India: Independent Group Living for Women's Vocational Training
By Emily A. Boyce, William F. Boyce*, and Shoba Raja
[Editor's note: this article is reprinted with the authors' permission and was originally published in the Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation
Journal.]
Abstract
Independent Living is a western concept that has not achieved wide acceptance in developing countries due to its emphasis on individuality and self-sufficiency, and its lack of consideration of family and cultural norms. However, young women with disabilities in many countries are significantly affected by such cultural norms which disadvantage their ability to access vocational training programmes. This study demonstrates that a culturally appropriate form of Independent Living can be implemented to address this problem. Nine young Indian women with disabilities were interviewed over a two year period while undergoing a training programme in prosthetics and orthotics. Most of the women also lived together during the training. The qualitative analysis demonstrates that women with disabilities may be able to benefit from independent group living as an adjunct to vocational training and can make significant improvements in their personal, social and professional development.
Introduction
Women with disabilities have been largely neglected when it comes to research, state policies, the disability and women's movements, and rehabilitation programmes, and this has become a widely accepted fact in recent years (1, 2, 3). Specifically, the lack of vocational training programmes for women with disabilities in developing countries has become a factor contributing to women's continued disadvantage and oppression. Agendas for action arising from major disability and women's conferences in the past decade have all recognised the need for more vocational, training and educational programmes for women with disabilities. However, unequal access to vocational training programmes remains a reality for most women in India, despite the widespread opinion that equal opportunity should exist (1).
The inability of Indian women with disabilities to access vocational training programmes is not always a simple reflection of a lack of programmes. In many cases, women cannot participate because of structural and societal barriers resulting from factors related to gender, class and disability (4). Boylan (5) identified several such barriers to disabled women's participation in rehabilitation services which included: poverty, rural isolation from services, inaccessible buildings and transportation to services, parental overprotection, and low self-esteem (cited in 4). Kern (4) argues that even when women with disabilities are able to participate, vocational training programmes tend to be male-dominated and do not provide women with adequate social support. As a result, many women are compelled to leave the programmes before they are completed. Kern advocates for training and rehabilitation programmes in which sufficient numbers of women participate, to ensure the social and moral support required to build their self-confidence. She insists that these programmes recognise the barriers specific to women with disabilities, and that they implement strategies that facilitate women's full participation.
This article examines independent group living as a strategy that can facilitate women's access to vocational training programmes. More specifically, it examines independent group living as an arrangement that can provide women with the support required to develop at the personal and social levels, thus enhancing their self-esteem, independence, and motivation to succeed in training and future employment.
Method
The opportunity to live independently of their families, and as a group, was an experimental arrangement offered by the Association of People with Disability (APD) and Mobility India (MI) in Bangalore, India. It was a key strategy to ensure that poor, rural women with disabilities could access a training programme that would teach them prosthetic and orthotic manufacturing skills for two years, and help them set up a co-operative mobility aids workshop in the third year. A small house was rented near APD's Orthotic Centre, and women enrolled in the programme were encouraged to reside there. The women received monthly stipends which covered the rent costs. It was recognised that the provision of this living arrangement was necessary if the women were to transcend their barriers of poverty, rural isolation, and the difficulties (both financial and physical) of daily travel to and from the centre. Without the opportunity to live independently and at no cost, these women would not have been able to access the training programme due to the distant location of their family homes and the poor financial situations of their families.
Further, living as a group was considered the most viable arrangement due to the women's gender. It was understood that the women would face considerable opposition from their families if they resided alone in the city, and that they would not feel safe or comfortable doing so. This initiative was therefore attentive to the multiple issues facing these women, such as rural location, class, gender, and parental overprotection. Independent group living was a strategy intended to assist in gaining family permissions for training, to provide social support to the women, and to be a safer and more economical arrangement than living alone or travelling long distances from family homes.
A study was conducted in 1996 and 1997 to examine the effects of independent living on this group of young Indian women with disabilities. Individual and group interviews were conducted with the nine women over the two-year programme. The focus of the study was to examine independent group living as an arrangement for enhancing women's development at the individual and social levels, while simultaneously providing them with the support and confidence needed to maintain access to vocational training. The results presented here describe the key areas of development that resulted from independent group living:
- Development of independent living skills;
- Social Development (increased sociability, public confidence and ability to support others) and
- Personal Development (improved self-image, independence and professional motivation).
