Tawana Case Study

A case of women’s empowerment – an outcome not planned.

Kausar S Khan

The people have to be seen … as being actively involved – given the opportunity – in
shapoing their own destiry, and not just as pasive recipeints of the fruits of cunning
development programs. (Sen 1999, p 53. Quoted in An Introduction to the Human Development and Capabilty
Approach. Page 31. IDRC Publication. E-book. 2009 info@)

Abstract
Tawana Project Pakistan (TPP) was not planned for women’s empowerment, but was designed to
involve women as primary actors in a nutrition and education project in the rural areas of
twenty nine districts of Pakistan (there are 106 districts and 13 federally & provincially
administered areas in Pakistan). Government primary schools for girls were the hub of TPP
activities (women’s meetings, and provision of a daily meal to students). All activities
undertaken by women, including opening of bank account, management of funds, planning of
meals and its preparation, and the delivery of daily meals, and meetings to review all project
related work were embedded in a socio cultural context that is restrictive of women and their
agency. These activities were not drastically opposed by men, and any resistance from
individual men was either easily negotiated by women, or the men backed off once convinced of
the benign nature of work.1 This reality reflects well on the spaces available in the socio-cultural
environment usually perceived as very hostile to women. TPP was severally criticised by
outsiders (not by community, whether women or men, or the children) for various reasons, and
the critics chose to ignore the role of women and policy implications emanating from their roles.
The critics were primarily urban, educated middle class and above men and women. While
Tawana succeeded programmatically (malnutrition was reduced, and enrolment increased), it
failed politically.2 .This paper attempts to show how and why TPP became a project of women’s
empowerment. It also examines why it failed politically, and why women’s movement could/did
not relate to it.

The paper has four parts. (1) The genesis of Tawana. (2) Summary of results and findings (3)
The given in Tawana – objectives, scope and modes operandi.(4) Examples from the field (5)
Critics and criticism of Tawana (6) Conclusion and policy implications.

1. Genesis of Tawana Project.

TPP was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Women and Development (MoWD), which is
mandated to work for women’s empowerment. The national policy for women’s development
has the word empowerment in its title as well as in its text. The title reads: The National Policy
for Development and Women’s Empowerment.. 3 The policy has clearly stated vision and goal.
The vision is to achieve:
• Gender equity & equality;
• Social, Political & Economic Empowerment of all Pakistani women at all levels;
• A just, humane & democratic society;
• Economic prosperity through sustainable development;

The goal is also explicit:

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 Empowerment of Pakistani women so that they can realize their full potential in all
spheres of life (social, economic, personal & political) in keeping with the Islamic way of
life.

Tawana, as a multi million rupees project, with entire funding committed by the Government of
Pakistan, focused on two non-controversial issues, namely: girls education and their nutrition
status. It also proposed the inclusion of community women to play a central role in the project.
For the implementers this was a window of opportunity to adopt participatory methods and
strategies that transformative and egalitarian. This was a conscious choice and led to the key
strategy of providing women the space to demonstrate their ability to take actions as emanating
from their decisions, whether taken individually or collectively.

The non threatening objectives of Tawana (reduce malnutrition and increase enrolment in
schools), were perhaps responsible for the least resistance in selling the idea to the government.
Enormous funds that it needed were thus allocated according to the given government
procedures for mega projects.. Maximum funds were needed for the feeding programme that
required a daily meal (albeit a balanced meal) for the children in the government primary
schools. The scale was grand – 5000 schools in twenty nine districts. Budget was thus calculated
on the estimated number of students per school, and Rs.7.00 per child per day was allocated. An
additional Rs. 1000.00 per month was also sanctioned for the group of women who would be
planning and managing the feeding programme. Funds were to be deposited in a Bank account
which two women from the villages would operate. Funds were also provided for an honorarium
for a village woman who was to be the focal point for the feeding programme. She was given the
title of Community Organizer, and received Rs 1500.00 a month. Strategically, she was selected
by the village women after they had discussed the purpose of a nutrition programme in their
village.4

Two strategies proposed in Tawana (involvement of village women, and Non Government
Organizations) had been earlier tested by Aga Khan University in a community based school
nutrition project.(1992 – 1999). This experience was considered adequate for its inclusion in
Tawana. Taking forward the earlier experience into Tawana was a factor not adequately analysed
in the documentation of Tawana, but here it is important to note this reality for Tawana in the
hands of any other institution with inadequate experience of working with communities and
testing different strategies for community participation, could have developed Tawana in a less
democratic and participatory mode, and thus more in tune with the dominant hierarchical and un-
democratic mode of behaviour in Pakistan. Women’s movement in Pakistan is one of the very
few examples of non-hierarchical behaviour with emphasis on collective decision making.

2. Summary of results and achievements (i.e. who benefited and how? What
changed? What was the impact on peoples’ livelihoods).

Success of TPP had six dimensions. (1) Achievement of stated objectives of: reducing
malnutrition; increasing enrolment in government primary schools of girls 5 --12 years of age;
(2) involvement of communities (specially women).(3) Increase in the knowledge base of
women regarding balanced diet and its value (4) Women’s empowerment, as reflected in
individual and collective actions other than the stated project objectives. (5) Participatory

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approach and methodology for women’s mobilisation. (6) Development of institutional
mechanisms at district and provincial levels. (7) Role of non-government institutions (NGOs and
a University.)

Successes of TPP were possible because of the design of TPP and the participatory approach and
methodology that guided the working of TPP. The approach created an environment of learning
and application of learning.5 The learning environment was conducive to the release of women’s
potential to deal with their environment creatively.6 The participatory approach also facilitated
the self-sustaining knowledge about food groups and how they are to be used to create a
balanced meal. Additional learning was about anthropometric measurement introduced to assess
the growth of a child by monitoring the weight gain and height gains. Women thus came to know
how they could know whether their children were malnourished, and whether intake of balanced
meals is resulting in the reduction of malnutrition.

