1

Mahila Shanti SenaCompiled by: Dr. Rama Singh, Professor, Department of Biology and Centre for Peace Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ph: (905) 525-9140 ext. 24378, Fax: (905) 522-6066; singh@mcmaster.ca; www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/gandhi

W O M E N ’ S P E A C E B R I G A D E I N T E R N A T I O N A L • F O U N D E D : F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 2

N E W S L E T T E R V O L U M E 4 , # 3 N O V E M B E R 2 0 , 2 0 1 2

MSS Launches “Love India – Clean India”Materials collected and composed by Sri Gopal Mohanty

In a 2009 article “Reflections on India”, Sean Paul Kelley who is a travel writer and a former radio host wrote:

In my opinion the filth, squalor and all around pollution indicate a marked lack of respect for India by Indians. I don’t know how cultural the filth is, but it’s really beyond anything I have ever encountered. At times the smells, trash, refuse and excrement are like a garbage dump.….Sinus infections, ear infection, bowels churning were all too common experience in India….Dung, be it goat, cow or human fecal matter was common on the streets. In major tourist areas filth was everywhere, littering the sidewalks, the roadways, you name it. Toilets in the middle of the road, men urinating and defecating anywhere, in broad daylight. …Whole villages are plastic bag wastelands. Roadsides are choked by it. …Air quality that can hardly be called quality. Far too much coal and far too few unleaded vehicles on the road. The measure should be how dangerous the air is for one’s health, not how good it is. …People casually throw trash in the streets, on the roads. ...And the bottom line is, I don’t think India really cares – too complacent and too conservative….

And the bottom line for MSS is: what can it do to accept the challenge?

In answer comes the call: “Love India – Clean India” project.

Objective: MSS members with the help of villagers to keep their own village and its environment clean.

Women have always taken charge of cleaning the house. It will be an extension of that natural habit to the surrounding neighborhood and to the community by utilizing the collective strength and energy that has been generated by the very MSS movement.

The concept of cleanliness is Gandhian and we believe Mahila Shanti Sena (MSS) can play a vital role in this regard

ContentsMSS Launches “Love India – Clean India” ................................................ 2

Report from Odisha – Unnayan .......................................... 3

Report from Assam – Biju Borbaruah ................................ 5

Gandhi Birthday Celebration – Serv Seva Sangh ............................. 7

UN Declares November 11 as Malala Day ....................................... 9

Female Journalist Zebeida Mustafa Honored for Her Courage .............. 9

Power: Women as Drivers of Growth and Social Inclusion ..... 10

Barefoot College – Solar Mamas ............................................ 11

Niharika Mohanty Dedicates her Dance to MSS ................................ 12

Menaka Thakkar Receives Prestigious Walter Carson prize 13

“Progress for women is progres for all of us. Giving priority to women is not an option. It is an obligation.”

— Michelle Bachelet, UN Women Executive Director

MSS – Partner OrganizationsCANADA

Canadian Gandhi Foundation for World Peace, Edmonton, Canada

INDIA

ADITHI (NGO) Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India

Asha Darshan Kumarikata, Assam

Gandhi Peace Foundation Rajghat, New Delhi, India

Gandhian Studies Foundation Rajghat, Varanasi, U.P., India

Jaya Prakash Bharati (NGO) Rasulpur, Saran, Bihar, India

Kasturba Gandhi Foundation Agartala, Tripura, India

Mahila Shanti Sena Manipur, India

Shrambharati (NGO) Khadigram, Bihar, India

Serv Seva Sangh Doimukh, Arunachal Pradesh

Tamulpur Anchalik Gramdan Sangh (TAGS) Kumarikata, Assam, India

Vision Society for Interactive Operational Needs (VISION) Varanasi, India

Unnayan (NGO) Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

USA

Sustainable Economic and Educational Development Society (SEEDS)

MSS (International) Board MembersSubhash Dighe, Physiotherapist, Hamilton

Reva Joshee, Professor, OISE, University of Toronto

Graeme MacQueen, Professor (Emeritus), McMaster University

Sri Gopal Mohanty, Professor (Emeritus), McMaster University

Anne Pearson, Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, McMaster University

Karen Sihra, Graduate Student, OISE, University of Toronto

Rama Singh, Professor, Department of Biology, and Centre for Peace Studies, McMaster University

Mark Vorobej, Professor, Department of Philosophy, McMaster University

Ashley White, Ottawa

MSS is a registered not-for-profit organization in Canada.

