Wadi, Women’s Leadership and Swaraj in India

At the southern tip of Rajasthan, cradled by the Mahi River, lies Banswara, a land of hills, slopes and small fields that its people call Vagad. According to the 2011 Census, about 76 percent of the population belongs to Scheduled Tribes, the Bhil being the largest community, and most households live off the land. In Anandpuri block, four women have each found their own way of drawing a livelihood from this terrain: Kokila Devi Damor of Seranagla, Kuni Devi Pargi of Navagra, Chhagan Devi Patel of Bawdi and Laxmi Garasia of Ubapan. Their stories differ, yet one thread ties them together: the company of Vaagdhara, the strength of the Mahila Saksham (women’s empowerment) groups, and the courage to turn their own baadi, the family garden, into a source of income.

Read here: https://www.asia-pacificresearch.com/wadi-women-leadership-swaraj-india/5633701