I'm here to tell you not just my story but stories of exceptional women from India whom I've met. They continue to inspire me, teach me, guide me in my journey of my life. These are incredible women. They never had an opportunity to go to school, they had no degrees, no travel, no exposure. Ordinary women who did extraordinary things with the greatest of their courage, wisdom and humility. These are my teachers.
Tu sem, da vam povem ne le svojo zgodbo, ampak zgodbe izjemnih žensk iz Indije, ki sem jih spoznala. Nenehno me navdihujejo, me učijo, vodijo na moji življenjski poti. To so izjemne ženske. Nikoli niso imele priložnosti hoditi v šolo, nimajo diplome, ne potujejo, se ne izpostavljajo. Navadne ženske, ki so naredile nenavadne, izjemne stvari z največjim možnim pogumom, modrostjo in ponižnostjo. Moje učiteljice so.
For the last three decades, I've been working, staying and living in India and working with women in rural India. I was born and brought up in Mumbai. When I was in college, I met Jayaprakash Narayan, famous Gandhian leader who inspired youth to work in rural India. I went into the villages to work in rural India. I was part of land rights movement, farmers' movement and women's movement. On the same line, I ended up in a very small village, fell in love with a young, handsome, dynamic young farmer-leader who was not very educated, but he could pull the crowd. And so in the passion of youth, I married him and left Mumbai, and went to a small village which did not have running water and no toilet. Honestly, my family and friends were horrified.
Zadnja tri desetletja delam in živim v Indiji in delam z ženskami v ruralni Indiji. Rojena in vzgojena sem bila v Mumbaju. Ko sem bila na kolidžu, sem srečala Jayaprakasha Narayana, znanega gandijevskega vodjo, ki je vzpodbudil mlade, da delajo v ruralni Indiji. Šla sem delat v vasi v ruralni Indiji. Bila sem del gibanj za uveljavitev pravice do vrnitve zemlje, kmečkih gibanj in ženskih gibanj. V istem kontekstu sem se znašla v zelo majhni vasi, se zaljubila v mladega, čednega, dinamičnega vodjo mladih kmetov, ki ni bil zelo izobražen, a je znal pritegniti ljudi. In tako sem se v mladostni strasti z njim poročila in zapustila Mumbaj ter šla v majhno vas, ki ni imela tekoče vode in stranišč. Po resnici povedano so bili moja družina in prijatelji zgroženi.
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I was staying with my family, with my three children in the village, and one day, a few years later one day, a woman called Kantabai came to me. Kantabai said, "I want to open a saving account. I want to save." I asked Kantabai: "You are doing business of blacksmith. Do you have enough money to save? You are staying on the street. Can you save?" Kantabai was insistent. She said, "I want to save because I want to buy a plastic sheet before the monsoons arrive. I want to save my family from rain." I went with Kantabai to the bank. Kantabai wanted to save 10 rupees a day -- less than 15 cents. Bank manager refused to open the account of Kantabai. He said Kantabai's amount is too small and it's not worth his time. Kantabai was not asking any loan from the bank. She was not asking any subsidy or grant from the government. What she was asking was to have a safe place to save her hard-earned money. And that was her right. And I went -- I said if banks are not opening the account of Kantabai, why not start the bank which will give an opportunity for women like Kantabai to save? And I applied for the banking license to Reserve Bank of India.
