'Women play a crucial role in ushering in change in their communities'
By Anuja Agrawal

'How did such a strong woman living in a nondescript corner of Manipur emerge as such a pillar of strength?'
By Anjulika Thingnam

'I was fed throughout my stay on the farm on homegrown vegetables plucked right before my eyes'
By Aparna Pallavi

'After a day in the saltpans, I can never again think of white as a "cool" colour'
By Geeta Seshu

'Despite the worry that another tsunami could strike, the people here are moving on'
By Hema Vijay

'Where is the rest of the rice? The question kept nagging me'
By Linda Chhakchhuak

'The lyrics acquire a personal meaning for the young boy singing so earnestly'
By Manipadma Jena

'Here I was before a woman who was resilient enough to emerge unscathed every time she was attacked'
By Manisha Prakash

'Seeing the scene I was transported back to the 70s and 80s, when the women's movement was blossoming'
By Nirupama Dutt

'If the women refuse to sell fish, the men would be at a loss'
By  Prakriiti Gupta

'They had not become politicians even though they held a political office'
By  Soma Mitra Mukherjee

'She may look like any other ordinary woman but her achievements are not ordinary' By  Shuriah Niazi

'What was even more amazing was that almost everyone stopped to greet her and touch her feet'
By Swapna Majumdar

'There was no false modesty or shame about displaying the use of a female condom'
By  Tarannum Manjul

'It is a swim upstream every day for these women'
By  Usha Turaga-Revelli

Search ARCHIVES for 'features' and 'in brief' items

'She may look like any other ordinary woman but her achievements are not ordinary' By Shuriah Niazi

The Care-WFS Fellowship was my first experience of working on a fellowship that was women-centric. It gave me the opportunity to visit Jhinna trekking camp in Madhya Pradesh's Panna district, Tarana village in Ujjain district and Tarashiv village of Raipur district in Chhattisgarh.

One of my more interesting experiences during these two months was meeting a young Gond tribal woman who has anchored a tourism programme with courage and ingenuity. Then there was the exposure to the cruelties of caste-based discrimination in Indian society. This evil has now found a place even in a Muslim community. But I also saw how some women in the community have raised their voice against injustice. They were not afraid to take on their oppressors.

During my visit to Chhattisgarh, I was struck by the change brought about by a diminutive woman in a village called Tarashiv. Arun Bala looks like any other ordinary woman but her achievements are not ordinary. The efforts she made to motivate villagers to send their children to school and to enforce total prohibition in the village are laudable. And that's not all. For years she has been working to create awareness about health among her fellow villagers.

I am glad this fellowship focused on the work of women from rural India. A closer look at these women reveals that although they may be uneducated, they are not ignorant; that although they may be marginalized, they remain determined to usher in change.

I am also extremely pleased about being the only male fellow selected by the CARE-WFS jury. I don't know how far I have succeeded in raising issues that matter, but I would like to say that I enjoyed doing these stories and didn't at any point of time feel like I was part of a minority!

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