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KUTCH,
GUJARAT
Women's
Word
They are
barely literate but they bring out an awareness magazine
By
Uday Mahurkar
Nanduba
Chauhan, Dhanuba Jadeja and Radhaben Garwa hunch over sheets of paper,
writing laboriously but with enthusiasm. The housewives-Chauhan and Jadeja
belong to conservative Rajput families, Garwa is a Dalit-from the two-horse
town of Mundra in Kutch know their efforts help others like themselves.
Look at their final product-a magazine, no less-and you marvel. For, none
of the trio has studied beyond Class III and till a few years ago could
barely write.
 |
| Busy
bringing out an awareness magazine |
Garwa, 52,
is the editor of Ujas, an awareness magazine in a mix of Gujarati and
Kutchi languages, Jadeja, 55, the scriptwriter-cum-manager and Chauhan,
34, a reporter. Together with Kamalaben Gosai, another reporter, they
operate from their two-room rented premises, spreading awareness about
health, politics and economic growth among women. The four are backed
by the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS), an NGO working for the upliftment
of women in Kutch which launched Ujas eight years ago and funds it even
today.
Ujas, an
eight-page monthly, plays a key role in the emancipation of women in the
area. The composition of the editorial team, with Rajput women working
side-by-side with Harijan females, is itself an indication of how the
magazine is helping end age-old social taboos. Till just a few years ago
nobody could have believed that the fierce Rajput males, known for clinging
to strict traditions of the purdah, would ever allow women to work for
a voluntary cause in the open-and that too alongside Dalits. Says Jadeja:
"This exercise has opened up an entirely new dimension of life not
only for us but for our readers too."
The social
harmony in the magazine's set-up is reflected in the articles it carries.
These have even triggered some socio-economic changes in the region. Around
five years ago, Ujas carried an interview of a Muslim KMVS worker, Matbhari
Zat, in which she talked of the importance of housewives saving money
and using the funds to improve the quality of farmland and create water
storage systems for cattle in arid regions. The interview had such an
impact that today the 6,000 women members of KMVS taluka units-covering
160 villages-boast of a collective saving of Rs 36 lakh. This has freed
the people from the clutches of the sahukars who used to charge hefty
interests from poor villagers whenever they borrowed money. Says Sushma
Iyengar, chairperson of the KMVS: "One of the reasons the magazine
has such a tremendous impact is because the women readers are neo-literates.
An initiate is always keen to follow what he is taught."
Reporters
Chauhan and Gosai keep tabs on important developments regarding women.
The moment they come to know about such happenings they visit the village
and meet the women. They also interview interesting people. Being good
at it, Chauhan asks the questions, while Gosai jots down the replies.
Then the two hand over the material to Garwa who edits it along with Jadeja.
The layout is made by Jadeja after Garwa, also the magazine's cartoonist,
draws the relevant sketches. Once the handwritten pages are ready a butter
copy is made and then sent for printing.
The first
page of the magazine, the editor's note titled "Asaji Gaal"
(Our Talk), is usually well-received by readers. A recent editorial lamented
how a corrupt government machinery was not allowing people to assert their
power in a democracy. This was accompanied by Garwa's sketch showing a
harried villager standing before a government official who doesn't even
show the courtesy of offering him a chair. Garwa's favourite edit is the
one in which she wrote about women's lack of health awareness, particularly
during pregnancies and deliveries. "It is deplorable," she wrote,
"that one thing over which the women don't have command is their
own bodies."
Thanks to
the KMVS's growing network, Ujas's circulation will soon touch 3,000;
most of the readers are KMVS workers, women members at various panchayat
levels and NGOs outside Kutch. In Gujarati, the word "Ujas"
means light. There is little doubt that Ujas will continue to shine.
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