Study to Assess Shifts and Changes in Time use Patterns Among Women in Bihar

Aims & Objectives: The focus of the study was to analyze women’s time use patterns and assessing changes within women’s time-use patterns with their involvement in SHGs post HNS layering. The rationale behind this was to capture women’s involvement/participation in livelihood avenues when these are interspersed with other household activities. The analyses of changes in women’s time use patterns was examined in the forms of employment and other institutional factors that affect women’s lives. Further, an attempt to factor in the influences of larger socio-economic changes and government/non-governmental interventions attentive to the specific context was also undertaken. Apart from this, the study also analyzed attitude towards and perception of being an SHG member and integration of and benefits of HNS layering.

Methodology: This study employed a qualitative approach to investigate Health, Nutrition and Sanitation (HNS) integration among Self Help Groups (SHG) in six villages of the state of Bihar. This included in-depth qualitative interviews and direct observation from the field visits. The research was conducted among women in the three study arms: SHGs with additional HNS layering, SHG villages, and non-SHG villages. The target groups identified for the study were women with children aged 0-2 years and women with children aged 2-10 years including older women as respondents. The selection of the villages was purposive to ensure maximum diversity in terms of socio-economic and agro-ecological contexts. Moreover, the selection of respondents in each of the villages was also purposive to ensure maximum diversity in terms of their socio-religious class and caste backgrounds, family structures, migration from within the house (particularly adult male migration), and in terms of their work profiles, which included association with voluntary work.

Findings: The findings of the study indicated that the SHGs formed an integral part of women’s work and life in maximum villages. However, the SHG network in the study villages was at different levels of maturity and hence, the gains from SHG membership, perceived and real, were also distinct. The principal reason for this was the degree of integration of the SHGs and the extent and nature of women’s employment. In general, it was found that SHG attendance was better amongst women with more flexible work times, as in the case of self-employed women and informal home based workers. Due to the nature of this work, women were able to attend the meetings. In the case of female wage workers, women were often unable to find time to attend meetings. Many of the SHG leaders have thus been able to incorporate those women who usually do not find time, by allowing them to deposit their share of weekly deposits.

Another important finding was from the HNS intervention which focused on maternal and child health and nutrition and sanitation, undertaken in two of the study villages, namely, Masaurha and Sigodi. In the analysis, it was concluded that time-poverty is not the most crucial variable in women’s ability to adopt better practices, but it constrained the time devoted to SHG meetings and as corollary to HNS trainings. In terms of the impact of HNS intervention, it had a differential impact across the two intervention villages and on several aspects. The most significant impact was observed on hand washing practices and the least impact was observed on women’s nutrition. The bigger impact on women’s health related understanding and practices was found in Sigodi than in Masaurha.