stepped outside my home. Eventually, I won by a margin of 1144 votes. I was
immensely happy and was very proud of myself. Initially, I would not go to
village Panchayat meetings and other programmes and would not speak. Then
with the encouragement of my husband and after coming into contact with
The Hunger Project, I began going to every meeting regularly and addressing
public meetings. However, I am non-literate I get every proposal and paper
read before putting my signature on them.
Recently, Bahror village, which falls in my Panchayat, was grappling with a
drinking water and electricity problem. The villagers launched an agitation
and wanted this problem solved. Around 300 women, along with me were
in the forefront of this agitation. Yet, our efforts did not yield any fruit. We
then decided to jam the road and demonstrate our anger by breaking empty
pitchers of water on the road. Because of this, we faced police batons, but
did not loose our courage. We finally succeeded in getting our demands
fulfilled. This demonstration was the first of its kind led by the women in our
area. It was also during my tenure that the cement concrete (CC) road and a
playground were constructed; village drains were repaired and sanitation work
became regular.
I want hand pumps to be installed in all public places in the Panchayat as
well as a sewing center to be opened for the girls so that they can become self-
reliant. Had I been educated, I would have performed better. I have been given
support by my family and husband and it is because of the encouragement
given by them that I have finally overcome my sense of inadequacy; yet I feel
that had I been educated then like other men, I too would have been able to
do all the work and would have even been a better homemaker. I have proved
that illiteracy might make achieving one’s goals difficult; but if we make proper
use of our capacities and keep our resolve firm, we will definitely succeed.