Results and Discussion
Independent living skills
In total, there were nine young women engaged in the orthotics and prosthetics training programme. Three of these women lived in their parents or relatives' homes for the duration of the programme, because their houses were in close proximity to the training centre in Bangalore. It was possible, then, to draw certain conclusions about the differences in levels of development between the six women who lived independently in the group house and those that remained with their families. It became evident, for example, that the women living as a group developed practical and independent living skills in ways that were not possible for the others. Upon joining the programme, most of the women reported that their parents were overprotective and did not think them capable or expect them to do household chores: "Even coffee she (mother) brings it wherever I am. I am not allowed to remove the lunch plate. By chance if I removed the plate my father used to scold my brothers' wives. 'Her leg is not all right, why do you allow her to do that? What is wrong with you people?' My brothers and my father used to scold them saying, 'Don't make that child do things.'"
Living in the group house, the women were able to share the skills they had with each other, and learn many things that would not have been possible had they remained with their families. They invented several systems that facilitated their ability as a group to live independently and comfortably. For example, they began a routine of cooking in pairs, so that the women who did not know how to cook could learn from those who had experience. For chores involving heavy labour, such as carrying water, they all participated in completing the task: "There is a tap next to our room. Rajni, Mira, and Rajasri cannot get water from that tap. But Namita is okay. Mohua also can lift. Only I can lift alone. Mohua will lift the water, give it to Namita, and she gives it to me and I carry it."
The women also developed money-management skills. They organised a "mess-system" in which they each contributed 300 rupees of their stipend each month, and then collaborated on which foods to buy. With these funds, the women went to the market and purchased food sufficient to last for a month - a responsibility that would have been impossible had they lived at home: "We ourselves do the work, we ourselves go for purchases. How much money we save, how much is spent we learn. All this we like. Because at home our parents will take care of everything. We don't know at all. Which item is costly, which item is cheaper. . ."
In sum, living independently of their families gave the young women a chance to run a household and learn such tasks as cooking, cleaning, and money-management. These skills gave the women self-confidence, and helped prepare them for a future in which they would need to live independently to continue their work in the city.
Social development
Increased Sociability and Confidence
Women with disabilities, especially from rural areas, are likely to be left out of family interactions and community activities. In addition, they are exposed to social stigma and stereotyping within their communities, which leads them to feel devalued, isolated, and ashamed (1,2). Among the women in this study, all but one had felt embarrassed, isolated and alone at social functions, festivals, or when people came to their family's houses to visit: "Since I was young I never used to go out. I never attended marriages. I used to feel shy because I am handicapped. In my house I am the only one who is like this and I used to feel very bad."
The experience of independent group living seemed to have a beneficial impact on the women's levels of sociability and their confidence to venture out in public or to social functions. Living among other women with disabilities and in a non-judgemental environment was of great benefit in raising self-esteem and in developing social skills. All of the women who resided in the group house reported feeling accepted, sociable, and confident to venture into town. Because they went on social outings as a group, they did not feel isolated or personally affronted if someone stared at them. Together, confidence in their abilities was strengthened and they could carry out their business with mutual support.
This social support also gave the women confidence to be more sociable and extroverted when they were visiting their families: "My mother says, 'I had never thought you would live independently and boldly'. Before I was very shy. I never used to stay alone. When there were visitors I used to go inside and sit. I never used to talk to anybody and got scared easily. When I wanted to go outside I used to take my mother or father. . . Now I go everywhere independently."
It is important to note that those women who lived with their families or relatives during the training programme did not notice any significant changes in their levels of sociability. Although they reported feeling more accepted and talkative while at work, they continued to feel isolated and stigmatised in their communities after work. The women who lived as a group, however, felt accepted, confident and sociable on a more constant basis.
Mutual Support and Taking on Caring Roles
From childhood on, many women with disabilities are regarded as social and economic burdens by their families and communities (1,2). Boyce (3) and Pruthvish (6) state that discrimination based on gender and disability decreases disabled women's chances of marriage, having children, or earning a living. Women with disabilities are deprived of their traditional roles and status as wives and mothers, and often feel emotionally unfilled and inferior to other women as a result. Some women with disabilities often lead lives of total dependence - both emotionally and financially - and never have the chance to provide care for themselves or for others
Opportunities to fulfil caring roles arose immediately for the six women upon moving into their group house. The women reported that they missed their families deeply and provided each other with emotional support through this period. As time went on, they reported that this atmosphere of mutual caring and support allowed them to adjust to being separated from their families. The women cared for each other in many ways, both emotionally and physically, through their stay in the house.
