities already know and strengthens their capacity to demand what they deserve.

Savings and Credit Groups (SHGs) form the bedrock of this economic empowerment work. Women come together, pool small amounts, access credit without predatory interest, and invest in livelihoods — goat rearing, vegetable farming, small shops. Over time, these groups become spaces for something far more powerful: conversations about rights, safety, and dignity.

Health as a Human Right

For rural women, access to quality healthcare has historically been a distant dream. MASUM\u2019s health programme operates on the belief that health is not a privilege but a fundamental right. Community health workers trained by MASUM navigate women through a system that was never designed with their needs in mind.

From maternal health to reproductive rights, from nutrition to mental wellbeing — the programme addresses health holistically. Critically, it challenges the social determinants of poor health: caste discrimination, domestic violence, economic exclusion.

Political Participation: From Margin to Centre

When India\u2019s 73rd Constitutional Amendment reserved seats for women in local governance, many feared it would remain symbolic. MASUM turned that reservation into reality. Women trained through MASUM\u2019s political participation programme are not rubber stamps for their husbands\u2019 decisions — they run gram panchayat meetings, audit government schemes, and hold officials accountable.

"Before, I never spoke in front of the panchayat. Today, I chair the meetings. Nobody gave me this confidence — I built it here, with these women." — A gram panchayat member, Purandar block

Confronting Violence

Gender-based violence remains one of the most persistent obstacles to women\u2019s empowerment. MASUM\u2019s violence prevention programme does not treat violence as a private matter. Through community mobilisation, legal literacy camps, and support for survivors, it creates a collective intolerance for abuse.

Importantly, men and boys are not left out of this work. MASUM engages them as partners in building gender-just households and communities, recognising that lasting change requires transformation across gender lines.

The Road Ahead

Decades of work have produced measurable outcomes — more women in leadership, better health indicators, reduced tolerance for violence, stronger economic agency. But the structural barriers — caste, patriarchy, economic marginalisation — are deep and stubborn.

What MASUM\u2019s experience demonstrates is that change is possible when communities are treated as agents, not recipients. When women\u2019s voices are centered, when their rights are non-negotiable, and when organisations are willing to stay the course for the long term.

The story of women\u2019s empowerment in rural Maharashtra is still being written — by women themselves.