Declaration: The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and not neccessarily of MSS or the partner orginizations.

Mahila Shanti Sena International (MSS)(Women’s Peace Brigade)

...Give women a chance... …Make them agents of change…

...Help break the circle of poverty, violence and neglect...

...It (each village community) should be able to plan its total life in terms of economy, education, health and other things pertaining

to local life. The village community needs an army of peace-workers, who will not fight among themselves but are willing

to solve problems and resolve conflicts and disputes peacefully. In this task of neighbourhood-building, women are likely to be better than men. That is the rationale of Mahila Shanti Sena...

..Can we not use her (woman’s) creative talents to make society more human and enlightened?

Acharya Ramamurti

What is Mahila Shanti Sena?It is a peace movement•to empower women in order to build a peaceful and just society

•to raise mass awareness among women to realize their strength and power

•to focus on problems facing women such as violence, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and neglect.

•to provide training in the rudiments of peace, democracy and development

•to promote Gandhian tradition of engaging in constructive village service.

Participation in MSS peace movement is open to both men and women.

When did it start and what has followed?•Conceptualized by Late Acharya Ramamurti, a revered

social activist and leader in Ganhian tradition.

•Created by rural women at the Buddhist City, Vaishali, in Vashali Sabha held in Frebruary 2002.

•Attracted about 10,000 women in Bihar to Vaishali Sabha.

•Founded by Shrambharati (NGO, India) and McMaster University.

•Spread to North Eastern States of India, UP and Odisha.

•Held three conferences, one in Vashali (2002) and supported by UNICEF and McMaster, the second in New Delhi (2005) supported by CIDA, Govt of India and McMaster, and the third in Sarnath, Varanasi (2007)

•MSS members getting elected to Panchayats and elected women joining MSS

How does it operate?It fosters awareness among women on all the above issues through training camps, workshops and conferences and spreading in regions by formation of MSS groups of five or ten. It promotes neighbourhood building, peaceful settlement of mutual conflicts, peace rallies. It encourages to join other women groups, say self-help groups (SHG) for income generation.

3

The project was initiated on October 2 - Gandhi’s birthday, which is to play a powerful symbol for commitment and continuity.

Reports from Odisha and Assam are given below.

Report from Odishaby Unnayan

Gandhi believed that cleanliness is next to Godliness. So it was with great enthusiasm that all Mahila Shanti Sena groups of 8 districts of Odisha participated in the program on Gandhi Jayanti day.

The response was overwhelming since in addition to the MSS women, the whole community (men, women and children) participated willingly and whole heartedly. They cleaned up roads, school compounds, tube well platforms and surroundings, water bodies like ponds and embankments, community health centers etc.

Kendrapada district

MSS members of this area, under the leadership of Sampad Parida and Sanjukta Das, had planned this event meticulously. With a work force of 150 women the village cleaning work began a few days earlier in three villages. The final round of cleaning up was done on Gandhi Jayanti morning. In the evening a meeting was organized in which community members from all three villages participated. This event was covered by Kamiyab T.V, O.TV and S.T.V.

Puri district

MSS members and volunteers of Hatia and Bentapur village of Brahmania Gram Panchayat took active part in the program. A meeting was organized to aware the public on the objectives of the programme thereafter.

Smt. Swarnalata Jena addressed the meeting with the introduction of MSS and its goals. After discussion it was decided that all the members present will keep on this cleaning operation regularly.

