Bharat Dogra tells us the story about the tireless efforts of a few women volunteers of Simrawari Panchayat, a remote village in Jhansi, to revive the Ghurari River, a story that has received appreciation at the national level in India. The jal sahelis say that they are determined to work in such a way that the objective of water for all village homes is realised in actual practice
The Ghurari River, which has been a lifeline for Simrawari Village and several other villages, had been in decline after an important check dam got damaged and there was growth of weeds. The Simrawari Panchayat has about 18 jal sahelis or water protector volunteers who have been motivated and trained by a voluntary organisation, Parmarth. After a lot of discussion, they decided to take up the work of creating sand-filled sack bunds on their own as well as clearing the weeds.
Braving exceptionally hot weather in March and April, the woman filled up nearly 1000 sacks provided by Parmarth with sand and placed these at a carefully selected place in the river to provide a temporary bund. It was a very difficult task and meant entering and walking in the river each time a sack was carried to be placed in the river. Dhanwanti lost her payal (anklet) and so did two other jal sahelis.
The work continued for about six days. Thereafter, four days were devoted to clearing weeds. So, for about ten days, the women were coming from their homes early in the morning to the river and returning in the evening after back-breaking day-long voluntary work in hot weather. However as Meera, a jal saheli says, “all our work was duly rewarded when we heard that even the prime minister has praised our work.”
However, to understand the full importance of how far the women of Simrawari Village have progressed, we will have to go back to more than a decade ago to see the conditions prevailing then for the many rural women here, particularly for those from the weaker socio-economic sections. As some of the jal sahelis here told this writer in a group discussion in the village recently, it was common then to see a woman carrying a big water pitcher on her head, trying to negotiate the path with some difficulty, complete with a veil on her face (ghunghat or parda) adhering to prevailing social norms. The fact that this could result in her falling had just to be ignored.
Indeed, at least for a part of the path the woman could be seen carrying her chappals or footwear in her hands – also used for balancing the pitcher on her head – adding further to her difficulties, apart from the humiliation involved. This is because those from the lower socio-economic strate are not supposed to wear chappals or footwear while passing by the houses of the influential and dominant persons of the village.
One day, it appears, a teacher said she would not do this and so she walked right in front of a dominating person with her footwear on. Then an anganwadi (nursery) worker followed. Soon, several other women took courage and the humiliating custom was broken. The veil restriction is slackening with the passage of time. As Vimla says, with women taking up so many new responsibilities (visiting the bank and markets), such strictures have to be reduced.
When Parmarth started working in the village, jal sahelis had to go frequently to the city for training. When a mother-in-law objected, the local Parmarth motivator would often reply: Mother, why don’t you also come and see what we are doing. Any husband who objected was similarly invited. Today, such objections have become almost non-existent. In fact, several families are now supporting the work of jal sahelis; a couple of men came forward to help the women in the river revival work. So, while Parmarth’s work with jal sahelis has led to a process of reviving the Ghurari River, their inspiring work has clearly given a big boost to empowering women. As Sharda says cheerfully, earlier visitors came asking only for women but now officials, media and other visitors come asking for the names of women.
Jal sahelis are now giving more attention to Jal Jeevan Mission work – they want to make har ghar jal (water to all village homes) a reality. The work of laying pipelines has been completed in the village but no water has arrived in the pipelines yet. They have been told that when the water tank is constructed they will get water. However, even the laying of pipelines has seen problems, so several houses located in the upper areas are unlikely to get water soon. The jal sahelis say that they are determined to work in such a way that the objective of water for all village homes is realised in actual practice.
(The writer is a senior freelance journalist and author who has been associated with several social movements and initiatives. He lives in New Delhi. This report was filed after his recent visit to the village.)
from Webdoux