Živela sem s svojo družino, s svojimi tremi otroki, v vasi in nekega dne, nekega dne nekaj let kasneje, je k meni prišla ženska po imenu Kantabai. Kantabai je rekla: "Rada bi si odprla varčevalni račun. Rada bi varčevala." Vprašala sem Kantabai: "Ukvarjaš se s kovaštvom. Ali imaš dovolj denarja za varčevanje? Živiš na cesti. Lahko varčuješ?" Kantabai je vztrajala. Rekla je: "Rada bi varčevala, ker bi si rada kupila plastično ponjavo, preden pride monsun. Rada bi zavarovala svojo družino pred dežjem." S Kantabai sem šla v banko. Kantabai je želela vsak dan prihraniti 10 rupij - manj kot 15 centov. Direktor banke ni bil pripravljen Kantabai odpreti račun. Dejal je, da je njena vsota premajhna in ni vredna njegovega časa. Kantabai banke ni prosila za posojilo. Ni prosila za denarno pomoč ali vladno štipendijo. Prosila je le za varno mesto za svoj trdo prisluženi denar. In to je bila njena pravica. Pa sva odšli. Rekla sem si, da če banka noče Kantabai odpreti računa, zakaj ne odprem banke, ki bo ženskam, kot je Kantabai, nudila priložnost za varčevanje? Zaprosila sem za bančno dovoljenje pri banki Reserve Bank of India.
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No, it was not an easy task. Our license was rejected --
Ne, to ni bila lahka naloga. Najino dovoljenje je bilo zavrnjeno ...
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on the grounds -- Reserve Bank said that we cannot issue a license to the bank whose promoting members who are nonliterate. I was terrified. I was crying. And by coming back home, I was continuously crying. I told Kantabai and other women that we couldn't get the license because our women are nonliterate. Our women said, "Stop crying. We will learn to read and write and apply again, so what?"
na podlagi ... Reserve Bank je rekla, da ne more izdati dovoljenja banki, ki promovira člane, ki so nepismeni. Bila sem zgrožena. Zajokala sem. In ko sem se vrnila domov, sem še vedno jokala. Rekla sem Kantabai in drugim ženskam, da ne moremo dobiti dovoljenja, ker so naše ženske nepismene. Naše ženske so rekle: "Nehaj jokati. Naučile se bomo brati in pisati in ponovno vložile prošnjo, pa kaj?"
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We started our literacy classes. Every day our women would come. They were so determined that after working the whole day, they would come to the class and learn to read and write. After five months, we applied again, but this time I didn't go alone. Fifteen women accompanied me to Reserve Bank of India. Our women told the officer of Reserve Bank, "You rejected the license because we cannot read and write. You rejected the license because we are nonliterate." But they said, "There were no schools when we were growing, so we are not responsible for our noneducation." And they said, "We cannot read and write, but we can count."
Začele smo s poukom branja in pisanja. Ženske so vsak dan prihajale. Tako odločene so bile, da so po tem, ko so cel dan delale, prišle k pouku in se učile brati in pisati. Po petih mesecih smo ponovno zaprosile, a tokrat nisem šla sama. Petnajst žensk me je pospremilo v Reserve Bank of India. Naše ženske so uradniku banke povedale: "Zavrnili ste nam dovoljenje, ker ne znamo brati in pisati. Zavrnili ste nam dovoljenje, ker smo nepismene. Ko smo odraščale, ni bilo šol, zato nismo odgovorne za naše pomanjkanje izobrazbe." In rekle so: "Ne znamo brati in pisati, znamo pa šteti."
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And they challenged the officer. "Then tell us to calculate the interest of any principal amount."
In izzvale so uradnika. "Recite, naj izračunamo obresti za katero koli vsoto."
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"If we are unable to do it, don't give us license. Tell your officers to do it without a calculator and see who can calculate faster."
"Če tega ne zmoremo, nam ne podelite dovoljenja. Recite svojim uradnikom, naj sami to storijo brez računal, in videli boste, kdo bo hitreje izračunal."
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Needless to say, we got the banking license.
Ni treba poudariti, da smo dobile bančno dovoljenje.
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Today, more than 100,000 women are banking with us and we have more than 20 million dollars of capital. This is all women's savings, women capital, no outside investors asking for a business plan. No. It's our own rural women's savings.
Danes je v naši banki več kot 100 000 žensk in imamo več kot 20 milijonov dolarjev kapitala. Vse to so prihranki žensk, ženski kapital, nobenih zunanjih vlagateljev, ki zahtevajo poslovni načrt. Ne. To so prihranki naših kmečkih žensk.