In Pakistan, data on malnutrition among 5 --12 years old girls shows that 25% were stunted and
15 % were wasted.7 Stunting in girls has far more serious implications than for boys, as smaller
bone structures could lead to obstetric complications during child birth. Furthermore, whereas
wasting can be overcome with appropriate food, it has grave repercussions in the first three years
of life. It is now well established that malnutrition affects brain development and compromises
learning abilities of a child.8 Tawana, because of its participatory methodology, showed how
malnutrition can be reduced. This is specially significant as health surveys show a stagnation of
malnutrition rates over the last thirty years.

Success in terms of increase in school enrolment was also linked to the participatory approach
and method used in Tawana. Through interactive ways and continuing education sessions 9
women learnt the value of education for girls, and the daily meals in the school motivated the
families to send their girls to school.

Beneficiaries of TPP were many, but their gains varied. The malnourished girls became free of
malnutrition; girls who were not coming to schools joined the process of schooling; teachers
were exposed to some new trainings; women gained the new experience of collectively
managing funds, and planning and managing a feeding programme;they came to know what
constitutes a balanced diet10, and the value of balanced diet. Besides this enhancement of the
knowledge base their experience of collective decision making and action was a new experience
and led to many women taking critical decisions about their lives, including decision to contest
local actions, and formation of organizations. Three examples of collective action would
exemplify women’s empowerment.. Women of a number of schools protested at the office of
the senior most elected officer of the district when funds for the feeding programme were not
released. They not only demanded the timely release of funds, but also asked to be included in
the District Tawana Committee. Hence they moved out of their micro level activities to a meso
level arena. The second example is from a school in a tribal area, where women decided to reach
a public meeting where the President of Pakistan was the chief guest. They not only reached the
site, but also insisted on delivering their petition personally to the President. In this manner they
demanded the continuation of the Project, as there was talk of closing it down. The third example
is of School Tawana Committee taking legal action at the murder of a fourteen year old girl in
their village. 11

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By one estimate, over a 100,000 women were reached through the continuing education
programme of Tawana. Besides these village women, over 4000 school teachers were also
exposed to new learning and the participatory mode of decision making (as opposed to the
prescriptive approach which teachers and village women are accustomed to in the hierarchical
structures of Pakistani society.) Furthermore, over 600 young women emerged as human
resources within the districts. These were the field workers trained for working with village
women in their districts. 12 Besides the field workers of the eleven NGOs engaged in Tawana,
there were district coordinators in every district. By the end of the project over 29 young men got
valuable management experience which included building linkages between elected persons and
district administration, and monitoring of community based work. Last but not the least, the
eleven NGOs and the private university that spearheaded the project acquired immense learning
in planning, managing and monitoring a mega project that built a large network of women’s
groups ready to become the basis of social change through peaceful social action. 13

Impact on people’s livelihood was limited and indirect. As women of the School Tawana
Committee managed funds for the feeding programme, and came to know the value of locally
available food, and as food was to be purchased, the village based shop keepers also benefited.
Their incomes increased.

There has been increase in the livelihood (rozgar) of the sellers of meat, wheat and fruit
also (Thatta 304-02)

According to local people’s perception, Tawana had provided employmeont opportunity

to women, increased income of shopkeepers and vegetable sellers. (reported by the senior
field coordinator of Tawana)

At the village level, a change in social environment was experienced. Women’s meeting , their
entry in school, and men supporting women in undertaking their responsibilities for the feeding
programme provided a change in the routine village environment. Interestingly, there was no
objection to the new activities, and barring some remote schools in the tribal area, Tawana
flourished in the vast majority of schools.

Lesson learnt: Women can play an effective role in reducing malnutrition provided they are
given the opportunity to understand the meaning of balanced diet, and have funds to plan and
manage a feeding programme in the primary schools. Management of fund and of the feeding
programme were activities not confined to a few women who were not required to report to local
women. This reversal of accountability, from accountability to some outsiders to the local
women was a new experience for women. This was an experience of what democracy should be,
but is not witnessed.

3. The given in Tawana – objectives, scope and modus operandi.

The LFA (logical frame analysis, the planning tool) for Tawana stated its goal as Social and
developmental status of primary school age girls improved and sustained. The purpose was

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stated as: Enrolment, attendance and nutritional status of girls in primary schools are improved
with sustainable community participation. Its objectives were:

1. Health + Nutrition Status of Primary School Age Girls Increased.

2. Enrolment & Retention increased and absenteeism reduced.
3. Local capacity for participatory ownership of “Tawana” achieved.
4. Tawana Nutrition Committee (TNC) formed and operational in every school.

Tawana was developed as an intervention project and not exclusively as a research project. A
meticulous information and monitoring system was developed to track progress towards the
stated objectives. A baseline was conducted, and this enabled the Project Team to assess whether
the objectives were met.

There were eleven implementing partners that took responsibilities of implementing Tawana
which included mobilising communities (primarily women) to establish a feeding programme for
girls in the government primary girls schools The hub of the project was the daily meal planned
and delivered by the School Tawana Committee (consisting of women from the village and the
school teacher) A district level nutrition committees were also formed to oversee the work. A
Tawana account was opened in every district and money was deposited in them by the Federal
Government. In every district the government education department was responsible for release
of funds to the school tawana committees Each such committee had to open an account and two
signatories from the School Tawana Committees were responsible for withdrawing the money.
The School Tawana Committees were also responsible for maintaining the feeding records and
minutes of their meetings. Training for village women on food value of locally available food,
and balanced diet, and importance of nutrition and education for girls, were planned and
provided by the local university that was the focal point of the project.

The Project was not entirely original as it was modelled on the pilot project called School
Nutrition Project. However, important additions were made to the design of the project in that
more partners were included at the policy decision level. This addition proved to be a major
hurdle in the project. The approach too was not new, as it was tested and found to be effective in
the pilot project. The most interesting feature of the project was its scale – 29 districts; over 4000
schools; over 40, 000 girls; over 4000 school teachers; over 600 women field workers from the
29 districts; coordinating mechanisms linked village work with district level decision makers;
provincial decision makers and federal level decision makers.

