Rajasthan’s girls fight for a chance to resume their education

Over 1,500 girls from Karauli in rural Rajasthan launched a campaign urging the state government to help them go back to school. Jaipur: The pandemic has directly affected millions of lives in the country and the lockdown has cost many their livelihoods. For Priyanka Bairwa, a 19-year-old girl who lives in Sapotra town in the Karauli district of Rajasthan, the lockdown not only took away her family’s source of income but also her dreams of pursuing higher education. But soon, she realised she wasn’t the only girl whose dreams were getting shattered. She met many like her, who were unable to continue their education and were now being forced into marriage.Priyanka, and a few others, started a campaign to raise awareness about these issues and put pressure on their elders to help ensure all girls have the right to education. The campaign, which started in October 2020 with 10 girls in one district is today, a state-wide campaign involving six districts and over 1,500 girls. Their demands for scholarships and support for higher education have also been sent to the government of Rajasthan and the girls hope for a change in the right direction.Priyanka’s storySince Priyanka’s father, Madanlal, was suffering from tuberculosis, the responsibility of providing for the family rested primarily on her mother, Urmila and the older kids. Urmila worked as domestic help and Priyanka would often help her mother with the chores in different homes; that is until the first lockdown was announced, more than a year ago. The lockdown meant that Urmila and Priyanka could no longer work in other homes and they soon lost their livelihood. Much to her disappointment, Priyanka, who was pursuing her Bachelor of Arts degree, was also unable to continue her studies, due to limited means. Being the oldest girl in the house, soon there were talks of arranging her marriage.But Priyanka vehemently opposed the idea. “Corona destroyed the dreams of thousands of poor girls like me. Studies came to a halt and there was no work outside, so the family started talking about marriage. Friends and relatives put a lot of pressure on me to get married, but I stood my ground and opposed it,” she said.Early marriage or child marriage is very common in the rural regions of Rajasthan. According to AMIED (Alwar Mewar Institute of Education and Development), a non-profit organization working in the rural areas of Rajasthan, every second girl in Karauli district is married off before she reaches the age of 18. And the situation only got worse in the pandemic, as the education of girls came to a halt and girls began to be viewed as a burden on families.Priyanka soon realised that many young girls were being married off without their consent. “I realised many girls in Sopotra would have dropped out of studies and they may be getting pressured into marriage. I met a few other girls and soon a group of 10 girls was formed,” reminisces Priyanka. With 10 girls, Priyanka felt she could now work to ensure girls from her area got a chance to study and avoid marriage. “We went from village to village in Sapotra tehsil on foot and we met many girls who were facing similar situations at home. We persuaded them to join us and we all decided to work together to prevent girls from getting married at an early age and help them continue their education,” said Priyanka with pride.Because of the pandemic, 19-year-old Priyanka Bairwa from Sapotra in Karauli, Rajasthan was facing the prospect of having to discontinue her education and get married. But she decided to fight back (Picture courtesy: Madhav Sharma)The beginning of a movementPriyanka’s mother was engaged in cleaning work at the AMIED office in Sapotra. “I knew that AMIED works for education and girl’s education was one of their primary objectives. I, hence, approached them and they agreed to help us,” states Priyanka. The organisation soon imparted training on health and education to the ten girls.But Priyanka’s parents were afraid. Initially, they stopped her from venturing out too much as they believed the current society is not safe for girls to travel alone. Many parents had similar fears and in addition, most of the villagers felt that no one would pay heed to the demands of a few young girls. But thankfully, AMIED stepped in and convinced many parents to allow their daughters to participate in the campaign. They said, if it succeeds, then girls’ education could be free in the future. After much convincing, some parents, including Priyanka’s, gave their consent and the girls continued their campaign.Vinita Meena, a resident of Gokulpur village in Sapotra tehsil, is today one of the leaders campaigning for the cause. During the lockdown, Vinita’s housemates were considering marrying her off. But Vinita opposed the marriage and soon joined Priyanka in the campaign. “The