About ATMT

The Arya Tara Mahila Trust is a registered charity which helps women in India to help themselves. The charity works amongst some of the poorest, most disadvantaged people in the world.

The ATMT has grown from 25 years of work in India helping to alleviate social problems of poverty and discrimination.

Our Aim

Our main aim is to empower women to help themselves and their community. ATMT projects are developing social, health and educational opportunity for people from all backgrounds, castes and religions.

Introducing the Dhammajyoti team

The Dhammajyoti team of seven women has been operating for the last three years, taking the Buddha-Dhamma out of Maharashtra to other Indian states and to more remote rural areas. What does the team say about this important work.

Jnanajyoti: Through the Dhammajyoti team, I am able to reach many different areas throughout India, where many women are in difficulties. I want to know the difficulties of these women and I want to help them.
Vijaya: Most important is self development. We are helped by teamwork to learn about our own nature and our habits. And through this we can help the situation of other Indian women: village women and women from other states. Cultural conditioning may be different but we have a common goal - we are doing very good work. We can help women come out from their situation. I love my project!
Sraddhajyoti: Through the Dhammajyoti team I am trying to fulfil Dr Ambedkar's dream. I am able to visit many different Indian states and especially helping women. I am very happy to do this.
Vajrasuri: My joy is working with our team, developing our programmes, our friendships, supporting one another. We develop ourselves in order to take the Buddha-Dhamma to Indian women, moving out of the cities into the villages and further. We are encouraging other women who need this confidence, through the Buddha-Dhamma which says everyone can gain enlightenment.
Vimalasuri: Because of the Dhammajyoti project we are spreading the Dhamma, we are working for Dr Ambedkar's movement, we are fulfilling Bhante Sangharakshita's dream to help Indian women
Karunamaya: Through working together as a team, we are able to achieve much more than working alone. Our teaching can move beyond just words and we aspire to exemplify what we are trying to teach. So many women have not had much opportunity to experience the Buddha- Dhamma. You can't separate the so-called spiritual and the social, they are really one.
Tarahridaya: It's a platform where we can develop ourselves, spiritually, emotionally, the whole personality. We are learning to work as a team. We are reaching different kinds of women in different parts of India. We are learning about their culture and understanding their pain. In some ways this work is our small effort to relieve their pain. We are offering the opportunity for women to develop their spiritual lives - more opportunity than was there in the past. In summary it is the Bodhisattva's work.*

Domestic violence in India

Last October’s new legislation against domestic violence addresses a wide spread problem in India. BBC South Asia research reported:
1. Overall, a crime against women is committed every three minutes in India.
2. ‘We have been trying for long to protect women from domestic violence. In India alone, around 70% of women are victim of these violent acts in one or the other form’, said Renuka Chowdhury, Junior Minister for women and child development.
3. A survey by the International Institute for Population Studies showed 56% of Indian women believed wife beating to be justified in certain circumstances. The reasons varied from going out without the husband’s permission to cooking a bad meal.”
Many of us involved in the Arya Tara Mahila Trust have frequently met women who have to endure ongoing violence in their marriages. This abuse occurs across the different social strata in India. There is much fear, shame and insecurity around this matter. Most women will only reluctantly speak about it because of economic dependence and the fear of l losing access to their children.



ATMT’s response

THE FIRST PHASE
From December the ATMT started a training programme with a Canadian NGO to empower young women to face challenging and potentially violent situations arising in many homes. We anticipate that from these courses at least one woman will emerge as a trainer for other women (perhaps becoming the basis of a new right livelihood, working in the area of domestic violence).
THE SECOND PHASE
Working with Indian legal advisors in women’s rights, ATMT plans a programme of advocacy and counselling.
To continue this important programme we need funds to pay training costs and also travelling expenses of women attending the courses.
Each training course will cost the ATMT Rs.46,000 (approx. £600 or US $1000). If you can support this project, please contact us on atmt@vsnl.net

The Training so far ……..

We interviewed one of the participants in this training. We were advised not name the participants, as in the past some of the women have been violently attacked for attending the training programmes.
Editor: How is this training useful to you and other women?
P: We look at how to protect ourselves and how to teach this to others. We need to concentrate on our mind. We were told that 98% of women know that they are in trouble but that they cannot hear their inner voice. We need to identify what is happening both inside and outside so that we can protect ourselves.
Editor: So it’s not just like learning physical moves in karate but it’s about mental states as well?
P: Yes, we learn both. We learn some physical moves but we look at our mental attitude, too. We have also been trained in non-violent communication techniques.
Editor: What are your impressions of the course?
P: It is good for women. After doing this training I feel very confident and I wish all women could learn it.

Young women's empowerment project.
Arya Tara Mahila Trust celebrates this new project and welcomes Karunaprabha and her team to the Trust. The Vishrantwadi project is based in five slums in the Vishrantwadi area, Pune. The project is for teenage girls from 11 to 20 years of age who either go to school or have dropped out for some reason. We are including aspects of personality development, helping to develop self-confidence, negotiation skills, communication skills and also vocational courses so that they will be able to earn something and develop confidence about life. The vocational training will include computer training and basic office skills so that they can get work in situations such as doctors’ dispensaries or hospitals.

In a recent Pune University survey, 89% of girls/young women living in slum areas were found to be suffering from anaemia. Our project arranges anaemia detection camps for the girls and then provides treatment. We will also organise sessions designed to change behaviour in the area of nutrition.

We work with girls and young women including young married girls and we chose this group because if the woman is educated about health and nutrition, then her whole family becomes more effective. If a healthy mother gives birth to a healthy child then the whole family and community benefits.

Pune is a fast-growing city, with many new shopping malls and IT parks but in this big city, there are also many slums and those people are not getting good medical services from the city authorities. Something like 40 to 45% of Pune’s people are slum dwellers.

The project is mostly funded by the Karuna Trust, UK and we have donations from an Australian charity called Bodhi. But we would like to expand the project because there are many other girls/young women in other slums who would benefit. If we can get more funding for that we can expand the programme to all the girls in Pune slums.