Can women's empowerment be measured? Is it obvious when a woman is empowered?

A woman empowered simply has more power. And power is the capacity, opportunity, and freedom to act, when the action is to achieve something she herself values and wants to accomplish.

To have more power, it need not be taken from another. She must and can create it. 

As organizers, our challenge is to help village women create power.  We all collaborate in the process. It is important for the men to see that women’s power does not decrease their own but is more power for all, and a benefit to all.

Patriarchy is not an abstraction.  Its behaviors and practices exist in a concrete and specific environment. Mesha Singolyo, Lead Organizer for the International Collaborative, understands this. She does not lead the women into an abstract fight against the idea of patriarchy.

Instead, the battle is really against poverty.  When women are not crippled by poverty they make their own decisions and are respected for them. Patriarchy drifts to the background.

Organizing groups of women to cooperate financially is some of the most important work we are doing now.

Groups meet weekly to share problems and solutions, and most importantly, to create and maintain a livestock fattening business with sales into the food chain. Money flows to them and their village, to the benefit of everyone.

We are so happy with and proud of our collaboration with the Global Fund for Widows. This organization and its hardworking and creative leader, Heather Leathers, focuses on the special problems faced by widows that are generally more severe than the problems of most married women in patriarchal societies.

What applies to women also applies to widows, and the creative organizing that we are engaged in has implications and lessons for all efforts to help women gain and use power in their communities.  

by Rahel Mtui from Losirwa

"I was involved with a car accident with my husband and my husband died immediately. I was left helpless.

From there my life changed. The accident left me with permanent injury and my leg had to be cut off. I was dependent physically in all spheres of life. I was in this difficult time with a lot of unanswered questions in my mind. 'Why did this happen to me?' 'How should I continue from here alone?' 'Who will help me and my family?'

I did not just lose a husband,  I lost my support, property, identity and dignity.

I thank God and now our widow’s group is my husband, I have friends from our group who are my support all of the time. They helped me to get money for a prosthetic leg.

Now I run a small shop and have dairy cows. I was able to borrow the capital from the cooperative bank our group manages. Now I have the peace that comes from being able to support myself and my family.”