girls we talked to had two things in common. First, the pressure to get married and second, the fear of dropping out of school. Poverty, negligible participation in online classes, lack of awareness and lack of schools that provide education after standard 8 are the main reasons for dropping out of school,” says Vinita.Talking about the support they received from AMIED, Vinita says, “The AMIED institute gave counselling and training to the 10 girls. We then realised that just 10 girls will not work. That is why we selected two girls from each village in the neighbouring 50 villages as leaders who can lead the campaign. We were now 100 girls campaigning for the cause,” says Vinita.The group leaders of the villages chalked out a plan of action and thus the foundation of the Dalit-Adivasi Backward Class Kishori Shiksha Abhiyan was laid. Noor Mohammed, the director of AMEID explains, “The campaign was named Dalit-Adivasi Backward Class Kishori Shiksha Abhiyan as the impact of the lockdown was most felt by the girls belonging to Dalit and Adivasi communities. They did not have smartphones for online classes. Thousands of girls from standards 9 to 12 were also afraid of being dropped out. This group of 10 girls is supported by our organization as their mentor.”Vinita Meena was among the early participants in the movement and went about recruiting girls from neighbouring villages to support their cause (Picture courtesy: Madhav Sharma)Gaining tractionIn collaboration with AMIED, the girls now held regular meetings in the villages with other girls and their families. They made a list of demands which included timely scholarship for studies and free education up to class 12. Along with this, a demand was made to give a one-time scholarship of Rs 5,000 to those entering college, which should be paid all at once, so as to meet the requirements of buying books and other course material. This would ensure that girls not only have the opportunities to study up till class 12 but also pursue higher education, while also reducing the financial burden on their families. Currently, the scholarships offered by the government are paid in instalments and are not sufficient to cover all expenses.  To further intensify the campaign, the girls reached out to the political heads of the district including the Sarpanch (village headman), MLA and other stake-holders. Memorandums about the campaign were given to the sarpanches of the different villages. A group of girls also met the Labour Minister, Government of Rajasthan, Tikaram Jully. The minister’s positive attitude towards the campaign gave an impetus to it. Rajasthan’s Education Minister, Govind Singh Dodasara, also praised the campaign. They soon sent emails to Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot and the education minister, listing their demands.  On March 9 and 10 this year, AMIED organised a state-level conference in Jaipur to arrange a meeting of the girls associated with the campaign from different districts. It was named Rajasthan Rising Manch. Its aim was to understand the issues of girl child education, organisation, gender and caste discrimination among girls.At the end of the state-level conference in Jaipur, the girls came together to demand that the Rajasthan government make scholarships more effective so that more girls could continue with their education (Picture courtesy: Madhav Sharma)A campaign to alleviate povertyPriyanka, who is currently struggling to arrange two square meals a day for her family emphasises the importance of the campaign. “During the lockdown, it was with the help of our neighbours in Sapotra that we were able to feed ourselves. My brother, Tejaram (16) is a student of standard 11. He gets up at 4 am to study and distribute newspapers. Then he goes to work in the vegetable market, and then he goes to school. In the evening, he works to keep the goods inside. It’s a tough life for all of us,” she says. She believes educating girls may help lift many families out of poverty. “There are many families, like ours, that are struggling to make ends meet. If we girls become something by studying, then it will be good for our family as well as the society, at large. I also want to do good for my society. That is why I dream of pursuing a B.Ed (Bachelor of Education) after graduation. So that I can become a teacher and teach girls who cannot get an education due to poverty or other circumstances.”Varsha Bairwa, a standard 10 student who has been associated with the campaign since November last year, believes the success of this campaign can completely change the situation for girls in her village. “Girls in my village have to walk 2 km to school. That is why only one girl from the whole village goes to study besides me. People from the rest of the village taunt us while we go to school. That is why I wish this campaign is a success,” says Varsha.