The schools girls who received balanced diets and could come to the schools were the primary
beneficiaries. The village women who became actively involved in the feeding programme and
also experienced collective decision making were the second level beneficiaries. The young girls
in every district who were employed as field workers also gained valuable experience, and
became an asset to their district. (A follow up study on Tawana revealed that all the girls who
had been employed in Tawana found jobs after Tawana and were favoured by their new
employees because of the trainings and supervision they had received) . The eleven NGOs and
the university also benefited in terms of leraning how to manage mega projects, and to monitor
the project collectively. (Every three months all the partners collectively reviewed progress of
the project, discussed challenges faced, and used the opportunity for their own capacity building)

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. Last but not the least, the local government and administration experienced working together.
This was the early days of the devolution of responsibilities to the district governments. Tawana
provided them an opportunity to test how the local government and administration could work
together.

Men of the villages where women were actively engaged in Tawana could be seen as indirect
beneficiaries. They did not interfere with the Project but knew what was happening. At the
district level meetings for Tawana, often officers of government departments not involved in
Tawana also came and took part in the discussions. Perhaps they too learnt something about the
importance of nutrition and education for girls.

Several problems were encountered, though most of them were overcome over time, thus
proving that community based intervention studies are not likely to be problem-free. Some key
problems were: opening of bank accounts as several villages did not have a Bank that could be
easily accessed. Thus, accounts had to be opened in Post Offices, which had limited capacity to
handle large amount of funds. Furthermore, for many women it was the first time they were to
visit Banks and post offices, and took some time for them to adjust to this new role. There were
delays in release of funds within the district, as the invoices would not get cleared by the
concerned departments, and cheques would not be issued for various reasons. Data entry and
management also posed considerable problem as district level staff of the implementing partners
could not collect data in a timely manner, and even when it was collected it could not get entered
in computers at the district level. The University thus had to intervene and take over this task.
There was resistance to the very idea of fresh meals being cooked by women at the village level,
and a lobby emerged for replacing the feeding programme with milk and cookies. This lobby
was within the Ministry that had initiated the Project, and it led to the eventual closure of the
project, and its replacement with a milk and cookies programme. This, however, ended abruptly
as protests over the quality of milk and cookies were witnessed. In summary it can be said,
Tawana was successful programmatically, but failed politically

TPP was introduced in 29 districts of Pakistan, and had in its fold 4035 government girls primary
schools; with 417665 girls.14 Women in the villages near the school experienced a participatory
approach in three formal interventions, and also through interactions as part of the monitoring
system of TPP. The first formal interventions included the three days interaction at the
commencement of the Project15. The second formal intervention was a training in food value and
what constitutes a balanced diet, record keeping for the feeding programme, and management of
finance as every Tawana School Committee was required to have a bank account. The third
formal intervention was made about a year in the project when formal participatory training
sessions were introduced as part of a continuing education programme. 16 The informal
participatory experience was the interaction of the monitoring team with the STC. At least once a
month this visit was made and the STC reviewed progress of work, challenges faced, and action
taken for addressing them.

The outcome of the Tawana process was more than stated as objectives of the project. Collective
work for planning and managing the feeding programme brought the women together for what
was obviously a harmless activity. That they took collective decisions not only on what meal to
prepare but also about finances incurred for the feeding programme, seemed to give them the

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power to address challenges they encountered as related to the feeding programme, or even not
directly related to it.

According to local people’s perception, Tawana had provided employment opportunity to

women, increased income of shopkeepers and vegetable sellers. Women appointed as CO
were proud of getting job opportunity. (Hasina naam ki aurat nay razakarana tur per
Tawana ka kaam karney ki hami bhar li is ko is baato per fakhar that k anparh honey ke
bawajood isko norki mil gai hai).
It also provided food items to children which they had never tasted. (Bachchay pahley
ghar main rokhi sookhi rooti khatay they ab un ko fruit bhi mil raha hai pahly in
bachchon nay fruit ko dekha bhi nahi tha).
The cases show that the buildings which were occupied and used as residences, were
started functioning as schools. (Tawana Pakistan kee wajah say wauh school jo saalon
say bund thay wauh bhee chalnay shuroo ho gay)
Teachers became regular because of Tawana. (Teacher jo hafety main aik din aati thi ab
roz aati hai). If the Teachers were not regular, the field staff marked absent on the school
record when ever found absent. It worked and put pressure on the Teachers who in turn
became regular.
Because of TPP, enrollment also increased. (Assessment k waqt school main bachchiyo ki
tadad 180 thi jo baad main barh kar feeding ki wajah say 226 ho gai).
Community was satisfied and children were also happy from Tawana. There were
problems at different stages but were discussed in the STC meetings and resolved and
then it continued successfully. (Mirpurkhas District )

Women’s participation, specially given the restrictions on women’s life in the remote areas of
Pakistan, was a clear signal to the government and NGO sector alike that women, despite their
illiteracy, can still play a leadership role, at the community level. for the betterment of girls in
general, and women in particular. The participatory approach and method was in essence the
democratization process which is essential for building grass roots democracy. Tawana showed
how this could be done with largely illiterate women in remote villages of Pakistan.

4. Examples from the field

Selected examples are meant to draw attention to women’s latent ability to do more than what
they are conditioned to do as women. In their life what options society holds for them are too
distant a reality, and even if they know of them, what choices they make also appear limited. A
status quo not only remains but is retained. Women are immersed in a culture of silence (Frierie),
a silence over their life and how it unfolds or expected to unfold without the reflection and
analysis which could generate a process of questioning and making new choices. Tawana was a
trigger to a new way of being that would allow the experience to take place as it was non-
threatening to those concerned with the maintenance of a status quo that did not favour women.
The examples present the viability of women’s role in the making of a different future.

In a school in Thaata district, when the field team first entered the village, some women
in the village locked them in a room after roughing them up (they beat us, reported the

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 filed team). A prior meeting had taken place with male members of the village who had
promised to accommodate them in the village for the overnight stay. Apparently this
understanding had not been communicated to the women, and the field team arrived in
the village these men were not present. The matter, however, was resolved once the men
who were to make the arrangement arrived.

Women’s behaviour towards the team clearly reflects that women are not powerless and helpless
at all times. At any given time they can taken action without prior permission from men.

