Women vs Liquor: Women trigger a quiet revolution!
It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” - Madeleine Albright.
The women of Phoga Bharthari panchayat in the Bikaner region of Rajasthan exhibit the perfect example of raising their voice against wrongdoings. Pooja Chhabra, the president of the liquor ban revolution here elaborates on the genesis of this village. "A cluster of five villages, with an approx. population of 9000 is a region inhabited for the last 500 years and is now a victim of rampant alcoholism.
Liquor consumption has not just ruined many rural families here but also given a boost to crime. Engulfed in poverty, liquor abuse forms a common battleground story in the households here. One main reason why the movement against alcoholism had been gaining ground for quite some time.
The women of the village had been periodically organising rallies and held at least three massive demonstrations in front of the licensed shop in the centre of the village. But not only did the owner refuse to budge, he sought protection from the panchayat itself, citing his right to use his licence. But, persistence and determination will not fail anyone. The women of the village sort of a legal resolution to shut down the liquor shops permanently and voila! The campaign against alcohol through the legal route has triggered a quiet revolution, enabling women, social activists, and panchayat bodies to have liquor vends shut down.
The women in this region believed in themselves and radicalized the way everyone thrived. Freedom of thought and the prerogative of their voice has given them wings. They fly like eagles soaring high above the mind-sets and margins of the society. As many would call them ignorant and uneducated, but no one can silence their voice anymore.
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