Sunanda Tai: Teacher-Changemaker Reshaping Lives In Rural Maharashtra

Meet Sunanda Tai Pawar, a woman of unshakeable dedication, who has spent over two decades initiating impactful projects that have uplifted communities and empowered women. Initially a teacher training officer in rural villages, her life took an extraordinary turn under the guidance of Padmashri Appasaheb Pawar. Transitioning from managing hostels to empowering women through transformative initiatives, her commitment to social change became her life's purpose.

In conversation with SheThePeople, Sunanda Tai Pawar reflects on her 20-year journey of transforming lives in rural Maharashtra, and the impact of her initiatives on communities including women's rights, water conservation and healthcare.

Becoming A Catalyst For Change

Sunanda Tai Pawar's journey began as a teacher training officer for nursery and primary schools in villages, collaborating with Mrs Nirmalatai Purandare. However, her trajectory shifted when her father-in-law, Padmashri Appasaheb Pawar, entrusted her with managing hostel operations and addressing girls' concerns, thrusting her into the realm of social transformation. Reflecting on this transition, Pawar shares, "My journey began with collaboration; commencing the role of a teacher training officer. After Appasaheb's passing, we focused on empowering women through workshops and discussions, ensuring knowledge and tools for self-protection."

Inspiration Amidst Bias

As a champion of women's empowerment, Sunanda Tai draws inspiration from the strong and passionate rural women she encounters, navigating through the gender biases embedded in village life.

Reflecting on this, she states, It's a society that decides what women should do and should not do. 99% of the time, it is the mother and other women of the family who tell the daughter of the family what to do and what not to do. Women are not able to use 100 percent of their strength and passion because of the restrictions put on them by society. They always think, What will society say about my family, my mother, if I break all these rules set by society for me?

Despite the pervasive gender bias and societal restrictions faced by these women, as a champion of women's empowerment, Sunanda Tai draws inspiration from the strong and passionate rural women she encounters, navigating through the gender biases embedded in village life. "These women are my true inspiration. In a society marked by biases, rural women face restrictions, limiting their potential. We aim to break these societal norms."

Water Conservation: A Legacy In Progress

Sunanda Tai's legacy intertwines with water conservation projects, where equal partnership with villagers is key. However, she acknowledges the challenges in maintaining these projects, as the villagers need to grasp the importance of self-sustainability. "My most successful water conservation work has been due to equal partnership with the villagers and our institute. Doing the work is extremely easy, but maintaining it is tough." 

She acknowledges the local politics and groups working against honest initiatives and emphasizes the need for collective efforts for village development. Acknowledging the challenges, she emphasizes the importance of villagers realizing the need to maintain water conservation projects on their own. "People need to realise that for the betterment it is necessary to come together, think as one hive and think of the development of the village rather than oneself or a group."

Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs

The Bhimthadi Jatra, a cultural carnival initiated by Sunanda Tai, has been a significant platform for women entrepreneurs.  Originating from the need to provide a market for products created by trained women self-help groups, her initiative to empower women entrepreneurs has evolved over the years.

The inspiration behind it was my rural women who needed to be financially independent and self-reliant. Over the 17 years, we realised that until and unless you charge something for the stalls, participants do not realise the importance of what they are getting and it pushes them to work towards making their product of a higher quality to match the demand that is in the market.

Inspiring The Next Generation

Sunanda Tai's initiative to provide students with insights from accomplished individuals addresses the stark disparity between urban and rural educational opportunities. "Compared to urban India, in rural India, especially girls are denied all the basic facilities that lots of girls from urban India take for granted. These rural girls do not get the chance to meet successful people and get to hear their stories," she notes.

Through these talks, she aims to make girls aware of the challenges they might face in their careers, health, and environment. "This is our way of making them aware of the challenges in their surroundings and their health," she states.

Tackling Menstrual Hygiene Challenges

"In rural India, women and girls still use cloth instead of sanitary pads," Sunanda Tai points out. To address this, she launched 'Sobati,' a  low-cost and eco-friendly sanitary pad.  The main challenge lies in making women comfortable with using sanitary pads and confident about their affordability. "The main challenge of this project was getting them comfortable with using sanitary pads and making them confident about the pricing that we had put for the sanitary pads."

The impact has been significant in promoting hygiene and preventing diseases prevalent in rural areas.

Empowering Village Girls Through Police Training

"Still now in rural India, parents get the girls married off at the tender age of 16-17 and do not give them education post-12 standard," Pawar notes. Recognizing the societal tendency to marry off girls early and the financial pressure they face early in their lives, the program provides free training, health, and diet support, resulting in 800 girls serving in the Maharashtra police force.

Healthcare Initiatives: A Lifeline for Rural Women

Sunanda Tai's efforts extend to healthcare, offering free surgeries, cancer treatment, and health camps. She reveals, "Health camps since 2010 have benefited thousands. Our focus on preventive care, surgeries, and awareness programs enhances overall well-being in rural areas."

20 Years Of Learning And Ongoing Visions

Reflecting on her 20 years of dedicated work, Sunanda Tai acknowledges the challenges faced by rural Maharashtra. She highlights the lack of education, poor financial capability, and the devastating impact of climate change on farmers. 

While working in rural India in the field of water conservation, education, health, and women empowerment, I have realized that all the different and beneficial government schemes have not reached the grassroots places in different villages of this country.

Despite challenges like climate change affecting farmers, she remains committed to contributing towards rural Maharashtra's growth and development, recognizing it as the food bowl of the state. "I see all these challenges in front of me every day but instead of stopping and accepting defeat, I am going to continue working in my field and contributing as much as possible towards rural Maharashtra which is the food bowl of the whole state."