Around 25 km from Bangarupalem, close to the Tamil Nadu border, is a remote, forested hamlet called Bandla Doddi ST Colony. It is a small village of about 500 families, mainly from the SC/ST community.
On Friday, the sleepy little village was visited by a group of child rights activists who hoped to raise awareness among women’s rights among the residents on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
However, in an amusing turn of events, the activists were mistaken for politicians who had come to the village on an election campaign.
A woman volunteer for the Rural Organisation for Poverty Eradication Services (ROPES) and Child Line 1098, who personally knew a few of the villagers, intervened and explained the reason behind their visit, after which the programme got under way at the local Anganwadi centre.
Representatives of Christian Children’s Fund of Canada also participated.
Awareness is low
The residents, mostly farm workers and dependents on forest produce, were unaware that there was a day dedicated to the celebration of women’s rights every year.
ROPES chairman K. Dhanasekharan along with women volunteers explained to the residents about the importance of the occasion. Volunteers explained the significance of child rights, gender equality, women’s rights and the evils of child marriage.
For about two hours, the volunteers interacted with the villagers and noted down details pertaining to school dropouts, incidents of child marriages, maternal and infant deaths and nutrition-related aspects.
Problem areas
Bandla Doddi has a government primary school, but no high school. For high school, students have to travel for 15 km to Ragimanupenta panchayat or 25 km to Bangarupalem. Due to this, the village struggles with a high dropout rate among girls after they finish their upper primary education. This, in turn, leads to a rise in child marriages.
However, with the involvement of child rights forums in recent years, coupled with rigorous implementation of government schemes, several social issues are taking a turn for the better, say activists.
“We took a decision to celebrate Women’s Day at Bandla Doddi village. Today, the significance of the occasion might be lost on the villagers. But in the years to come, the women of this village will slowly but surely realise their rights and will spread the message of women empowerment among younger generations. It gives us immense happiness that the villagers actively participated in our impromptu campaign,” ROPES chairman Dhanasekharan said.