Cosignatory of the village informed that she had never been out of her village. I had
never thought of holding pen in my hand and shall be able to write my name. Now I can
write my name and go to Islamkot, talk to strange man and withdraw money from Bank.
(Tharparkar 304-85,6)

‘I learnt about keeping records of things purchased, and the benefit of vegetables.’
Teachers said that they had never kept such records, but now we women also maintain
records of purchase and expenditures..
Basran, a community organizer, said she saved two months salary and used it for her
daughter’s wedding. Now after repaying the debts, she would open a small shop.
Women of the bheel community (minority community) of this village had never seen the
homes of khashkheli community. Now these women go to khashkheli homes for the
school tawana committee meetings. Muslim and Hindu children take food together by
sitting in one place . The teacher said this ‘magic’ is of Tawana which has taught us to sit
together.(Story from a school in Tharparkar, Sindh)
(Narrated by the Senior Field Coorinator of TPP)

When women get the opportunity to do that which was not part of their daily routine, they enter a
new realm and acquire a new experience. It must inform them (albeit in a whisper perhaps) that
they are more than what they were accustomed to.

Even when in some in some cases STC members were reluctant to support in food
preparation and expected remuneration for their services, they somehow were convinced
during the process of Tawana to realize the voluntary role they could play for the well
being of their own girls. STC members were sensitive enough and discussed such issues
in the meetings and extended support to Teachers to reduce their burden (Mirpurkhas
District)

Voluntary work by women is sometimes criticised as an extension of the tradition of being non-
paid workers. This concern of paid work in itself is indicative of the assumption that payment is
the real measure of work. Effect of voluntary work on those engaged in it probably contributes to
their self-esteem and confidence, as it can also be a source of pride. Women used the word fakhr
(pride) in connection with their role as supporters of teachers, supporters of activities beneficial
for children. A father in Balochistan ( a tribal society with restriction on women) on hearing of
her daughter’s role as Field Workers entailed supervision of daily meals given to hundreds of

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school girls, declared emotionally, This is the work of walis (friends of God), and affectionately
put his hand on his daughter’s head (sign of blessing her) 17

Ten themes were identified from five case studies. Here too the generic themes of
PROBLEM, PROBLEM SOLVING, and role of STC and CO were found. The role of
district Nazim was striking, as this does not appear as consistently as the role of STCs
and CO. Here the positive role of teacher was also not apparent; while the determination
of STC was prominent through their acts of protest which led the EDO Education to
listen to their request for transfer of teacher. Also significant is the effect of CEP of
Tawana which helped women realize the importance of unity (one of the module was on
social mobilization); and the inspiration that Tawana gave to a middle class girl to
continue her education. (Badin)

because of community conflict, teacher got her self transferred. (Badin 301- 3-3) STC
wrote a letter to EDO for replacement of teacher.. (Badin 301- 3-11)

husband of a STC member called her from a meeting, and when the women heard screams from
her house they went and discovered that he wanted to kill her [honour killing] on accont of some
suspicion.(Rajanpur 407- 2 -2)
STC members intervened … membran nay Akbar kay hatoon say kulhari chinay ki koshish ki ,
Lakin who kisi per qaboo nahi arah tha.Iss nay aik kari zarab lagi.Nooran kay agay aik STC
member Nazir bibi agi, jis kay ser per kulhara laga.Aur thori dair bad foth ho gi, jab kay Akber iss
din say ajj tak ghaib hai. ,(Rajanpur 407- 2 -4)

prior to Tawana, the teacher used to take a lot of holidays Teacher (407- 1-1) … STC -- once it
was formed, it reviewed the teacher's role, and told her to stop taking so many hoiladys (407- 1-2)
instead of listening to the STC, tried to use her political clout because of which she used to take
holidays(407- 1-2) TEACHER -- she was proud of the fact that her husband was a journalist in
PTV, and that nobody could hold her accountable. mera koi kuch nahi kar sakta hai. (407- 4 -3)
the teacher started the feeding programme after the women declared that they would not let her
come to school, as she would not start the feeding programme.(Rajanpur 407- 4 -8)

WOMEN - saved the life of one of their members when they grappled with her husband who
wanted to axe her to dealth. In the process another woman got struck in the head, and died. (407-
2 -6) OUTCOME -- A precedence has been created, challenging age long practice of honour
killing. STC nay Noorran ko bacha kay nai riwat qayam ki (407- 2 -6) (Note:Tawana has offered a
modal for addressing all forms of opprssion of women, by simplying giving them a common
activity to manage.)

Tradition challenged. Is ne apney khandan ki purani riwayat main darar dall

In Tawana, she started cooking on a voluntary basis. (406-03-02,033) Her three daughters
were in the school. Her buffalo died, and this ended her source of income
– resistance from husband. Violence. (NB lack of respect for STC) husband burnt STC
records. Beat her wife, who was working as CO, and broke her arm. His objection was
her work, and that she would go to the city for training. (406-02-03)
STC – decided to support the woman cooking voluntarily, after her buffalo died. Rs
40.00 to be given for cooking rotis, and nothing the day rice was cooked. Her children in
school were now getting at least one meal a day. (406-03-04. 05)

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Un kee chotee bahin nay bhee baree bahin kay ghar aanay kee wajah say shaadee say
inkaar kardiyaa (Pak Patan)
With Tawana, the elder sister was selected as the Chairperson of STC, ans she took the
responsibility of the feeding programme. Her interaction with the women (STC) also
brought more clients for her sewing work. (Pak Patan)
Now I am studing with great interest zeal.[this was the girls who was inspired by attending the
continuing educaiton training, and asked the facilitator to talk to her father so that he permits her
to go to school. The fatehr agreed, but said he cold not afford the books, and STC decided to give
her books from the development fund. ] I have no words to thank Tawana Project.awana Project
open my eyes and now as a STC members. I will struggle for other girls. (Tank 205-3-13,14,15)

one girls wanted to be enrolled in school. Her father was unemployed. Her mother became
memebr of STC, and the girl got admission. Now both, mother and daughterl, support the
community orgnaizer. (Tank 205-6)

