Here’s an inspirational story of a woman who broke the stereotype in Rural India
“I told you women are meant only to listen to their husband’s words and do things as per their wish. See your family status now. There is no earning male in your family,” said Lakshmi while selling fruits to Vidya. “Thanks, Lakshmi. Soon you are going to witness a new Kotipally,” replied Vidya. Sri Vidya often called Vidya, entered this village, Kotipally after her marriage with Sarathy. She was brought up in Gadwal, a small town near Kotipally. Her family was aware of the backwardness of the village, but they couldn’t help her as she ran away with Sarathy after her parents refrained their marriage by citing cast reasons. Her love for him brought her to such adverse conditions. Kotipally doesn’t have a school. Men are addicted to alcohol whereas women are treated like slaves there. Widows are considered harmful to society and they are boycotted in the village or else they were killed. Girls are neither allowed to join school nor doing jobs. There are brothel houses, organized by village sarpanch. Sri Vidya, who was shocked to see such inhuman activities, instigated her husband to bring a change in the village. As she was working as a teacher in the school despite warnings from the village heads, she started educating girls. Sarathy brought all the men under a roof and explained the ways of earning riches from agriculture and how their sarpanch is exploiting them. These men believed Sarathy and started going to their farms. The village started to prosper and there were new wings of development. One day, village people found the dead body of Sarathy in the lake and confirmed it as a suicide. Vidya left that village and went to village Kandi with her two-year-old girl. After her husband’s death, people forgot him gradually and they re-started to drink, restricted girls and went to brothel houses.
Though her husband died, Vidya did not lose her willpower and ambition to bring the ethics back in the people of her village. She started educating women in the Kandi and became a leader among them. She started women cooperative groups and made women employed in these groups. The Sarpanch of Kandi, impressed with her work, gave his support to her. Vidya believed that if the leader is good, so do the people. So, she went to Kotipally and asked the village sarpanch to give her a chance. He laughed at her and said, “Though the punishment for a widow to enter her village is death, I’m leaving you as you failed in bringing change in these cowards. They fall for my liquor but not for your motivational words. Do you know how your husband died? I killed him brutally and manipulated it as a suicide. Go and wash your child’s back instead of asking for my position.” Villagers started criticizing her for talking against the sarpanch. Against all the odds, she started spreading the cooperative groups to her village and gained support from women. As her advice, women in Kotipally village denied giving food to their husbands and took them to the doctor working in PHC and as per the plan by Vidya, the doctor warned the village men that they are going to die within few days due to STDs and liver damage. Further, the doctor suggested them to work in their farms as nature is the only hope to stop their death. As a sign of progress, she started sending her daughter to school. The village men again started going to their farms and the village started to develop. The brothel houses were closed and the women working in those were given employment as daily wage labor in agriculture. Villagers realized that all this had happened due to Vidya’s relentless efforts. They made her win the Sarpanch elections. From facing criticism from the villagers to winning their hearts, from facing humiliation by sarpanch to victory on him, she won, breaking the stereotypes.
