From Timid Housewife to Changemaker

Gita is a confident and self-motivated gram panchayat member in Kali Pahadi village of Mahoba district, ready to raise issues related to women with the highest authorities of the district. When she got support, she not only rose to the occasion but also motivated other women panchayat members to do so.

To begin with Gita was like any other woman in a Bundelkhand village, shy and timid busy in her home, fields and animals, sometimes also working as a labourer.

Gita contested election to the gram panchayat members on the prompting of her husband and other family members and won also. But her situation did not change, nor that of other women and girls in her home. Girls were discriminated in food, clothes, games, education and what not.

To make the matter worse pradhan of her gram panchayat was also sailing in the same boat. She never went out of her home and all her functions were discharged by her husband. Whenever Gita’s signature was required, she would go to the pradhan’s home accompanied by some male member of her family.

The game changer was formation of a women’s group in her village under Meri Panchayat Meri Shakti Project. This group put forth the idea to involve Gita as well, so she got information on issues concerning women like health, education, gender discrimination, violence against women and their likely resolution through panchayats.

Though Gita was inclined to join the women’s group, her husband was furious. “I didn’t field you for the election so you could do as you please. Even the pradhan does not attend the meetings — her husband does. If you attend the meetings, who will do household chores and look after the cattle. And what will you get from the meetings,” was the refrain of Gita’s husband.

But Gita was firm in her resolve. Women from the group and the organisation’s worker frequented Gita’s home to motivate her husband to let her attend the meetings. Finally, he relented.

To begin with Gita attended village level meetings. Then she started attending the meetings at the organisational level at Mahoba. She gained knowledge about the panchayat works and stopped signing documents without reading them. She started sharing the information with the pradhan. She impressed upon her to listen to women for their issues and stop relying on her husband. She stopped gender discrimination in her home and sent her daughters to Mahoba to study.

As she was moving ahead creating awareness among the women, she suffered at the hands of ration shop owner when she complained with the panchayat secretary that the shop owner gave ration first to men, ignored women, gave less ration to them and discriminated on caste basis. This was too much for the shop owner and he got her ration card cancelled. Gita chose not to suffer, raised the issue before the District Magistrate and got her ration card restored.

Gita works confidently without any fear. On her initiative toilet was constructed in the school. Pradhan arranged taxi so girls could go to the city to pursue higher studies. Issues like gender, health and violence against women were discussed in women’s group and panchayat. “After association with the project, I felt that I am a gram panchayat member. Now I am identified as such. Had I not been associated, I would have been limited to household chores,” she concluded.