Metamorphosis - Making the Implicit Visible for Women Empowerment

Women should no longer be regarded as passive beneficiaries nor simply as caregivers - Ramesh Chaurasia

The president of the organization, Mr Ramesh Lakhulal Chaurasia believed that, “Women should no longer be regarded as passive beneficiaries nor simply as caregivers. They have a larger role to play and they have been playing it. Sadly, for the longest time, that role has gone unnoticed. They have been as much a part of India’s freedom movement as they have been a part of its march to become a global power. This is why when we talk of uplifting our community, their inclusion deserves special focus. We have to ensure that there is visible gender equality in terms of opportunities that are provided, access to different services, as well as work at a grass-roots level to end all types of discrimination.

Sensitising women can be the groundbreaking deal”

— Ramesh Chaurasia

When leaders act, community response

This reiteration of commitment to improving the status of women as well as efforts towards an integrative society is extremely important. The people who are at the forefront of any movement are closely watched and slowly emulated. This is why when Akhil Bharatiya Adarsh Chaurasia Mahasabha under the leadership of Mr Ramesh Chaurasia clearly states its goals, people take notice. Steps by the organisation to have more women members in key positions will be another achievement as well as an example. The focus on female health, ending dowry, empowering women involved in betel leaf farming, amongst other initiatives is already showing signs of change.

With integration, better results will be seen

A senior functionary of the Mahasabha was approached to know what are their plans for the future. He said, ‘‘The focus of the organisation right now is on integrating the Chaurasia-Tamboli community with all sub-sections from every corner of the country. Strength lies in unity. By bringing everyone together and in touch, it will become easier to work on different problems. We wish to make the women aware of their potential. We want them to work with each other in close association at local levels as that can empower women. Whether it is fighting gender-based violence, accessing healthcare, or learning to get financial help, women can do it better together as many such examples already exist.

It is learned that the organisation is planning many ventures to bring the community closer and together. Data has been collected in the past and will be collected on different issues to plan better strategies for uplifting the members. Issues related to women, their empowerment, growth, and providing equal opportunities to them are amongst the top priority tasks for the community leaders.

Sensitising women can be the groundbreaking deal

Many government initiatives have employed women or have included sensitising females about different issues. These have seen great success. Women have a natural tendency to protect and educate members of their families. Whether the issue is to improve sanitisation and hygiene, to encourage the education of children, or to learn about basic healthcare, sensitising women can lead to breakthroughs. This is what Mr Ramesh Chaurasia has in mind as he wishes to hold the awareness and educational campaigns where women and young girls are included. Apart from this, he is also focusing on ensuring that families from the community send girls for higher education and avoid early marriages.

The Akhil Bharatiya Adarsh Chaurasia Mahasabha is already working on ensuring that the homemakersevil practice of dowry is shunned by everyone in the community. Furthermore, they will educate women from poor backgrounds about different government schemes like housing, microfinance schemes for women groups, schemes from other agencies for female education and healthcare, etc.

Ramesh Lakhulal Chaurasia is hopeful that they will have more female leaders, politicians, entrepreneurs, educators, successful farm workers and owners, empowered home makers in the future as a result of these dedicated efforts. These women will mentor other women. He realises that education and re-conditioning of the community as a whole is necessary to ensure women do not face any obstacles from within. No efforts are being spared for the same.