Chennai: An acclaimed social worker and cooperative woman from Chennai was felicitated in Chennai on Thursday for getting elected for the second time to the world’s prestigious International Raiffeisen Union (IRU), Germany. Dr. Nandini Azad, President, Indian Cooperative Network for Women and Working Women's Forum India, is the first woman from South India to get elected to the more than a century-old International Raiffeisen Union with 53 members in 33 countries.
The Raiffeisen model influenced Madras city (Chennai) leading to the emergence of cooperative movement and rural finance in India in the late 19th century.
Working Women's Forum (India), (WWF) - Indian Cooperative Network for Women (ICNW), a social organization launched in 1978 with 800 women to develop the total human resource potential of poor women workers in the informal sector, both in the urban/rural areas in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
WWF had unionized vendors, hawkers, other service specialists, fisher-women, landless women, lace makers, beedi workers, silk weavers, agarbatti workers, embroidery workers, and several other working class women providing them a platform to voice their needs. After successful service, the social movement has touched the lives of 6 lakh women in 6000 villages in the southern States.
The forum's success lies in its innovative attempt to integrate the poor women at all levels in its institutional framework, using them as an effective delivery mechanism to reach other poor women extensively.
Now, it has branches in Central, North, South in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Vellore, Adirampattinam, Dindigul, Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, Narasapur, Bhimavaram, Palakol in Andhra Pradesh, Secunderabad in Telangana, Bengaluru, Bidar, Bellary, Channapatna in Karnataka. Having provided around 5 billion U.S $ with low interest small/petty loans to micro entrepreneurs in 276 occupations and enterprises in rural and urban areas with 90 per cent repayment.
In recognition of her service to the women, Nandini Azad was the first woman to be elected to board member of the Global Board in 50 years of the IRU in 2018. She has been elected to the Board for the second time in 2023 for a term of five years. Now after 124 years again a woman has attained that place in the Cooperative Universe from Chennai - Making History linking Chennai to Raiffeisen.
During the felicitation ceremony, Dr. Nandini Azad said the Indian Co-operative Network for Women, as an effective credit wing of WWF enhances the social/financial independence of poor women, provides low interest loans encouraging their entrepreneurship. To take the opportunity of the current liberalization and economic restructuring process for poor women in India.
She said WWF is a future oriented, multi-pronged initiative and a pro-poor strategy that helps the Indian poor women to cease the opportunity of globalization and minimize its constraints. Currently, WWF's initiative is to transfer this strategy of pro-poor advocacy to other NGOs through orientation.
Lauding the role of Nandini Azad, G. Suresh, the Director of the Natesan Institute of Cooperative Management in Chennai, under the Union Ministry of Cooperatives, has emphasized Dr. Nandini Azad’s achievements.
Former Professor of History, Dr. Balambal, R. Adivarahan, Auditor, Venkat and Ranga Associates (Cooperatives), Krishnamurthy, Secretary of Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, a 130-year old sabha in Chennai, Prof. Dr.S.Thenmozhi, Head, Department of Counselling Psychology, University of Madras, Senthil Kumar, Deputy Director Nehru Yuva Kendra, Tamil Nadu and Dr. Azad's brother Aravind have lauded the role of Nandini Azad in serving the poor women. A large number of women from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have attended the programme.
