The Museum of Digital Society: A Living Archive of Digital Inclusion
This is the story of Anjani Devi, a 32-year-old Digital Didi from the small village of Rajwapur, in the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh. Despite her humble beginnings, Anjani’s journey has been nothing short of extraordinary, as she has donned various hats and played diverse roles to uplift her community, especially the women of her village. Anjani was born in Basantpur, Barabanki, and was married at the age of 16, when she was only a high school graduate, however, her in-laws soon recognized her talent and zeal to learn. With the support of her new family, Anjani embarked on a journey to expand her educational horizons and completed her 10+2 exams, while being a homemaker and mother. Her ambitions did not stop there, soon she became an Asha worker, in her local Anganwadi center, where she worked tirelessly to promote health and hygiene awareness among her fellow villagers. It has been 16 years since she embarked on this journey as a grassroots health activist and seeks to continue doing so.
Anjani recalls that her challenges were not limited to her professional life but also expanded to her personal life. As a young homemaker, she had to cook on the hearth, had to take care of the cattle, her in-laws, and her children as well. Soon she also became a part of the ‘Self-Help Group’ of her village and became secretary of the group after showing constant commitment and winning the trust of women in her village. As she became a famous name in closeby villages as an independent and hardworking woman, a few members of the Digital Empowerment Foundation’s Barabanki team, approached her with an opportunity that was soon going to make an interesting change in her life. This initiative, backed by the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), aimed to empower women like Anjani to become entrepreneurs in their own right. The concept was not just about financial independence, but also about utilizing digital tools to provide valuable services to their communities at subsidized rates. Accepting this challenge, Anjani embraced the role of a ‘soochnapreneur’ with her enthusiasm. With a 10-day training and the equipment and resources provided by DEF, she set out to make a difference in the lives of her neighboring villages and people belonging to marginalized communities. These digital tools enabled her to access and disseminate information effectively, reaching areas that were previously untouched by such advancements. She was equipped with a tablet and printer, where she had to spread awareness about the schemes related to financial and digital literacy, do surveys along with registrations, and offer services like photocopy, etc at subsidized rates. Anjani mentions how this project transformed her life as prior to taking on this role, she did not have her own smartphone. Instead, she had to rely on her husband’s phone whenever she needed to complete her tasks as a working professional. As she did not have her own phone, she recalls how she had limited knowledge about smartphones and how to use them, however, the training provided by DEF empowered her to effectively utilize digital tools. In return for her learning efforts, Anjani not only earned independence but also established a beneficiary circle around herself. As her services gained recognition and popularity, her influence and impact expanded and she was offered to take part in DEF’s other initiatives like Digital Safety and Security, RCCE, Covid Relief Programme, Maasik Prerak, Poshan Prerak, Digital Financial Inclusion and Digital Didi.
Digital Didi is a project on which Anjani is currently working. ‘Digital Didi’ an initiative born from a pressing necessity to eradicate the stigma around menstruation, by the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) was conceived with the intent of raising awareness among adolescent girls and women in rural and semi-urban parts of India regarding the myths and misunderstandings encircling menstruation. The program’s focal points spanned several critical areas, including augmenting digital skills, integrating rural women into the digital economy, providing education on sanitary health and hygiene, promoting women’s entrepreneurship, and aiding women in overcoming gender-based discrimination. The Digital Didis were responsible for distributing pads made of cotton called ‘smart pads’ at subsidized rates to girls and women. The smart pads crafted from cotton proved convenient to use and wash. These pads not only mitigated discomfort and hygiene-related issues but also contributed to a reduction in plastic waste, thereby offering a holistic solution to various challenges tied to menstrual hygiene. These pads were named ‘smart pads’ for their unique quality, as they include a QR code, which directed the user to a digital literacy course carefully prepared for her in multiple languages. By introducing these innovative smart pads, the Digital Didis also took on the role of identifying and enrolling 100 women in a comprehensive digital literacy course. This initiative aimed to empower these women with essential digital skills and knowledge, further expanding the impact of the program. Therefore, the primary goals of Digital Didi included disseminating accurate information, facilitating access to sustainable menstrual products, and improving healthcare infrastructure. Through this enterprise, DEF aimed to address misconceptions surrounding menstruation in India’s rural and semi-urban locales, while also extending assistance in acquiring sustainable menstrual products and enhanced healthcare infrastructure.
Being a part of this initiative in Jan 2023, Anjani has sold many pads to her neighbors and completed training 20 people, and is still motivating others to complete their course by visiting them regularly. However, the challenges of being a Digital Didi in a village, where discussing menstruation is a taboo are immense. Anjani mentions how women are reluctant to sit in her training sessions and often get offended in the discussions related to menstruation, and its stereotypes. They refuse to accept the suggestions where Anjani talks about how it is okay to wash your hair or tough pickles etc. To make them understand, Anjani mentions, “I explored a practical outlook. I requested the women to separate a bowl of pickles and experiment by touching them while menstruating, and observe whether any spoilage occurred. Some women accepted that indeed it was a myth, while others refused to accept it. It takes a long time to break the stereotypes perpetuated through ages you know, however, I am positive the change will come”. Anjani further elaborates about how “many women refuse to buy smart pads as they find them expensive, and have limited awareness about the environment and sustainability. Nevertheless, I always tell them that these smart pads are inexpensive compared to the market pads which cost around Rs 600-800 a year, while our smart pads cost only Rs 300 for two pouches containing 4 pads, which they can wash and use regularly throughout the year, while also being eco-friendly and infection free”.
While Anjani’s association with DEF, made a positive impact on her career as a working professional and a digital citizen, she also talks about how it transformed her family’s socio-economic standard. Working as an Asha worker provided for her livelihood although, her earnings were modest, however after being associated with DEF her earnings significantly doubled and she transferred her children from a government school to a well-known private school where they received quality education and constant care, a goal she had nurtured for years. In addition, now she visits a private doctor during emergencies instead of standing in long queues for treatment and has also incorporated nutritious food into her diet thereby improving her overall health and well-being.
She underscores a crucial aspect of independent work – it enables one to “eat and live freely”, which she has been able to achieve after her hard work and commitment. As she discussed her future aspirations, she opened up about her dream: that her daughter gets educated enough to be independent and become a doctor or teacher- a dream she aspired once for herself. She further imparts a message and word of advice to all women aiming to become self-reliant. Anjani’s advice is simple yet profound: prioritize education and keep fighting for your freedom and autonomy. She concluded her narrative with a wish ‘I wish other women of my village, suppressed by patriarchy could also break free from constraints as I did, and I will keep fighting for the same’. Indeed, the journey Anjani has embarked on is not an easy one, however, her determination casts a positive light in the tunnel of darkness.
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