Rural women in Rajasthan demand health, sanitation facilities

Madhav SharmaLike many others in the region, Sunita Sain, 40, a resident of Udaipuria village in Rajasthan, is a housewife and has never ventured out of the boundaries of the village. In a male-dominated patriarchal society, which Sunita is a part of, only male members of the family have a voice. But it all changed when Sunita participated in the Mahila Gram Sabha in the Gram Panchayat in 2018. It was for the first time that Sunita was participating in a public meeting in the village and was sharing her suggestions and problems related to women.“I had never even visited the village panchayat before, but I wondered for how long I can just do domestic work!” argued Sunita. In the meeting, she brought up two issues— to set up a sanitary napkin machine and to open a government library in the village for girls. Sunita said the sanitary napkin machine was necessary because sometimes the girls have to leave school owing to their periods and there is no system to get sanitary napkins in any government school.Subsequently, Udaipuria Gram Panchayat, which came under the Govindgarh Panchayat Samiti of Jaipur district, got a proposal approved from the state government with a budget of Rs 30,000. Many such stories of change are being seen in several Gram Panchayats of Govindgarh Panchayat Samiti. Women are coming out of the homes and are keeping their issues in front of the panchayat and demanding a solution.Coming out of the house to attend panchayat meetings is a big step for women in a feudal-minded society like Rajasthan. “First we did not know what the powers of panchayats are? If all the women of Rajasthan want, then through panchayat, they can solve all the problems of their village,” Sunita said while adding that few men have some problems, but if the women have courage, they become silent after a while. Power to create changeForty-five Gram Panchayats come under the jurisdiction of Govindgarh Panchayat Samiti. Out of these, 37 Gram Panchayats organised Mahila Gram Sabhas with the help of some civil society groups. The Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), a social organisation, went from village to village and conducted awareness programmes on women's rights and their role in the panchayat. Gradually women started coming to the meetings of the Gram Sabhas.In order to solve problems related to the health of women and children, 37 Gram Panchayats of Panchayat Samitis have been allocated Rs 10,65,809 through Mahila Sabhas and many issues related to women and children have been included in the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).These issues include separate toilets for women, sanitary napkin vending machines with napkin disposal system, vaccination, library in the village for girls, road lights in villages for women's safety. Earlier, women were not allowed to go out of the house and they were considered worth cultivation or the work of the household. But now women raise all their issues in the panchayat meeting, informed Mohan Lal Bunkar, the Sarpanch of Nangal Kalan Gram Panchayat.He added that women in the rural areas women are becoming aware of their rights and are raising issues related to immunisation, education, sterilisation and pregnancy. “In my gram panchayat, about Rs 2 lakh has been allocated for health problems of women. Soon this amount will be given to the panchayat and sanitary napkin machines will be installed in the village,” he said.Debasish Biswas, a senior programme officer of PRIA, said they made women Sarpanchs take up issues related to women and children in the GPDP through meeting conducted at the local level. Witnessing developmentAsha Sharma, 45, a resident of Dhodsar Gram Panchayat, is a teacher by profession. The women of the Gram Panchayat were quite upset with the Primary Health Centre (PHC)—operating out of a building of Dhodsar Gram Panchayat—in the village. Patients coming to the single-room establishment would walk in during the delivery of a child. Often women would have to go to Chomu town—situated about 25 kilometres away—owing to the lack of facilities in the village’s PHC.In 2013, a resident of the village had constructed a separate building for the hospital, but for five years the hospital had been running from the Gram Panchayat premises. In December 2018, Asha brought it up with the Mahila Gram Sabha and they took cognizance of the issue and demanded that the PHC be transferred to the new building. The Gram Panchayat started working on a priority basis and started operating from the new building from January 2019. Now there is a separate room for the women of the village and the other room is for general patients.Mohammed Hussain, the village development officer of Govindgarh Gram Panchayat, said there has been a tremendous social change in the past year in the Panchayat Samiti’s villages. Since the arrival of Mahila Gram Sabha, the mindset of the people of the village has also changed towards women and their health issues, he stated. “Thousands of women have broken the unscrupulous traditions imprisoned in the houses and this is going to lead to many developmental works in the area,” he added.