Sonepur district

Debdas Mohapatra of Sonepur district called a meeting in the previous day of Gandhi Jayanti and planned with the villagers to organize cleaning Programme in Jhupadipada village of Sonepur district. Next day trained MSS members, volunteers, villagers gathered in time and started the cleaning operation

in the village under the banner “Love India - clean India”. All together 40 persons were participated in this programme. In the meeting towards the end of this programme Mr. Tanmaya Kumar Darwan, BDO, Sonepur, welcomed all the participants for undertaking nice activities in their village. Panchayat Raj representatives of the same village were present during the meeting and participated in the discussion. Mr. Debdas Mohapatra clearly discussed about the Mahila Shanti Sena and its objective for the knowledge of the villagers and requested all to make village cleaning operation a regular event.

Angul district

Three villages of Khamara Grampanchayat under Angul district were covered in Gram Safai programme with the leadership of Gitanjali Pradhan, Rama Patra, and Gumati Sahoo. As planned in the previous day a group consisting of 10 members took the responsibility of one village. In the morning on Gandhi Jayanti all the groups started cleaning of village road, school campus, tube well surroundings. Number of participants increased after realizing the purpose and thinking it to be a noble activity. Altogether 30 women MSS members of Angul district participated in the Program in 3 villages.

Balasore district

With the leadership of Mahila Shanti Sena 432 men, 767 women, 103 Children and staff of Unnayan actively participated in the village cleaning programme in Mahulia, Garipur, Kulida, Gangadharpur, Dhitpura, Santoshpur villages covering 3 gram panchayats of Sikharpur, Kulida and Santoshpur of Balasore district.

Many women participated in the village cleanliness program and cleaned in particular water sources, school surroundings and tube well surroundings. A mass rally program was organized thereafter to create awareness on the effectiveness of the programme. They raised slogans like “asare asa dhoiba hata, hata dhoi ame khaiba bhata. dara kahaku bhaya kahaku Nari Shakti achhi ama pakhaku. Nari jebe eka hoiba,

4

nari nirjatana dureijiba.” – Come, come let’s wash our hands before we eat. Fear none, be afraid of nothing; we are empowered with feminine energy. When women join together, our sufferings will disappear.

Mayurbhanj district

Shanti Sena Members of Jhatiada , Kasafalia, Badhamundi, Badhimuhan, Podapada, Itahari, Madhuria, Astia, Dhilajagatpur, Kasafaila, kushdiha, Mangalpur Tikayatpur, Tambakhuri, Astagadia, Godighati Brahmapura, Malakadia of Nalagaja ,Amarada and Jhatiada Gram Panchayat under Rasagobindapur block of Mayurbhanj District took part actively in the Gram Safai programme.

Jagatsinghpur district

36 SHG groups members from Thailo, Karania , Alikanta, Tunatuna, Udayapur, Nabanga. All together 250 women participated in the village cleaning programme.

Rita Parida, Sarojini Das, Menaka Barik, Sebati Bala, Puspanjali Biswal had taken the lead role in organizing village cleaning and rally in the above villages.

Only Rayagada district is not reported. We learnt that the organizers MSS members Bijaylaksmi Mishra and Susila Mohapatra of Jibanjyoti organization participated in the project and made the event successful.

5

Report from Assamby Biju Borbaruah

(Organized by ASHA DARSHAN and Mahila Shanti Sena (MSS))

The program started with a prayer ceremony in commemoration with the celebration of Gandhi Jayanti organized by MSS members. The program entitled Gram Safai ( village cleaning), a concept of cleanliness in the villages with the objective of keeping healthy environment and the process to recycle the waste material like the cow and goat dung and urinal for organic manure. This program was so organized to commemorate the objective of ASHA DARSHAN and Mahila Shanti Sena to pave the way of cleanliness and healthy mind of the children. An orientation agenda was also included to impart education on cleanliness and their contribution towards a clean human being and the society. A lesson like (1) Throwing and gathering the waste material in a confined place of dumping pit (2) Paving the logging water near the house to keep away mosquitoes and other insects (3) Gardening and kitchen Garden (4) Construction of urinal and toilets far away from the house (5) Filtering and boiling water before drinking (6) Regular usage of mosquito nets (7) Rearing of domestic animals far away from house (8) Washing hands properly before and after eating food.

