The Swabhimaan programme led by women collectives under the Chhattisgarh State Rural Livelihoods Mission (CG-SRLM) has been in place since 2017 in Bastar block of Bastar district. The programme aims to demonstrate and test the delivery of 18 essential nutrition interventions via women’s self-help groups (SHGs) and their federations under the government’s flagship poverty alleviation programme; to improve demand and use of essential maternal and adolescent nutrition services. The pilot is anchored under DAY-NRLM’s Social Inclusion and Social Development thematic wherein interventions on Food, Nutrition, Health, and WASH (FNHW) and gender have been initiated. Gender is seen as a cross-cutting theme across interventions. This pilot thus aims to enhance the gender responsiveness of Swabhimaan interventions, and to incorporate health and nutrition interventions in the state’s integrated gender strategy.

Despite women’s role in ensuring food security and nutrition at home, their access to services, information and diverse diets are impeded by gender inequalities. Further, key messaging for positive health and dietary behaviours often makes women primary targets without addressing familial power dynamics or the deep-seated patriarchy which undergirds women’s decision-making, thereby holding women responsible for improved nutrition outcomes and changing behaviours that are often outside of their control.

Combined findings from a rapid assessment we conducted with 100 husbands of pregnant women and mothers of children under two in Bastar, and data from Swabhimaan’s midline evaluation, showed that while

Based on combined findings of baseline and midline surveys of Swabhimaan in Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, along with qualitative insights from formative research conducted in Bastar to identify gender impacts, and possibilities of engagement of men and boys, three nutri-specific and sensitive intervention areas impacted by gender were identified; i) women eating last and least, ii) early pregnancies iii) unwanted, too many and poorly spaced pregnancies. Three target groups will be engaged to address these areas: husbands, mothers-in-law and dais (local community midwives), reinforced through three existing platforms under CG-SRLM’s FNHW strategy i) Pariwar Chaupal meetings or monthly family meetings at VO level, ii) Maitri Baithaks or monthly women’s nutrition meetings at VO level and iii) Gram Sabhas or open forum assemblies organised by the village electorate at the Gram Panchayat level.

We posit that with proper handholding support, women collectives can engage these three stakeholders to create an enabling environment for improved women’s decision-making around the three identified intervention areas. This strategy is also aligned to CG-SRLM’s existing gender integration strategy. This strategy also engages Gender Point Persons (at SHG level) and a Gender Forum (at VO level) to address gender issues. These additional platforms can be leveraged to further re-emphasize and disseminate key messages on gender issues that impact women’s nutrition outcomes at the village-level.