Thursday 14 April 2016

"M"otivation Galore: Widowed at 2 years of age, she gave next 70 years to save little girls from it


We have been fortunate enough to live in a strata of society where we tend be believe that the child marriages are almost extinct today what we tend to forget is the major chunk of Indian masses still resides in villages and small towns where child marriages do happen in the name of age old traditions and culture..

"Bua, as she is fondly called everyone alike today and respected for her selfless service of humanity for over 70 years, was widowed at the age of 2 years, probably when she had not even learnt to speak properly...Don't ask me when she was married, as is it so stifling for me to even write it down...She didn't remember her parents either as she was left to live in a broken temple with a couple of other widows on the outskirts of the village near Vrindavan, where she belonged...They were not allowed to enter the village and thrived on charity made by the rich for which they treated them as their property...the white sarees they were clad in were often unable to hide the atrocities committed on them... Their heart bled more than their bare feet ...Today she had chosen to make all those years of pain and oppression her power !

All she remembers was the kind liberal priest of the village who ignited in her the desire to study when she grew up a little...The priest whom she called baba later taught her outside the village and even opened her eyes to being the torchbearer of change against the menaces of the society...

At 13, she shunned the fear for her life and refused to be the slaves of the rich and promised herself she will save as many girls as possible from child marriages...When baba breathed her last, he sent her to her sister's home in Jaipur where she completed her studies.

At mere 18 she became the most active member of the Govt NGO spreading awareness village to village about how child marriages and the treatment to widows apart from being a punishable offence is the biggest curse to their daughter as well as to the society.

The course of change was drastically slow so she immediately resorted to raiding the house of child marriage with the help of local authorities...

In all this she was beaten up several times and even set on fire once where she sustained 60% burns but nothing diluted her resolve. After every attack she emerged stronger and later pursued her degree in law to aid the victims even better...

Motivated by her, many mothers came forward against the marriages of their little children which ruins their life and mental equilibrium..Bua's mere presence gave them the courage to raise their voice which they have gulped with tears for years...She  had also always been a big promoter of educating the gird child so that they know how to protect themselves from the crimes against them...

Today it's been close to 70 years with Bua on this mission and she is glad things are changing for the good but she still firmly asserts it's miles to go before she sleeps..Her fragile health too could not waiver her selfless spirit, she truly is a Motivation Galore!





Author's Note: This Post is a part of #AtoZChallenge 2016 under my theme #FaceofChange

You may also like to read the earlier 9 True Tales of Indian Women in this series, some heart wrenching while some truly inspirational but each giving a genuine lesson...

"A"trocities in The Disguise of Tradition : The Shut Doors

No comments:

Post a Comment