Emerging leader

Savita Devi Dama, Udaipur, Rajasthan

A few men of my village used to meet periodically near my house and discuss issues of the village and our community. Sometimes they would also come over to my house for a cup of tea and continue talking. At times I would also sit with my husband and listen to the discussions. On a few occasions they asked me my opinion. Seeing them I wished there were such meetings of women as well. I expressed this wish in one of the meetings and the men supported the idea.

It was during that period, about six years ago that elections to Panchayats were being held. All of us men and women from the village sat together and chose two women to contest in the elections, since the seats were reserved. Nanda Devi Pargi and myself, Savita Devi Dama, were elected unopposed to the Panchayat as Ward Panch. We had never stepped out of our house and had no idea how the Panchayat functioned. At that time Seva Mandir was organising a training programme for elected leaders of Panchayats. They asked each of us to bring along two other women. We learnt a lot about our responsibilities and functions in this training.

When we came back to our village, we figured that one of the issues posing a big problem was about gathering fuelwood from the forests. Each year the forests were receding. There was a lot of theft and illegal cutting by people from our own village and neighbours. When we tried to stop people from cutting tender branches, we faced a lot of resistance and abuses were hurled at us. A few men from our village decided to patrol the forest area. When they tried to stop women from cutting wood, they levelled charges that these men were trying to molest them. The men came back and said that they would not patrol alone, and men and women would have to go together.

At one time in our village Nayakhola, it so happened that we had gone to the Kewda Dara naka, a hilly area, and found women of the neighbouring village cutting wood there. As we approached them, one of the women cutting wood slowly removed her nose stud and tied it to her saree. One of my friends saw this. We snatched their implements, gathered the wood they had cut, and started taking it back to our village. Suddenly, the woman began screaming that her nose stud was stolen. My friend calmly went up to her and asked her to open the end of the saree, and there we found the hidden stud. The woman retreated.

We resumed our journey and told the women of the other village that they would be handed their implements when they paid a fine. An old woman who was accompanying us said that she would bring the implements down the hill, and asked us to go ahead with the wood. The weight of the implements made her slow, and the neighbours seized the opportunity and snatched the implements from her. She screamed out. We ran up the hill when we heard her, and made the women from the neighbouring village retreat. They came to our village a few days later, paid the fine and took their implements back. Happily, they have taken steps to protect their village forest, as well. As have villagers of another neighbouring village Chota Bhilwara.

The year that Nanda Devi and I were elected as Ward Panch, Hakra Lal Pargi became the Sarpanch. The villagers had all rallied behind him and for the first time a person from the tribal community was elected Sarpanch. Five years later, it was time for elections again to the Panchayat. In the last elections I had not much idea of our roles and responsibilities. This time I was much better informed and importantly had greater confidence. My husband was also very supportive of my public activities. This time the post of the Sarpanch was reserved for a woman candidate, and most of the villagers wanted me to contest. Hakralal however out up his wife’s candidature. Ultimately the votes from the village were divided and a woman from the neighbouring village became Sarpanch. I was disappointed, but also learnt a big lesson – that we can win only if we are united.