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I also want to say that yes, after we got the license, today Kantabai has her own house and is staying with her family in her own house for herself and her family.
Rada bi tudi rekla, da ja, potem ko smo dobile licenco, danes ima Kantabai svojo lastno hišo in živi s svojo družino v svoji lastni hiši, sama s svojo družino.
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When we started our banking operations, I could see that our women were not able to come to the bank because they used to lose the working day. I thought if women are not coming to the bank, bank will go to them, and we started doorstep banking. Recently, we starting digital banking. Digital banking required to remember a PIN number. Our women said, "We don't want a PIN number. That's not a good idea." And we tried to explain to them that maybe you should remember the PIN number; we will help you to remember the PIN number. They were firm. They said, "suggest something else," and they --
Ko smo začeli z delovanjem banke, sem videla, da naše ženske niso mogle priti v banko, ker bi tako izgubile cel delovni dan. Pomislila sem, da če ženske ne pridejo v banko, bo pa banka prišla k njim, in začeli smo z banko od vrat do vrat. V zadnjem času smo začeli z digitalnim bančništvom. Digitalno bančništvo je zahtevalo, da si človek zapomni PIN številko. Naše ženske so rekle: "Nočemo PIN številke. To ni dobra ideja." Poskusili smo jim razložiti, da bi si mogoče morale zapomniti PIN številko; da jim bomo pomagali zapomniti si PIN številko. A bile so trdne. Rekle so: "Predlagajte nekaj drugega," in one ...
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and they said, "What about thumb?" I thought that's a great idea. We'll link that digital banking with biometric, and now women use the digital financial transaction by using the thumb. And you know what they said? They said, "Anybody can steal my PIN number and take away my hard-earned money, but nobody can steal my thumb."
in rekle so: "Kaj pa palec?" To je dobra ideja, sem si rekla. Naše digitalno bančništvo bomo povezali z biometričnim in zdaj lahko ženske uporabljajo digitalne finančne transakcije z uporabo palca. In veste, kaj so rekle? Rekle so: "Kdor koli lahko ukrade mojo PIN številko in mi vzame moj trdo prisluženi denar, nihče pa ne more ukrasti mojega palca."
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That reinforced the teaching which I have always learned from women: never provide poor solutions to poor people. They are smart.
To je utrdilo nauk, ki sem se ga naučila od žensk: nikoli ne ponudi slabih rešitev revnim ljudem. Pametni so.
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A few months later, another woman came to the bank -- Kerabai. She mortgaged her gold and took the loan. I asked Kerabai, "Why are you mortgaging your precious jewelry and taking a loan?" Kerabai said, "Don't you realize that it's a terrible drought? There's no food or fodder for the animals. No water. I'm mortgaging gold to buy food and fodder for my animals." And then she asks me, "Can I mortgage gold and get water?" I had no answer. Kerabai challenged me: "You're working in the village with women and finance, but what if one day there's no water? If you leave this village, with whom are you going to do banking?" Kerabai had a valid question, so in this drought, we decided to start the cattle camp in the area. It's where farmers can bring their animals to one place and get fodder and water. It didn't rain. Cattle camp was extended for 18 months. Kerabai used to move around in the cattle camp and sing the songs of encouragement. Kerabai became very popular. It rained and cattle camp was ended, but after cattle camp ended, Kerabai came to our radio -- we have community radio which has more than 100,000 listeners. She said, "I want to have a regular show on the radio." Our radio manager said, "Kerabai, you cannot read and write. How will you write the script?" You know what she replied? "I cannot read and write, but I can sing. What's the big deal?"
