Sushma iyengar Woman ousts middlemen to empowers Kutch artists Kutch (Gujarat): At a clinic in Khavda, one of Kutch's furthermost districts on the border with Pakistan, local Kutchi women run the show. They are not only skilled midwives who take care of just birth and delivery, but also train women in reproductive rights, health and family planning. They are the pillars from which the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sanghtan and its founding member Sushma Iyengar derive their strength and love. Thirty nine-year-old, shy and low profile Sushma sees herself as an educator, a catalyst and a learner. “Ultimately you realise that you have to walk alone. But to be able to do that in an empowered way, you have to first walk as a collective. I think it's the poor who have realised this the best,” says Sushma. Coming together wasn’t an easy task because sometimes their own inhibitions restricted them. But they all fought caste, class and religion and came together as women. But Sushma knew Kutch was her Karmabhoomi. Having lived in Gujarat for several years, she believes true empowerment comes when you are able to sit across with those you may not agree and transform them. And what started as women’s movement, has allies in men, fathers, brothers and husbands today. Traditionally the women of Kutch kept the beautifully embroidered pieces as part of their trousseau but successive natural calamities meant they were forced to sell them to middlemen. Sushma helped them come together as a collective. As the numbers grew so did their confidence. Soon the production processes were tied, middlemen eliminated and their positions elevated from wage earners to skilled entrepreneurs. For a woman who has helped nurture so many initiatives, Sushma holds no executive position in any organisation. “It’s very important not to turn the organisation and initiatives into a personality driven institution and its important to give rise to new leadership,” says Sushma. And the mission she says must go on. (Sushma iyengar can be contacted at Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, 15 A, 'Ameedhara', Himmat Nagar, Revenue Colony, Bhuj - 370001, Gujarat, India, Phone: 91-2832-222124, 223340, Fax: 91-2832-251914 Email: kmvsbhuj@gmail.com , buj_kmvs1@sancharnet.in )