30th May 2005., 4:30 p.m. The Team reached the house of one of the STC members, and the
teacher, STC members and other women were already assembled. 21 women had gathered. With
the permission of the woman councilor and village women, the male members of the Team also
attended the meeting.
Those at the meeting spoke of the difficulties faced by their children because of the closure of the
school. They said that the chief (sardar) of their village (killi) is ready to give his house for the
school, if he gets a monthly remuneration. With the permission of the participants the sardar was
called to the meeting, and he was informed that the Government cannot give the remuneration,
and in Tawana project there is a development fund of Rs. 1000.00 a month which is meant to be
used for the betterment of school and a monthly remuneration cannot be given from this fund.
The sardar said that his house needs repairs. If a remuneration cannot be given then from the
development fund if doors and windows and other repair needs are taken care of , then without
any remuneration I am ready to give my house for the next 20 years. (Kalat)

On 20th March, 2003, School Tawana Committee was formed. The team had worked for two
days in this area, and STC was made. June 2003, a three days training started for the Community
Organizers (CO) and teachers. The team invited the CO and teacher to Ziarat for the training, and
informed them about the days, time and location.
For the training, teacher took another woman instead of the CO. Reason being, the
teacher explained, that the CO initially selected was getting married the second time, that is why
she is not being included in the training.
Feeding was to start from 1st July, 2003, and the original CO started to work. She
however, did not fulfill her responsibilities , and the women complained that the woman who has
been trained should be made the CO. The STC called a meeting of all the women, and they
decided that the CO should be the person who had been trained.
The new CO began working in the school before the Team came to the school. The first
CO came to the school and began fighting with the second CO. She threw away the utensils, and
stopped the 2nd CO from working.
The teacher and STC members called a meeting of the village women, and tried to
resolve the problem.. 23 women came to the meeting, and explained to the 1 st CO that the 2nd CO
has taken the training; she knows how the work has to be done; that you cannot give adequate
time to the school; and if you want you could become a member of STC, and check the work of
the CO. Since the other woman has taken the training, she is the CO. The 1 st CO listened to all
that the women had to say, was convinced by them, and gave her support to the 2 nd CO.

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 May 2004, the teacher of the same school without any reason the teacher refused to work
for feeding programme.. The Team called a STC meeting and other women from the village also
came to the meeting. They made the teacher understand and satisfied her, because of which the
teacher relented (apni baat say hat gai), and for the sake of the happiness of the community and
welfare of the girls, agreed to work in the feeding programme. (Kalat)

When a CO’s husband died, STC decided to shoulder her responsibilities during the
period of iddat, and that she be paid her honararuim. ( Kalat 104-05-1,4,5)

There were five different actors that came into play in Tawana – the School Tawana Committee
(STC) which was primarily composed of village women, but also had other ed-officio members
like the school teacher, and the Community Organizer (CO—who was identified by the village
women form amongst them selves and received an honorarium from Tawana). There was the
CO, and the teacher. Relationship between this all women triad as critical. There were cases of
the village women becoming stronger and taking issues to the District Education Officer, or
other officers, or even to elected persons. Besides this village level triad, other key players were
the district level persons (primarily men) as government education officers or the elected district
person – the Nazim (a mayor ? ) Women thus experienced a new playing field, and Tawana gave
them the legitimacy to take action even if meant challenging the teacher or negotiations with
higher authorities.

Biggest change Tawana brought was that it brought women out of their homes (FW
NGO). Women who never visited schools started coming to schools…..and started
cleaning schools (FW NGO). Women were empowered and they got involved in decision
making (FW NGO). The STCs of two schools demonstrated in front of EDO office
because of non release of funds (FW NGO). A woman from Haji Ahmed Zaur school
became councilor (FW NGO). Tawana gave “mother and girl” slogan and most
importantly children, communities and parents liked it a lot (NIU).

Re: Field Workers, Women

A man with an axe, and using harsh words, was walking towards the school .A field
worker (woman) told him to stop and not to enter the school, and asked him to explain
why he has adopted this aggressive behaviour. He declared that he was the elder in the
village and this activity has started without his permission and he would fight everybody
and even beat them up. Saying this he moved towards the field worker. The field worker
ran and picked up a danda (thick stick) and told the man that if he were to take another
step towards the school I will harm you (make wounds on you). The man left, and this
courage of this field worker, the other field workers said , gave them new motivation
and courage to go forward. (Tharparkar 304-1)18

In a school in Thaata district, when the field team first entered the village, some women in the
village locked them in a room after roughing them up (they beat us, reported the filed team). A
prior meeting had taken place with male members of the village who had promised to
accommodate them in the village for the overnight stay.

17
There were over 600 field workers in the 29 districts, and they were all young women of the
districts. As first generation working women of the formal sector (women work regularly as
unpaid workers in the field and as care providers in their home). They visited remote villages and
schools, travelled long distances and lived in Spartan conditions. Often in the discussion and
analysis of Tawana this cader is overlooked, though they have become a valuable resource to
their districts.
Include quotations from the interviews of FW in Thatta 2 years later

1
In a federally administered district the men of the village held the field worker hostage until they were
convinced that women’s meetings were only about a feeding program. Once the suspicion receded, not
only were the field workers allowed to leave the village, permission was also granted to TPP. The socio-
political context here was unique to the area which according to the Government policy continues the
colonial legacy of external control and no adult franchise. Tribal customs flourish unabated as no
alternatives are permitted. TPP’s entry here is indicative of the potential to begin a process that could
challenge anti-women systems albeit in a non-threatening way. This reality would require a separate
analysis for women’s empowerment for what is doable in one social context is not necessarily doable in
another context. Assessment of interventions for women’s empowerment, direct or indirect, should not be
made from centrality of the meaning of empowerment, but how that concept finds its footing in a given
context and begins to take roots. How this happens is the learning of the pathways to empowerment.
2
Dr Gregory Pappas, the new chairperson of the department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan
University, who saw Tawana towards its tail end, and was involved in the review of its data and its
analysis. Having worked in Pakistan for several years he was familiar with the political dynamics of the
country, and made the summary statement: Tawana succeeded programmatically, but failed politically.
Lack of a rigorous communication strategy was identified as the reason for the political failure. This
element of the project was the responsibility of the Implementation Unit housed in the Ministry of Women
and Development, and thus its working suffered the bureaucratic hassles that government departments
often suffer.