From less-cash villages to cashless ones, courtesy demonetisation

Karauli, Rajasthan: The 35-year-old Neetu brings some wheat in her sari’s pallu and gives it to the shopkeeper Ramaswaroop. Ramswroop, weighing the wheat and giving 2 matches and one candle in return to Neetu. Wheat was slightly less than 250 grams. The price of this wheat was Rs 4.If you are wondering where would it be in the days of Digital World, Patyam and the Internet? Than you are wrong. The 20th century and even much older barter system is still in trends in the country's villages. Neetu is a resident of Ladore Kalan village of Karauli district of Rajasthan and is from a laborer family. There is a shortage of cash in the house so a small amount of ration for the house is taken from such grains. Neetu says, 'We buy household goods from grains. This has to be done due to poverty and unemployment. Women have less cash in hand in village areas, therefore the need for the goods is to be taken from grains like wheat, millet, mustard and sesame. When we ask her about the digital economy, Nitu says, I have heard the name, but do not know what it is.This is not new to shopkeeper Ramswroop. Ramswroop earn more than 100 kg of food grains every month by commodity exchange system.The barter arrangement or commodity exchange system is still going on in many villages of Ladore khurd, Ledor Kalan, Bahrai, Mengra, Hakimpura, and nearby villages of Karauli district.The team of 101Reporters understood this system by reaching these villages. After going into these villages, it can be said that the government talks about the digital economy and many more things but rural society is still going through bad times. The barter system is still in trend not only in only Karauli district but also in many remote villages of Rajasthan.Mukesh Jadoun who runs a small grocery shop form last ten years in village Ledor Khurd, near the village of Ledore Kalan says, 'Apart from our village, it is still common to take food from grains in almost all the nearby villages. People of the village do not know anything like Digital, Paytm etc. The people of the village do not have much cash, therefore, they purchase goods of ration  by wheat grains, millets and season crops. Small shopkeepers like us get a little more profit in this. We take grains on less than market price and then sell it to the grain at market prices with some profits. Even today, every month more than 100 kg of grain comes through this type of business. Mukesh further says, 'After the ban on notes (demonetization) in November 2016, the barter system has swiftly increased, but now it is slightly reduced. At the time of the noteban, almost the entire village had bought the goods from the grain. During that one and a half months, I had 7-8 sack cereals. Even today, there are only 1-2 sacks of grain every month.'Deena Sharma, living in Bahrai village of karauli district, tells us, "Until 10 years ago, from vegetable to big things in the villages, there was exchange of goods, but now this trend has come down a little bit. At the time of the Noteban in 2016, it grew a little bit, and now people buy commodities, only to buy a lot of ration goods.Social worker Shankar Singh says, "Apart from Karauli, this system is practice in tribal areas of Udaipur district also. People still have less cash in villages, especially the women of the house. That is why women buy vegetables, buy a lot of ration and send them grains to the shops when the kids are angry. Until the decade ago, the economy of the village had been on the barter but now it is not so. Over time it has been reduced but the system of barter is not completely over. 'The economy of the villages is still based on agriculture. The people, especially the villages like Ledore, have been quite backward due to their presence in the Dang area. People are lacking in cash and the grain is born from their farming, so for the daily working people, this area can still be easily seen by taking luggage in exchange for granaries

2 weeks on, no headway in probe of man found burnt alive

