By Lalita, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Delhi Solidarity Group, Women Forest Rights Action Committee and All India Union of Forest Working People, organized the 2nd Bharti Roy Chaudhury memorial lecture titled “Women Resisting Violence – Assertions, Struggles, and Solidarity in Indian Social Institute, Lodhi Road, on 9th March.
Bharati Roy Chowdhury was the founder member of the National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW), who passed away on 18 January 2011. She had been in the forefront of women’s movements in the country since the 1970s, and also relentlessly fought from the front for the due rights of forest-dependent communities across the country.
Women from different states and communities shared their struggle stories and spoke about the common thread uniting them, Bharti Roy Chaudhury, who help them initiate their fight against the authorities for their land rights and against exploitation. As it turned out, the absence of couple of the main speakers like Soni Sori, who could not get the permission to leave Chattisgarh from state authorities, Saturday being a holiday, and Advocate Vrinda Grover, the gathering was mostly experience sharing and remembering the work that Bharti Roy had done during her lifetime and still inspires many women to come forward.
The evening started with a recorded message from Bharti Roy which she had delivered during her rallies and protests, which said that once the women are awake and aware, nothing can stop them from reaching their goal of emancipation. A report was released and distributed on ‘Mahila, Aajeevika Va Samudayik Adhikar’ (Women, Livelihood and Community Right), which was organized in Ranchi, Jharkhand during the year 2011. The participants shouted the slogans of Inquilab Zindabad, Nari Shakti Zindabad, and others condemning capitalism, patriarchy.
Sokalu Gond, Adivasi Leader from Kaimur Ksetra Mahila Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh, Sonbhadra, Seema, Adivasi leader from Dumka, Jharkhand, Lalti from Jharkhand shared their experiences, highlighting the atrocities from the state authorities. They have created community shared infrastructure, schools, and houses which derives from their strong belief that private ownership is the major cause of women’s exploitation. They strive for ‘collective spirit’ which has led to their recognition as workers and their work accounted for. While Sokalu’s community owned land amounts to an area of 5-6 km Square, they derive medicines from the forests which prevents them from falling prey to the manipulated treatment by other hospitals. Supporting the claims of these women against administration, Lawyer Usha Srinivasan, said that around 80% fake cases have been registered against women in rural areas. Seema informed us that even after the struggles and movements, many issues linger on. She spoke of the cases where girls from Jharkhand were emigrated to Delhi, Pubjab and Haryana for work, but they returned home after being raped and impregnated. However, in some cases they’ve been able to fight the cases and led the culprits to get punished. Instances like the burning of their huts when they protested against state’s occupying the forest, came forward in these discussions.
Gautam Modi
Senior Journalist Shoma Chaudhary appreciated the consensus-building approach of women, and said that it appears easy to sideline the challenge the women pose to the current politics. Women are committed to certain value system but it is not restricted to women, any one could accept that value system which is better than the status-coist value system. This, she believes, would come through better articulation of women’s value system so that it has wider reach. She criticized the absence of media in programs like this one, saying that the field experiences are not as covered as something that the so called major figures have to say. There is a patriarchal kind of discourse in urban centres and the greatness of the women’s movement is that themselves having suffered, they do not want to inflict any pain on others. She emphasized on the need to create that understanding through middle ground which would make comprehensive, the resource conservation language of women.
Karamat Ali
Roma, who led the discussion, argues that the Forest Rights Act, 2006 is essentially a “Women Forest Rights Act”, because it empowers women and prevents their being dependent on any of the families they are part of. She believes that these women have created “paradigms” by taking responsibility at collective level.
Shoma Chaudhary
These women that area part of All India Union of Forest Working People, AIUFWP (National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers) since the last decade have made a “dakhal” over thousands of hectares of forest land, ousted corrupt and exploitative forest department and resorted to collective cultivation therefore keeping the men also off from controlling these vast resources in UP, MP, Uttarakhand, Bihar etc. In the context of 15th lok sabha elcections, the women asserted that they’ll judge the respective candidates on their capacity to actually support them and they would even ask them to provide a written statement so that once they come to power they make it a point to help their groups for their rights. In Lalti’s words “it will not be easy to fool us, we’re not blind, as they authorities might misconceives”.
Among others who spoke were Pakistani Trade Union Leader Karamat Ali who suggested that when the media coverage is not given, we should ourselves reach out to the masses, and New trade Union of India General secretary Gautam Modi, who assertively said of the need to change the language in which the masculine is given respect while the feminine is not, condemning patriarchy with every line that he spoke. Finally the longtime companion of Bharti Roy, Gouri Choudhury of Action India prompted people to support the new initiative that they have started for Water and Sanitation for Women in Delhi, also focusing on the need to see ‘agency’ in women, which goes beyond class barriers.
The gathering and the members of the Action India, spoke vehemently against patriarchy, feudalism, capitalism and Brahmanism, saying that we need to get rid of them if we want to secure “right to life with dignity” for all.