3
National Policy for Development and Empowerment of Women-March 2002. The guiding principles
of the policy include non-discrimination and gender equity at all levels, priority to the poorest of the poor, and the
recognition of the value of women's work. Key policy measures include institutionalization of gender into all
sectors of development, and a multi sectoral approach. The policy identifies 3 major areas of empowerment:
1. Social Empowerment of Women (includes; education, health, law and access to justice, violence against
women, women in the family and the community and the girl child).
2. Economic Empowerment of Women (includes; poverty, access to credit, remunerated work, women in rural
economy and informal sector and sustainable development).
3. Political Empowerment of Women (includes; power and decision making).

http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/divisions/planninganddevelopment-division/Data/AnnualPlan/
WomenDev.pdf
4
This included deliberations on malnutrition (what it is and its impact) and education (its purpose and the
impact of its absence); review of food availability over the year; food intake patterns in chidren; and what
sort of women would be suitable for taking the responsibility of a feeding programme. Women collectively
developed the criteria and then proposed who could become the Commujity Organizer, and which women
could become part of a School Tawana Committee. This process provided women the opportunity to
themselves reflect and share their perceptions and understanding, and then take decisions. With this
exercise start the process of women’s collective decision making which was the key strategy of this mega
project.

17
5. The Critics and Criticism of Tawana –the bureaucrats, and the missing of
women’s empowerment angle.

Tawana succeeded in terms of the achievement of stated objectives, and in demonstrating the
efficacy of the participatory approach for women’s empowerment. Yet, it had its critics and they
too need to be understood. The battle over TPP had two fronts – (1) critics within the Ministry
where TPP was initiated and located. (2) Outsiders to TPP, many of whom belonged to the non-
government sector and included some women activists.

Criticism from within

5
Interestingly, the critics of TPP ignored this aspect of the project, and how it relates to women’s
empowerment.
6
Paolo Freire speaks of this creative ability in all human beings in The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. This
creativity differentiates human beings from animals, and culture is that which mediates between human
beings and their environment. Women’s collective action was their creative act to mediate the power-
relations of their environment. “Cultural action is always a systematic and deliberate form of action which
operates upon the social structure, either with the objective of preserving that structure or transforming
it”. (Page 160) Women’s action in Tawana which can be seen as indicative of newly acquired powered
challenged the given power structures that de-legitimize such actions for women in the Pakistani context.
In Pakistan the dominant, pre-assigned gender role for the average Pakistani woman does not expect the
sort of actions women took when they came in the folds of Tawana.
7
Salma H Badruddin, et al, Tawana project-school nutrition program in Pakistan – its success,
bottlenecks and lessons learned. Asia Pac J Clinical Nutrition 2008: 17 (S1): 357-360
8
G. Pappas, A Agha, G Rafique, KS Khan, et al, Community-based approaches to combating malnutrition
and poor education among girls in resource-poor settings : report of a large scale intervention in Pakistan.
Rural and Remote Health. Medline listed. Available from: http://www.rrh.org.au
9
A continuing education was planned and organized mid-way in the project. There was a module on girls’
education which drew attention to the value of education for girls.
10
Two years after the end of Tawana Project, a study on Tawana revealed the retention of understanding
about balanced meal. Women in a village said: now we do not cook potatoes with rice. We were told by ?
Tawana people that both are the same.
11
S Asian Partnership (SAP-Pk) was the NGO working in this area, and have documented this action in
their short film on Tawana. Available from SAP-Pk.
12
Two years after the closure of Tawana the Tawana Field Workers were found to be gainfully employed
in their districts. According to some of them, preference is given to Tawana workers for the quality of
training they had received. This was found during the interviews with the field workers for a study on
Tawana that was conducted for WHO/EMRO
13
See Final Report of Tawna. Available at www.aku.edu
14
Ibid
15
A two woman team spent three days and two nights in the village, and using PRA (participatory
reflection and analysis) tools facilitated the women to reflect over food availability over the year; and
difference if any between food intake by boys and girls. They were informed of the adverse affect of
malnutrition and illiteracy on women; and the project and its purpose were also shared. The task of
planning and managing a meal a day for the school children was also explained. Women were then
required to develop a criteria for a full time worker for the project, and who could become part of a
nutrition committee in the village. Once this was done, a community organizer was identified, and women
volunteered to form the nutrition committee, called Tawana School Committee. (See final report, available
at www.aku.edu)
16
A training manual consisting of x number of sessions was developed. Each session was designed
along the principles of participatory approach. (Manual available at CHS/AKU)
17
Reported by the Director Institute of Development Studies and Practice (IDSP) that implemented
Tawana in four districts in Balochistan. (personal communication)

17
Tawana had four levels to it – the village/school; the district, province, and then at the apex was
Federal Ministry within which a special unit was established fo rTawana. It was called the
National Implementation Unit. (NIU). At the planning and commencement of Tawana, the
Director of NIU reported to the Minister of Women Development (MoWD). Pakistan Baitul Mal,
as an integral part of MoWD was inducted in Tawana to oversee transfer of funds from the
Federal Level to the districts and from the districts to the schools.19

Federal level:
Three partners:
Province
NIU
PBM
AKU District
NIU – National Implementation Village/school
Unit
PBM – Pakistan Baitul Mal
AKU – Aga Khan University