Facts behind the alleged suicide of Gangaram BalaiJaipur, Rajasthan: A blurry photograph of Gangaram is placed on a chair just outside his mud house in the Ummaidnagar village located in the the Bhilwara district of Rajasthan. Gangaram Balai (60), a Dalit man, was allegedly burnt alive on March 1, 2019 in the Mogarwasa mining area of Kasyan village, almost 100 km away from his native village. Almost two weeks have passed Gangaram was in the gardener in charge of growing vegetables in the mining area.Narayan Balai, brother of Gangaram Balai, filed an FIR in the Bijolia police station on the day the incident took place  in front of the mining company's office. In the FIR, Narayan Balai asserted that his brother Gangaram was tied to a tree using a wire rope and tires and then allegedly burnt alive. The police said that the laborers working in the mine are being detained and questioned. So far, more than 15 suspected people have been detained, said the police. However, they haven’t arrested  anybody yet.Yogesh Yadav, the Superintendent of police of Bhilwara district said that according to the post- mortem report, Gangaram died due to burns. He also added that his body was not moved and he died in the same place where he was found immolated. The police have said that when they reached the spot, the body was still burning. Between 5 am to 6 am on the day, seeing the body burn, people living in the area called the police. The police reached the spot within 15 to 20 minutes and the body was still burning at the time. The police said that Gangaram’s clothes and mobile phone were found on 10 to 15 ft away from the body.A letter in Gangaram's clothes raises suspicionsThe police found a suicide note in Gangaram’s clothing where there was the mention of trouble related to his daughter’s marriage. However, Gangaram's elder brother Narayan (65) asserts that Gangaram was not married and was only literate to sign. He suspects that the letter had been written in advance and planted in his pocket. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team had also gathered evidence from the spot, whose report will be out in a few days.Bijaulia police station in-charge Baldev Ram said that all the angles are being investigated. They added that suicide is one of the possibilities they are looking at but, the case has been registered under Section 302 of IPC which deals with punishment for murder.Meanwhile, social activists have moved into action due to the news of the alleged killing with several of them even visiting Gangaram’s house. Tara Chand Verma, member of the Rajasthan Human Rights Law Network, said, “I have visited the village of Gangaram and the site of the incident. It is clear that it is a case of murder, but the police seems clueless and is still investigating.” She adds that the administration should immediately give financial assistance to the family of Gangaram and the criminals be arrested quickly.Ramesh Chand Bansal, a social worker the Adhikar Sandarbh Kendra, is shocked with the administrative apathy and said that this kind of silence is beyond comprehension after a person has been burned alive.Family members of the alleged victimGangaram Balai’s entire family lives in Ummaidnagar of Itamaria Gram Panchayat in Bhilwara district. His elder brother Narayan Balai (65) and sister-in-law Shayari Devi (62) have four children. Narayan recalls that he had spoken to his brother over the phone two days before the incident took place. He also mentioned that Gangaram would visit them in the village at least once in two to three months.Gangaram left the village nearly 30 years ago and started living on the premises the famous Tilaswa Mahadev Temple in the area about 100 kilometers away. There, he prepared a garden. His nephew Madan (28), said that about four  years ago, Gangaram went to Kasyan village 7 km from Tilaswa, where he started practicing horticulture in stone mining area. After the death of Gangaram, the mining company has compensated the family by giving one lakh rupees. The owner of this mining company is Kailash Chand Meena, a leader of the Congress party. Ramchandra, Gangaram's childhood friend and a priest for the Balai community, said that the alleged victim had no enemies and that the entire village knew that he was a religious man.The Bhilwara district of Rajasthan is infamous for Dalit repression. Incidents of people belonging to the Dalit community being beaten up is a common occurrence. There are also instances where Dalit grooms are not allowed to sit on the horse during their wedding which has been reported in the media. Cases of witch hunting where Dalit women are targeted have been reported. According to Tara Ahluwalia, chairperson of the Bal Evam Mahila Chetna Samiti, confirms that 80% of cases of witch-hunting in Rajasthan are in Bhilwara district. There are more than 90 cases of witch hunting in Rajasthan since 1986, she said. However, Ramchandra mentioned that as soon as people heard the news of Gangaram's death, people from all castes gathered in the village pay their condolences. However, the alleged victim’s family and the village believe that Gangaram has been murdered. People from several villages protested at the Bhilwara district headquarters demanding the arrest of the killers on March 11.