In addition to taking on the roles of caregivers within the group house, all six of the women concluded that they would provide for their parents in the future. Confidence in their ability to provide and care for others was so strong that, in several cases, they came to see themselves as being more responsible for maintaining their parents' well-being than their brothers and sisters. One woman said: "I have this desire to tell her (mother) not to go to anyone, not even to my younger brother. . .I told mother, 'I won't leave you in anybody's house. I want to earn money myself and keep you. You should not have any difficulties'."
The other women reported similar sentiments, and expressed the desire to rent houses and bring their mothers to Bangalore after the orthotics workshop was underway. Thus, the women's perceptions of themselves in relation to their families developed significantly during the two-year training period. They went from feeling completely dependent on their parents for economic, emotional, and physical security, to feeling that they could provide support and security to their parents in the future.
Personal development
Improved Self-Image: Attitudes towards Disability, Marriage and Gender
The women's attitudes towards their own disabilities improved dramatically as they spent more time around others like themselves. There were two aspects to this development. First, the women reported that after working with clients at the orthotic centre they no longer felt powerless or disadvantaged by their disabilities. In fact, all women in the training (both those living in the group house and those living with their families) said that they now felt privileged in relation to others with disabilities. The women's acknowledgement of their relative privilege contributed to an enhanced self-image and also motivated them to continue training as orthotic technicians.
Second, the experience of independent group living enhanced the women's self-image with regard to their disabilities. As mentioned earlier, the three women who remained with their families during the training programme felt isolated and stigmatised when they returned home in the evenings. The women who stayed in the group house, however, did not feel alone with their disabilities, and expressed that they now felt as capable and normal as anyone else: "At home I used to think among so many brothers and sisters, I am alone like this. After coming here, I realised that I need not sit in a wheelchair, I need not sit at home. At least I have legs to walk. I have some strength in my hands and legs, I can work. Thinking this I have hope to further improve. Now I don't think that I have a disability."
It is evident that the women's attitudes towards their disabilities became increasingly positive as they spent time among their co-workers and other people with disabilities who came to the orthotic centre. The experience of independent group living, however, also facilitated an improved self-image on a constant basis.
Likewise, the women's attitudes towards marriage and their options for the future became more defined and opinionated as time went on. The experience of being self-sufficient - both at work and in the group household - caused the women to value their ability to self-determine their lives. They came to value their freedom and independence, and many were unwilling to have this taken away by a husband: "If someone asks (me to marry him) I will say no. I want to be with mother till the end. . .I will be fine, enjoying and free. I can eat when I want, do what I want, watch TV. Marriage means I have to look after all different people. . .Now, I just keep my bag on the table and sleep. Can I do that after marriage? Not possible. We won't have so much freedom."
The women also developed an awareness of the gender dynamics involved in marriage, and about how these dynamics could intensify if a woman was disabled. They were aware of the expected work roles in the family, in that the male would expect to be the breadwinner and the female would be expected to stay home. After living independently and working in the orthotic centre, however, the women said that they would only marry if they knew they would be able to continue working and earning their own wages.
The women also became aware that disabled women were at higher risk for abuse in marriage. They made many references to able-bodied women who were being abused by their husbands, and expressed fear that their disabilities would heighten their chance of being mistreated by their husbands. The women expressed an unwillingness to expose themselves to such abuse, regardless of the status and security that marriage could bring.
In sum, living and working independently gave the women increased self-confidence in their ability to survive without being married. This was a very important development, because many of the women reported that they used to feel depressed about their low prospects of finding a husband. Now, they felt happy and self-sufficient, and reported that they would never sacrifice their new-found independence, even if they had the chance to marry.
Professional Interest and Motivation
All of the trainees excelled in the two-year programme, learning technical skills, patient-care skills, and the business and organisational skills necessary to successfully run an independent workshop. However, the opportunity to learn skills and find future economic independence is not always enough to motivate women to complete vocational training programmes. Women with disabilities often abandon their training before it is completed, because of unwelcome and non-supportive social environments and male-domination in training centres (5). Of interest then, is how the experience of independent group living while in training affected the women's interest and motivational levels with regard to the programme and their future careers.
The study found that the women's attitudes towards work and training underwent significant change over the course of the programme. The women had, for the most part, joined the training in pursuit of employment that would help themselves and their families financially. Although they initially exhibited some interest in the idea of doing prosthetic and orthotic work, they were relieved at that point to find any employment.
