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With A Smile On Their Face, They Walk Down The Road Of Thorns By - Tarannum Manjul Live for today, for yesterday has gone and tomorrow still has to come. With this motto in life, this 24 year old young journalist gets going everyday. A through bred Delhite, this graduate in English honours (and several diplomas) went onto to become a journalist working for a leading National daily in Lucknow, (Uttar Pradesh) from the past 4 years. A true gemini to the soul, she loves meeting people and issues related to the underprivileged, women and children touch her the most. a budding development journalist, Tarannum loves writing about the feat achieved by her key areas, and can go anywhere to do that, with nothing stopping her.

Lucknow, India

They have broken the shackles of their orthodox, traditional households to bring light into the lives of several other women. But for the rural women activists and workers of grassroot NGOs in Uttar Pradesh, life is not a bed of roses. They have had their share of thorns before getting the bouquets. Rukmani, an NGO worker in the rural Mahoba, recalls the time when her father-in-law closed her inside the house when she had to attend an office meeting.

“We hail from one of the most influential families in the village. When my father-in-law realised that I am going to my office to help lower caste women, he refused to allow me to go. Once, he even locked me up inside my house. I had to call my neighbours to come out. Now I live separately with my husband and he has broken all ties with us,” says Rukmani.

Parbatiya, a sangha (women-group) worker in Chandauli, found it tough to convince her husband about her work. “He did not like my going to help other women in distress. We often used to take out marches and procession opposing the corrupt pradhan in our village and my husband felt that the pradhan might try to harm my family. It took me a long time to make him realise that I was doing the right thing. Today, he supports me a lot.”

But not all women are like Parbatiya. Vibha, an NGO worker in Mishrikh in Sitapur, too had a tough time when she was threatened of dire consequences in a case. “My husband was told that he should better stop me or else they would kill my children. My husband warned me that if I don’t leave my job, he would leave the house with my children. I was determined not to leave, but he even came to my office and told my seniors that I wanted to leave the job. I could only manage things with my NGO head coming all the way from Lucknow to make things get into my husband’s mind. But he has not allowed me to hold my meetings at my house since then,” says Vibha.

Sukanya, a member of an NGO fighting for the legal rights of rural women in Saharanpur, herself became a case. “Till the time I was getting the money home, my in-laws did not have any problem with what I did. But once a relative saw me shouting slogans against dowry outside the village choudhary’s house. He told my in-laws, who immediately ordered me to leave my job. When I refused, they threw me out of the office. I came back to my parental home, which was in a different village. After I few months, I was informed that they have got my husband remarried. I am fighting against this injustice from the past 6 months.”

While many break down under pressure from the family and the community, most of them continue despite all odds. They may become victims themselves, yet refuse to let go and keep spreading the light of a new awakening for the women. “We have managed to find a ray of hope in the darkness of our lives. And nothing can snatch away this ray from us,” they all say with strong grit and determination.

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