Nekaj mesecev kasneje je v banko prišla še ena ženska, Kerabai. Zastavila je svoje zlato in vzela posojilo. Vprašala sem Kerabai: "Zakaj si zastavila svoj dragoceni nakit in vzela posojilo?" Kerabai je rekla: "Ali ne vidiš, kako strašna suša je? Ni hrane in krme za živali. Ni vode. Zastavila sem zlato, da bom kupila hrano in krmo za živino." In potem me je vprašala: "Ali lahko zastavim zlato in dobim vodo?" Nisem ji znala odgovoriti. Kerabai me je izzvala: "Ti delaš v vasi z ženskami in financami, a kaj, če nekega dne ne bo vode? Če boš zapustila to vas, s kom boš odpirala bančne račune?" Kerabaiino vprašanje je bilo tehtno, zato smo se v tej suši odločile postaviti kamp za živino v tem področju. To je kraj, kamor lahko kmetje pripeljejo svoje živali in dobijo krmo in vodo. Dežja ni bilo. Kamp za živino je deloval 18 mesecev. Kerabai je hodila po kampu in pela vzpodbudne pesmi. Postala je zelo popularna. Potem je deževalo in kamp se je zaprl, a ko se je zaprl, je Kerabai prišla na naš radio - naša skupnost ima svoj radio, ki ima več kot 100 000 poslušalcev. Rekla je: "Na radiu bi rada imela svojo redno oddajo." Naš direktor radia je dejal: "Kerabai, ne znaš brati in pisati. Kako boš napisala besedilo?" Veste, kaj je odgovorila? "Ne znam ne brati ne pisati, znam pa peti. Kaj je potem problem?"
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And today, Kerabai is doing a regular radio program, and not only that, she's become a famous radio jockey and she has been invited by all of the radios, even from Mumbai. She gets the invitation and she does the show.
In danes ima Kerabai svojo redno radijsko oddajo in ne le to, postala je slavna radijska diskdžokejka in povabili so jo na vse radijske postaje, celo v Mumbaj. Dobi ponudbo in naredi oddajo.
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Kerabai has become a local celebrity. One day I asked Kerabai, "How did you end up singing?" She said, "Shall I tell you the real fact? When I was pregnant with my first child, I was always hungry. I did not have enough food to eat. I did not have enough money to buy food, and so to forget my hunger, I started singing." So strong and wise, no? I always think that our women overcome so many obstacles -- cultural, social, financial -- and they find out their ways.
Kerabai je postala lokalna zvezdnica. Nekega dne sem jo vprašala: "Kako si začela peti?" Rekla je: "Ti povem resnico? Ko sem bila noseča s svojim prvim otrokom, sem bila nenehno lačna. Nisem pa imela dovolj hrane. Nisem imela dovolj denarja, da bi si kupila hrano, tako sem začela peti, da bi pozabila na lakoto." Kako močno in modro, kajne? Vedno razmišljam, kako naše ženske premagajo toliko ovir, kulturnih, socialnih, finančnih, in vedno najdejo pravo pot.
I would like to share another story: Sunita Kamble. She has taken a course in a business school, and she has become a veterinary doctor. She's Dalit; she comes from an untouchable caste, but she does artificial insemination in goats. It is a very male-dominated profession and it is all the more difficult for Sunita because Sunita comes from an untouchable caste. But she worked very hard. She did successful goat deliveries in the region and she became a famous goat doctor. Recently, she got a national award. I went to Sunita's house to celebrate -- to congratulate her. When I entered the village, I saw a big cutout of Sunita. Sunita was smiling on that picture. I was really surprised to see an untouchable, coming from the village, having a big cutout at the entrance of the village. When I went to her house, I was even more amazed because upper caste leaders -- men -- were sitting in the house, in her house, and having chai and water, which is very rare in India. Upper caste leaders do not go to an untouchable's house and have chai or water. And they were requesting her to come and address the gathering of the village. Sunita broke centuries-old caste conditioning in India.