After the training was underway, however, there was a growing belief amongst the women that their work was socially valuable and necessary for the well-being of persons with disabilities. This sense of inspiration and moral obligation to help others developed because of the women's experiences while at work, both by seeing how their work was directly helping others and by becoming aware of the great need that existed for their services. Of significance is that the six women residing in the group house reported that they would not leave the training programme or the orthotics workshop even if they were offered a job with a better salary. The three other trainees, who lived with their families during the course of the training, reported that they would indeed quit the training if offered a better salary. In the end, two of these trainees did quit the programme.
In addition, the women who lived as a group reported that their ability to learn was facilitated by the fact that each evening they did their homework together, and discussed the events of the day. In contrast, the women living with their families reported that it was difficult to keep up with their homework because of family interruptions, lack of family support or interest, and other dynamics in their households.
It is possible that the three women living outside the group house had a lower commitment to their training and work because they felt less committed to the other women in the programme. For the other six women, the experience of living as a group resulted in high group cohesion, strong friendships, and emotional commitment to one another. Leaving the training programme did not seem like an option for the women who lived independently, because they were as committed to each other as they were to their new profession. In sum, independent group living provided the women with a support system that allowed them to maintain interest, motivation and excitement about their training and their futures as orthotic and prosthetic technicians. In August 1997, the seven remaining women completed their training and received their certificates as prosthetic and orthotic technicians. Shortly thereafter, the co-operative workshop was formally inaugurated, and it is still operating today.
Conclusion
The study has shown that the success of this particular group of women was linked as much to the experience of independent group living as to the vocational training opportunity itself. All six women who lived independently as a group completed the training and went on to run their own self-supporting business. Only one of the three women who lived with her family during the training accomplished this feat. Independent group living allowed the women to develop in ways that would not have been possible had they remained with their families, and the benefits were many.
First, the opportunity to live as a group within the city clearly gave the women access to the programme. Without this option, these women would not have been able (physically or financially) to travel each day to the vocational training centre. Independent group living was therefore a successful strategy put forth by these organisations to facilitate poor, rural disabled women's basic access to training opportunities.
Second, the women learned independent living skills on a practical level, acquiring experience in household management and self-care that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Living independently as a group gave them the confidence they needed to live without their parents in the city and to pursue their professional interests following the training program.
Third, the experience of living amongst other women with disabilities benefited the women's social development. The social support and mutual caring that developed in the group house enhanced the women's self-esteem and confidence in terms of sociability and courage to interact with the general public. The social skills and public confidence they acquired living as a group may benefit them for the rest of their lives, especially in terms of succeeding in business within the city. In addition, the women were able to take on caring roles, providing emotional and physical support to others in ways that they had never permitted in their family homes. This new role benefited them in terms of emotional fulfilment, and also allowed them to explore the idea of providing for their parents in old age. This confidence to care for themselves and for others was a remarkable development considering that they had spent most of their lives depending on others.
Finally, the women experienced major growth at the personal level. Their self-images improved drastically, both with regard to their disabilities and in their attitudes towards marriage and the future. Living independently during the two-year training programme showed them that they were relatively privileged in relation to many others with disabilities. Consequently they could succeed in a household or working environment despite their disabilities, and they also could be self-sufficient and happy without being married. Further, the experience of living as a group contributed to enhanced motivation and professional interest among the six women, due to high group cohesion and the social support that such a living situation provided. In sum, the benefits of independent group living during this training initiative were immense.
Independent living, as a concept, originated in the western world to improve the lives of persons with disabilities. However, independent living has been criticised in the developing world for its focus on individualism over communalism and its apparent rejection of family interdependence and cultural tradition (7). This study demonstrates that the basic benefits of independent living, an increase in self-esteem and social integration, can be achieved with a uniquely eastern approach that also respects cultural norms and values.
Indeed the definition of Independent Living that was adopted by the Asia Pacific Regional Conference of Rehabilitation International in 1995 is applicable to the APD experiment: "Independent living means living just like everyone else - having opportunities to make decisions that affect one's life, being able to pursue activities of one's own choosing - limited only in the same ways that one's non-disabled neighbours are limited. Independent living should not be defined in terms of living on one's own. Independent living has to do with self-determination. And, it is having the freedom to fail - and to learn from one's failures - just as non-disabled people do."
The provision of financially-supported group living arrangements is strongly recommended for future vocational training initiatives of this type, in order to combat the barriers of class, disability, gender, and rural poverty experienced by many women with disabilities.
*Social Program Evaluation Group, McArthur Hall, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6
email : boycew@post.queensu.ca
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