The mission was to make a model village in which the houses would be constructed traditionally with local materials. This would preserve the identity and

the indigenous method of construction of house where rural India live in. The village would have a grazing land, rural industry like that of Khadi viz, Muga and silk, a village market, educational institution and a panchayat where people would democratically solve problems and dwell in peace promoting brotherhood amongst themselves.

The venue for cleaning program were taken in the office of ASHA DARSHAN and the market place in Tamulpur but due to rain the cleaning program in the market place couldn’t be done. 20 women Mahila Shanti Sena participated in the cleaning program in the office.

6

First venue of cleaning program: Simliguri village

The organized the first cleaning program in Asha Darshan Academy, Simliguri where 70 students and teachers participated in the noble cause of cleaning surrounding the school and the market place named, Delaisiri Market. They were provided with apron before the task by Asha Darshan and the students prepared brooms by themselves. The program started with a school prayer and a lesson on Gandhi Jayanti

and necessity of cleanliness of human being and the environment. In her speech Biju Borbaruah of Asha Darshan said that we need to keep ourselves and the surrounding clean for a healthy society. She emphasized that cleanliness should start from house. She elaborated that cleanliness of house and village was a dream of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi said that healthy soul rests in healthy body. So to keep a healthy body one has to practice staying hygienic not only the body but also the surrounding.

7

8

Gandhi Birthday CelebrationJagriti RahiServ Seva Sangh, Rajghat (Varanasi)

(A summary translation):

On October 2nd, Gandhi’s birthday, Uttar Pradesh Sarvodaya Mandal and VISION Society, Varanasi, jointly organized a program with children at Vinoba hall, Serv Seva Sangh, Rajghat, Varanasi. About 150 children, from grade 6th-12th and from different schools took part in it.

For a month leading to Gandhi’s birthday, Serv Seva Sangh Director Sri Ashok Bharat and Uttar Pradesh Sarvodaya Mandal Secretary Smti Jagriti Rahi have been going to schools and conducting seminars, dialogues, essay writing competition, lectures, etc on cleanliness, environmental problems, Gandhi

and modern India, India of Gandhi’s dream, modern development, etc. The winners of these competitions were awarded prizes on October 2nd. They were given small books on Gandhi as well as a certificate. The rest of the children were also awarded prizes for their participation in the function. Girls also participated in large numbers. Cultural programs were organized as part of the celebration.

Ashok Bharat spoke on India’s unity and emphasized the value of Gandhian thoughts and how the country has moved away from it. He lamented on the various social ills facing the country such as Hindu-Muslim tensions, corruption, environmental pollution, etc. The appeal was to understand Gandhi and be wary of false blames put on Gandhi for the various ills of the country such as the division of India and Pakistan.

Jagriti Rahi spoke on the problem of rural cleanliness and talked about lack of cleanliness in Varanasi- a city which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world. She talked about the need for a Cleanliness Campaign and the need to involve the media as well as the government officials. Children were enthusiastic to participate in such a campaign. They promised that wherever they see garbage and lack of cleanliness around their village, they will mount physical campaign and try to clean it. City officials were made aware of this problem.

The program finished with a multi-faith prayer and refreshments.

9

UN Declares November 11 as Malala Day

Malala Yousufzai who is only 15-year old was shot in the head and neck by the Pakistan Taliban on October 9, 2012 for her campaign for girl’s education. She is known for her education and women’s rights

activism in the Swat Valley, where the Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school.

In the days following the shooting, Malala became an international icon. She is now recovering in a British hospital.

United Nations officials declared Nov 11 as Malala Day.

Very recently, Pakistani president Asif Zardari added his signature to petitions signed by more than a million people urging Pakistan to pay stipends to families who put their girls in school in honor of Malala. The government announced that poor families will now receive $2 a month per child in primary school.

