Many have heard of the Gulabi gang of Bundelkhand which was started sometime in 2010 to fight against domestic abuse and violence against women. And the members of Gulabi gang were all women between the age of 18 and 60.
Encouraged by this movement a few ex-students of Banaras Hindu University and JNU, formed Hope Welfare Trust (HWT) and began its intervention in Khusiyari village in 2015 by educating children and women who dropped out of school. Khusiyan village is just 12 km from Varanasi. “We learnt that alcohol abuse and gambling was ruining families. Besides making women literate, we groomed them to take on the social malady like Bundelkhand’s Gulabi gang,” said HWT president Ravi Mishra.
Women of this group, in dark green sarees, now actively spread the message and ensure order in the village with their anti-hooch and anti-gambling drive. Most of these women have not gone to school but are literate and skilled in martial arts. They are enrolled as 'police mitr' or friends of police.
This excellent report by B Vijay Murty in HIndustan Times may motivate others taking up such a programme in other areas too. Read more in Hindustan Times.....