Within a year into the Project, resistance began from within the Ministry that housed Tawana.
This change began after the Federal Minister MoWD left the Ministry because of change in
government after the elections. The Secreatry MoWD who worked with the Minister in getting
Tawana go through the various government procedures also retired soon after the departure of
the Minister. A new secretary came and the Director of PBM sent him a long letter of complain
against Tawana. Central feature was the lack of line of command and control. As the Director
was a retired Brigadier of Pakistan Army, his need for command and control was understandable,
but it was difficult to comprehend his congeniality at meetings at the apex level, and agreement
with the principles of participatory approaches and decision making. This contradiction was not
easy to deal with, as it subverted the democratic processes which the implementing team of
Tawana had adopted.
18
Aik banda kulhari laikar sakht alfaz boltay hoay school ki taraf aa raha thaa. Team member
nay usay kaha ke aap baahar ruk jain aur is tarah hamla karnay kee wajah batain. Jis par unhon
nay kaha ke main is gaun ka bara hoon yeh kaam mery ijaazat kay beghair huwa hay. Main aap
say bhee laroon ga aur maaroon ga.
Yeh kahkar fieldworker kee taraf barhnay laga. Tab fieldworker nay bhaag kar aik danda utha
liya aur us banday ko kaha agar tum nay aikqadam bhee school kay andar rakha to main aap ko
zakhmi kardoon gee.
Nateejay kay tore par banda chala gaya. Fieldworker kee is himat par tammam fieldworker
batatee hain ke un kay andar aik naya jazba paida kardiya aur aagay barhnay ka hosla diya
(Tharparkar 304-1)
19
This became a major bone of contention in Tawana when PBM withdrew its responsibility at the district
level, though it had one person (titled Social Mobiliser) in every district. Release of funds from district to
the schools became a major battle as the NGOs in the district began to facilitate this work, and often with
the Social Mobiliser becoming a hurdle.

17
Within the NIU was a member who did not subscribe to the participatory approach. He was
known to have said:

Your community organizers are mostly illiterate… there are kammis (low caste people)
sitting in the School Tawana Committees…. You should get women of the landlords
involved…(personal communication)

He prepared monitoring reports which were circulated also to various persons in the Federal
Government. His reports were often damaging to Tawana and were contested by the
implementing team. Attempts to convince him to more democratic ways of decision making did
not succeed. Formal comments on his reports were provided to NIU, but it did not resolve the
conflicts with him.

There was often disgruntlement at the provincial levels as the Secretary who was to chair the
provincial committee of Tawana was seldom kept informed either by PBM even though the
provincial coordinator of PBM was supposed to facilitate these meetings, nor by the NGOs
implementing the project the provinces. The secretary in Balochistan was an exception as he
took keen interest in tawana and supported it. However, complaints from the province were not
as harmful as those emanating from the Federal Capital. The three secretaries of MoWD were
clearly unhappy and raised procedural objections and questioned the approach. Without
substantive proof they condemned Tawana for disrupting the schools with teachers having to
cook, and students having to collect fuel wood. They complained of miuse of funds by the
School Tawana Committees; and stressed for change in the design of Tawana. None of what they
said could be substantiated as true for all schools of Tawana. Tawana teams stressed on the
processes of problem solving and insisted that difficulties should be resolved at the district levels
and schools with problems be held accountable. This same spirit was echoed by the Chair of the
committee formed by the Planning Division of Pakistan to look into the problems faced by
Tawana. The Chair said:

There are problems with the government education department of Pakistan, but nobody
demands the closure of the department. Why is this demand being made of Tawana ? If
there are problems they can be addressed and overcome.

Tawana became a victim of its own host. Perhaps the problem was not that there were problems
at the field level. The biggest enigma was the on-participatory approach taken by senior
bureaucrats that appeared determined to have the design of the Project changed.. For the non-
government players it was difficult to understand the mind of the three senior bureaucrats who
became the secretaries of MoWD after the departure of the Minister and secretary who launched
Tawana. The Minister (finally appointed after splitting the original ministry into two ministries)
was also adamant in changing the design of the project, and ultimately succeeded in doing so.
The new design barely lasted a year and was closed when protests from the field arose on the
quality of biscuits and drinks that were being distributed. An official inquiry was also initiated
against the use/misuse of funds. (Dates to be included)

Tawana was a well funded project of Rs 3.6 billion, and 2.8 billion was allocated for feeding.

17
Another breakdown of fund distribution was: 81% of the funds were allocated to school based
activities. Of this amount, over 70% were marked for the feeding programme. Checks to the
School Tawana Committees were issued from the office of the District Education Officer. This
was a unique phenomenon as captured by the comment of a clerk of the education department of
one of the districts in Sindh:

I have been working here for over twenty years…. This is the first time I am seeing so
much money flowing to the villages … and we can’t touch it. ( Reported by the district
coordinator of the implementing NGO)

The working of Tawana was a challenge to all those who could not financially benefit from it.
The control was not entirely with any government department, yet the government departments
were required to facilitate its implementation. The difficulties faced at the district level were
managed effectively by the implementing NGOs for they invariably found ways to deal with
them through their various allies and strategies. As provinces were bypassed by the project and
did not have a significant role, there were no problems created from this level but disgruntlement
prevailed understandably. Thus, the real battles came from the Federal Level, and from there
anti-Tawana views billowed onto the high echelons of the Federal Capital.

Criticism from outside.

Criticism of Tawana from sources other than those within the government reflects on the nature
of public discourse in Pakistan. Media is an important source of information for the public
discourse and then there are other formal and non-formal forums which are common sites for
expression of opinions and personal views. Evidence and investigation behind the views is not a
major concern, as rumours and opinions flourish in greater abundance.

The media, by and large, was indifferent and neutral, except when the decision to dispense with
the micronutrients20 was taken by the government. An early attack came from a well known Urdu
writer who wrote a scathing column. Not only were there factual errors about the project, she
did not seek any information from anybody involved in the project, nor based her criticism on
empirical grounds. Similarly on a private TV channel two well known ladies (both ex-ministers)
denounced Tawana for its feeding programme. They espoused that the freshly prepared meals
provided by the community women to be replaced by milk-and-cookies.

