I am 25 years old and belong to the Rabani caste (OBC). I was born to a
relatively well-to-do family, but had to struggle a lot. My father was a Sub-
Inspector but unfortunately, he died when I was just 12 years old. As he was
the sole earning member, the family lost its prosperity after his death.
I was married off when I was just 14 years old, and had only studied up to
Class x. I had no knowledge about the implications of early marriage; and was
in no position to resist.I have worked with The Baal Mazdur Abhiyan (Children’s Labour Campaign)
and later with Ekta Parishad (a movement-based NgO). I used to help form
Self Help groups in different villages. Thanks to this work, I was exposed to
and interacted with various people from different backgrounds.The process of contesting the election is the result of my continuous effort
to fight against the injustice prevalent in the society. The community already
knew me due to my struggles and my work. The people in my own village
and in neighbouring villages asked me to contest the election for the post of
Ward Member. They assured me I would win. Even the officials of the local
Police Station told me that they were getting feedback from the villagers that
they wanted to see guriya Devi as their representative! The whole election
environment seemed to be in my favor. Though there were three contestants
in the election, I was declared the winner by 25 votes.Even after I became a Ward Member, I continued to struggle. In the fight for
the post of Vice-President, one of the contestants came to me and asked me
to vote for him. He also tried to bribe me, but when I refused, he threatened
to kidnap me. I was not intimidated and along with other Ward Members
decided to vote unanimously for the other candidate who we thought would
be better at the job. With all our efforts, our candidate won the election.I also had to struggle a lot with the President to get things on the right track. In
one of the ECMs, when the newly elected Vice-President started questioning
the President about his wrongdoings and unfair decisions, the President not
only shouted at him but also asked him to leave the room. Seeing this unfair
treatment, I appealed to the other members to boycott the meeting. After this
incident, the President took a dislike to me.guriya Devi
Ward Member
Panchayat: Sahobigha
Block: ghosi
District: Jehanabad