Še eno zgodbo bi rada delila z vami. Sunita Kamble. Študirala je na poslovni šoli in postala veterinarka. Ona je dalit, prihaja iz kaste nedotakljivih, a umetno osemenjuje koze. To je pretežno moški poklic, zato je za Sunito še toliko težje, ker prihaja iz kaste nedotakljivih. A trdo je delala. Uspešno je pomagala pri rojstvih koz v svoji regiji in postala slavna kozja zdravnica. Nedavno je dobila nacionalno nagrado. V Sunitino hišo sem šla proslavit, ji čestitat. Ko sem stopila v vas, sem zagledala veliko kartonasto Sunito. Sunita se je na sliki smehljala. Res sem bila presenečena, ko sem videla nedotakljivo iz te vasi, ki ima ob vstopu v vas svojo kartonasto sliko. Ko sem šla v njeno hišo, sem bila še bolj začudena, ker so vodje višje kaste, moški, sedeli v njeni hiši, v njeni hiši, in pili čaj in vodo, kar je v Indiji zelo redko. Vodje višje kaste ne hodijo v hiše nedotakljivih in tam ne pijejo čaja in vode. In prosili so jo, naj pride in nagovori vso zbrano vas. Sunita je prelomila stoletja staro kastno pogojevanje v Indiji.
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Let me come to what the younger generations do. As I'm standing here -- I'm so proud as I stand here, from Mhaswad to Vancouver. Back home, Sarita Bhise -- she's not even 16 years old. She's preparing herself -- she's a part of our sports program, Champions' program. She's preparing herself to represent India in field hockey. And you know where she's going? She's going to represent in 2020 Olympics, Tokyo.
Naj povem, kaj počnejo mlajše generacije. Ko stojim tu, tako ponosna sem, ko tu stojim, od Mhaswada do Vancouvera. Doma pa Sarita Bhise, niti 16 let še ni stara, se pripravlja, del našega športnega programa je, programa šampijonov. Pripravlja se, da bo zastopala Indijo v hokeju na travi. In veste, kam gre? Zastopala nas bo v Tokiu na olimpijskih igrah leta 2020.
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Sarita comes from a very poor shepherd community. I am just -- I couldn't be more proud of her.
Sarita prihaja iz zelo revne pastirske skupnosti. Tako sem .... ne bi mogla biti bolj ponosna nanjo.
There are millions of women like Sarita, Kerabai, Sunita, who can be around you also. They can be all over the world, but at first glance you may think that they do not have anything to say, they do not have anything to share. You would be so wrong. I am so lucky that I'm working with these women. They are sharing their stories with me, they are sharing their wisdom with me, and I'm just lucky to be with them. 20 years before -- and I'm so proud -- we went to Reserve Bank of India and we set up the first rural women's bank. Today they are pushing me to go to National Stock Exchange to set up the first fund dedicated to micro rural women entrepreneurs. They are pushing me to set up the first small finance women's bank in the world. And as one of them said, "My courage is my capital." And I say here, their courage is my capital. And if you want, it can be yours also.
Milijone žensk je, kot so Sarita, Kerabai, Sunita, morda tudi v vaši bližini. Po vsem svetu so, a na prvi pogled morda mislite, da nimajo česa povedati, da nimajo česa deliti. Motili bi se. Tako srečo imam, da delam s temi ženskami. Z mano delijo svoje zgodbe, z mano delijo svojo modrost in res imam srečo, da sem z njimi. Pred 20 leti - tako ponosna sem - smo šle v Reserve Bank of India in položile temelje prve ruralne ženske banke. Danes me vzpodbujajo, naj grem na nacionalno borzo in začnem prvi sklad, posvečen mikro ruralnim podjetnicam. Spodbujajo me, naj osnujem prvo žensko banko na svetu za financiranje v majhnem obsegu. In kot pravi ena od njih: "Moj pogum je moj kapital." Jaz pa pravim, da je njihov pogum moj kapital. In če želite, je lahko tudi vaš.
Thank you.
Hvala.
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