Another group of external critics were from the NGO sector, and here too from the reported
cases, it was women of the NGOs who were more vocal. This criticism was informally reported
from some meetings at Federal and some provincial levels. Here too lack of information was
glaring reality. None of these critics engaged with any of the eleven implementers or the

20
Distribution of micronutrients became a complex issue as the Ministry struggled to take decisions on
the quality of drugs procured by the Ministry and the and feasibility of their use. Procedures that govern
government systems and the bureaucrats using the system create render decision making for action a
near impossibility. The implementers of Tawana were prepared to take forward distribution of micro-
nutrients but the green signal from above was repeatedly delayed. Some national newspapers presented
this issue as waste of resources, and the secretary of the Ministry directly concerned with Tawana
declared this to be a failure of Tawana as one of its stated strategies (giving micronutrients) did not take
place..

17
University concerned, nor had empirical evidence. Their positions were either based on hearsays,
or at times a one incident or two were generalized for all over three thousand schools.

Habbermas raises an important issue of reasonability in public discourse. In Pakistan public

discourse is robust on political issues, but social sector debates are peripheral. The academic
environment, specially of social sciences, does not have well established forums where pressing
issues could be discussed. The NGO sector is a busy sector, immersed in its service and
advocacy work, engaging with various stake holders, but does not have a tradition of debating
interventions like Tawana. There is activism in Pakistan, and is to be found around political
issues, or revolves around human rights and women’s rights i, or environmental issues. Tawana
was not interesting matter for this group of people, for it was viewed as a mere feeding
programme for girls.

Tawana did not seek support from the groups that focus on women’s rights, not did it present
Tawana as a women’s rights project. As rights groups in Pakistan tend to work more on issues
of violations of rights, it would have been difficult to interpret stoppage of Tawana as a rights
violation. Rights groups also tend to be more reactive than pro-active; the activists within the
fold of Tawana also could not link Tawana issues with women’s rights issues. Women’s
movement like any other civil society movement consists of voluntary action by women activists
that come from different work-situations. Their agenda revolves round either legal rights issues
and/or violation of women’s rights. State policies and actions are also questioned and criticised
whenever they have implications for women’s status. NGOs working on women’s issues,
whether through the lens of health, livelihood, education, income-generation (micro finance),care
and protection of survivors, women’s political participation, to name some popular areas of
work, projects or programmes like Tawana are difficult to engage with even though they
embrace thousands of women. Similarly, activism at regional and international levels also has no
conceptual space for the likes of Tawana. They would happily lobby at international arenas for
women’s rights, but would be nonplussed at linking their activism with the women of Tawana. Is
this a weakness in the women’s track within the civil society of Pakistan ? Or, is it also a
weakness of the NGO workers engaged with the Tawana like work, where thousands are
mobilised? There is also perhaps a weakness in the academia in Pakistan. Whereas they can get
involved in the likes of Tawana, but have not created forums for deepening analysis of projects
like Tawana which is still a gold mine for social sciences to study, analyse and understand the
dynamics of bureaucracy. This state of affairs can perhaps be described as having a Bysantinian
stamp.

In one day conditions in Pakistan were twice compared to those of the Byzantine empire.
The first comparison was in the editorial of a weekly magazine.(The Friday Times Jan
16-22, 2009): ‘Byzantium Revisited’ declared the heading of the editorial, and a British
historian was quoted to present the nature of the Byzantine empire: “a monotonous story
of the intrigues of priests, eunuchs and women, of poisons, of conspiracies, of uniform
ingratitude”. The second encounter was a comment by a reviewer of an article on a
nutrition project in Pakistan. The article described the context that led to the closure of
the project. The reviewer wrote: “The authors recount in dizzying detail the Byzantine
administrative setup of the program”. (Kausar S K. Unpublished article. Jan 2009)

17
There appears to be a disconnect in the overall situation in Pakistan. There is a proliferation of
critical conscious in Pakistan, which is ready to move to a higher level but appears to be unclear
of how to make the transition to the next level where they come together as a greater mass of
critical consciousness. In this context Tawana can be seen as a missed opportunity for the
women’s rights groups to establish linkages with the over 3000 groups of women that were
formed all over Pakistan, and to lobby for extension of Tawana to all the districts, so that more
women’s groups could come into being. Tawana also points to a gap in the social sciences
discipline in Pakistan, and invites it to debate the dynamics that surrounded Tawana. Those
inlined towards operatonal research and action research could also find a wealth of opportunity
in the Tawana framework of inquiry and action, even though it was not designed as a research
project. However, if research is understood as a search for understanding then any action if
systematically documented and analysed become research. Tawana was such research.

Conclusion – it is not an obituary.

Pakistan government took three initiatives that brought into fold large numbers of women. The
Lady Health Workers (LHW) programme was launched in 1995 as an outcome of the fourth
world conference of women at Beijing. It enrolled literate women (primarily young women) to
provide some basic health services to rural women. Their number has increased to nearly
100,000 women. (check figure and give referene).In 2001, a Local Bodies Ordinance for
establishing the local government. was passed which resered 30% of

A social infrastructure was developed – over 4000 women’s groups in 29 districts of Pakistan.
Knowledge of balanced diet internalized by the village women as well as the NGO staff.
Women’s groups involvement in the school had also led to a pressure on the teachers to become
more regular, and had also given the women the confidence to contact district level education
officers for pursing education related issues in the villages. The burgeoning relationship between
village women and the school had laid the seed for partnerships for the welfare and rights of the
school age girls. This had a great potential to build a grass roots movement for girls health and
education, and any issue that the women considered important enough to pursue.

Women are on the move, but there is no movement. There is women’s movement, but very
women are part of it. How the two are to converge is a question not only for those in the
women’s movement but also those who work in and for projects like Tawana.

What type and numbers of people benefited from the research? In what way did they
benefit?

Who else has benefited from the research project or programme, but has not been directly
involved in the research (e.g. communities, groups, service providers, NGOs, private
businesses)?

Is there evidence to suggest impact of the research? If so, what is the extent of the impact in
terms of numbers and type of people, organisations, institutions, etc. who have benefited
from the research. What is the potential reach and impact of the research over the long
term?

17
Was there/is there any impact on policy processes, decision, and practice?

To be written

What makes your research original/new/interesting/innovative?

What is the human interest element of your research? Please provide direct quote(s) from
different stakeholders about the research successes.

If available please provide anecdotes or scripts from interviews with beneficiaries of the
research (add as an annex to this form)

17