By IANS
New Delhi : She was illiterate, a woman and that too a Dalit. For Kenchamma, the odds were stacked heavily against her when it came to contesting the village council elections. Despite everything, she stood firm and became the president of the gram panchayat in her village in Karnataka.
“I realised that if I don’t stand up today and fight the odds, my children will never get to see what a discrimination-less society is like. That’s why I did not give up,” 40-year-old Kenchamma told IANS.
Kenchamma is part of a group of women panchayat leaders from across the country who have come to express their solidarity with the three journalists – Teresa Rahman, Banwar Meghvanshi and Jyotish Kumar – who will be awarded the Sarojini Naidu award Tuesday for the best reportage on women in Panchayati Raj.
Dressed in a purple and green sari with green bangles to match her attire, Kenchamma is one of the women whose courage has brought in the winds of change and has inspired many a positive story.
“I was illiterate when I was contesting for the election first time. At that time the areas that I wanted to focus on were housing for the homeless, proper drainage system and streetlights.
“But then as time passed, I realised that I was duped by the people around me who took advantage of my being illiterate. That’s when I decided to study and started learning from my son who was in Class 4,” she said.
Having understood the importance of education, Kenchamma then ensured that every child in her village goes to school.
“My brother-in-law nearly killed me after being paid heavily by the opposition party who didn’t want me to stand for the election. This, however, failed to deter my spirit,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I am working towards women education. In the future I want to contest for higher elections, at the district level. For all those people who didn’t let my name be engraved on the sarpanch’s office because I am a Dalit woman, I have a lot more to show,” she said with confidence.
If Kenchamma has given her heart and soul for education, Sisirika Amanta of Orissa concentrated in building connectivity of her village.
“Hindol block of the Dhenkanal district, where I am the sarpanch, was completely cut off from the rest of the world. There were no roads at all!
“Hence, this was my first initiative. To build roads,” Amanta said.
Besides that, Amanta, who is also a teacher, has ensured that schools and high schools be set up in the village both for girls and boys.
Pramila Devi of Bihar worked to mobilise the people in her village against illicit liquor shops.
“After I became the Mukhiya of the Kako block of Jahanabad district, I decided that the first thing that needs to be done is to close all the illicit brewing units. I organised for alternate livelihood for those working in those units,” she said.
“Initially people were sceptical to support me… but when they saw that what I was doing was for their benefit, they whole heartedly supported me. The lower income group especially was very supportive,” Devi added.