In many villages of Rajasthan, The commodity exchange business is still ongoing

Jaipur: Thirty-five-year-old Neetu Devi carries wheat in her saree’s pallu and places it on the counter of Ramswaroop Sharma’s shop. He weighs the wheat -- it measures slightly less than 250 gm -- prices it at Rs 4 and in exchange, hands over two matchboxes and a candle to her. The transaction is now complete.In a world where terms like Paytm, Google Pay and Internet banking are freely thrown around, residents of villages like Ladore Khurd, Ledor Kalan, Bahrai, Mengra and Hakimpura, in Rajasthan’s Karauli district have been engaging in the barter or commodity exchange system for more than 100 years. Picture this scenario: Customer A has 1 kg wheat, and seeks to buy sugar. A goes to shopkeeper B and requests to exchange their wheat for sugar. Under this commodity exchange system, B purchases the wheat -- for a price lower than the market rate -- and hands over 1 kg of sugar. In the market, price of wheat is currently lower than that of sugar. B later sells this wheat at market price, or higher, making a profit.This system works well since agriculture is the primary occupation across these villages. The lack of cash within their economic circles has led residents to exchange home-grown grain for ration. Neetu, from Ladore Kalan village, comes from a small family of labourers. In lieu shortage of cash, her family grows grain on their own farms and exchanges it for ration in the market. She explains that because of poverty and unstable employment, household goods like sugar, oil and kerosene are purchased by exchanging grains like wheat, millet, mustard and sesame. When asked about ‘digital economy’, Neetu says she has heard of the term, but isn’t aware of its meaning.Sharma runs a small shop, selling vegetables, mustard oil, kerosene and other items. In exchange for these items, he earns food grain worth 100 kg every month, which he later sells in the market.Mukesh Jadoun has been running a small grocery shop for 10 years in Ledor Khurd village. He says it is commonplace for residents to engage in barter system. “Small shopkeepers like us get a little more profit in this. We buy grain at less than market price from villagers, sell it in the market at a higher prices and earn profit,” he explains, adding that he gets more than 100 kg grain every month through this business system.Shankar Singh, a social worker from Rajsamand district, says, “Apart from Karauli, this system is practiced in tribal areas of Udaipur as well.” He adds that the barter system isn’t phased out completely even though its prevalence has reduced over the last decade.Impact of demonetisationWhile most of the country’s 1.3 billion people were left hanging after the Modi government banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on October 8, 2016, life across these villages continued seemingly unaffected; Demonetisation only accelerated the commodity exchange system residents engage in. Moreover, there are no banks or ATMs in any of the villages in Karauli district, and a singular bank resides in the main district area. This makes it difficult for bank account holders to regularly travel back and forth to withdraw cash. Raghuveer Singh Punia, a Jaipur-based chartered accountant, says rural areas were worst affected by demonetisation, as most transactions and payment for services take place generally with cash. “Due to decreasing cash, people started fulfilling their daily needs through barter system. Second, the number of banks in rural areas is less. People from villages come to the city once or twice a month for bank work,” he explains.Post-demonetisation, Mukesh claims the barter system “swiftly increased” and now has reduced “slightly”. He says, “At the time of note ban, almost everyone from the village bought goods by exchanging grain. During those few months, I earned around seven to eight sacks of cereal. Today as well, I get around one-two sacks of grain every month.”Deena Sharma, from Bahrai village, says even until 10 years ago for purchase of items like vegetables and other daily use products, exchange of goods took place. She also adds that 2016’s note ban increased this activity. Bhawna Devi, sarpanch of Khedia village, concurs and says it is a common, traditional system, which accelerated after demonetisation. Nesar Ahmed, senior analyst at the Rajasthan Centre for Budget Analysis, also believes that demonetisation accelerated barter trade -- “Before currency, barter was a way of trading. Now, when people did not have enough cash after demonetisation, they looked at other options and barter was the easiest. That is why it has been seen that the tradition of commodity exchange has come alive after demonetisation. While most villagers did not have cash, the ones who did found no use for it, and the best resort was barter system.”Pinty Sharma, a shopkeeper in Hakimpura, explains that this economic system is not just business but a “symbol of faith” as well, as it creates a level of trust between the customer and shopkeeper. “After the ban on notes, this belief has increased,” he adds.