One hopes that Malala’s spirit will kindle the love of education in many other hearts to change the dismal statistics recorded by Global Monitoring Report (GMR) by UNESCO, which keeps track of governments’ performance for achieving the goal of Education for All.

Female Journalist Zebeida Mustafa Honored for Her Courage

Pakistani Journalist Zebeida Mustafa was honored by the International Women’s Media Foundation and the U.S. media elite with the Courage in Journalism Lifetime Achievement Award.

Zubeida was the first woman to work in Pakistan’s mainstream media. That was more than 30 years ago. Today, because of her courage to

use her voice, report on other women’s voices, and argue for hiring policies that would allow women to occupy all positions in the newsroom, life is different for women in Pakistan.

As Zubeida’s career evolved, the central theme of her work became the inequalities she witnessed in Pakistani society. She wrote on health, education and women’s empowerment. She was able to cover stories that men were not able to because they did not have the same access to women as Zubeida.

When she wrote an article on breast cancer, a group of religious conservatives raided Dawn and accused the paper of printing “obscene” content. Undeterred, Zubeida went on to write about contraception and reproductive health. She also covered the case of rape victim turned women’s advocate when other writers were afraid to mention it.

A mother of two daughters, Zubeida not only broke the social barrier against women working, but of mothers working.

10

Power: Women as Drivers of Growth and Social InclusionAn International Conference on “Power: Women as drivers of growth and social inclusion” was organized at Lima, Peru on October 16, 2012.

There is a growing recognition among government and private sector leaders that creating economic opportunities for women has a powerful multiplier effect on productivity and economic growth. Furthermore, women play a key role in poverty reduction policies. There are valuable examples of successful public policies that promote women’s economic empowerment, strengthening families and communities. Private sector companies have also implemented innovative programs that create employment opportunities for women, while increasing their competitiveness and boosting the economy.

The objective of the Conference was to scale up good practices and increase awareness of the potential of creating economic opportunities for women in Latin America and the Caribbean.

At the Conference Hillary Clinton remarked: Now we know that all nations need to do more to create jobs with good incomes that support families for all people. But we also know from the work of the last decade that women drive economic growth, as producers and as consumers. I used to say that if you looked at the global economy before the great economic recession, it was like an inverted triangle, and at the bottom of that triangle were women, women who made the decisions about what to buy and when, women who not only were in the informal economy, doing the work that keeps families and communities going,

but also in the formal economy. ( http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/10/199209.htm)

She told,” This is a time when all nations need to grow their economies and create jobs, and we... know that women drive economic growth… Restrictions on women’s economic participation are costing us massive amounts of economic growth and income in every region of the world.” (http://www.arabnews.com/clinton-urges-end-barriers-women-entrepreneurs)

At the event, according to United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women Michelle Bachelet:

Supporting facts and studies suggest the following:

Greater gender equality is linked to a higher GDP per capita; women’s participation in the workforce and in income generation boosts economic growth and has an impact on society as a whole; equal access for women to the land and other agricultural inputs increases agricultural productivity by 20 percent or 30 percent and reduces the number of people suffering from hunger; companies with three or more women among their directors or top managers have 53 percent more output than companies with no women.

However, despite the evidence, women still lag behind, and this slows down not only economic

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet and Peru’s

First Lady Nadine Heredia greet each other during a meeting with women entrepreneurs in Gamarra, a commercial area of Lima. (Reuters)

(http://www.arabnews.com/clinton-urges-end-barriers-women-entrepreneurs)

11

growth but also the expansion of women’s rights, and therefore a country’s development.

Progress for women is progress for us all. Giving priority to women is not an option. It is an obligation. Investing in women is more than a matter of rights; it also stands for good economic sense.

(http://www.unwomen.org/2012/10/power-women-as-drivers-of-growth-and-social-inclusion-speech-by-un-women-executive-director-michelle-bachelet-in-lima/)

Barefoot College – Solar Mamas

Welcome to India’s Barefoot College, where rural, poor, and often illiterate women from around the world are offered the rare opportunity to receive an education that teaches them how to make their communities self-reliant and sustainable.

Rafea, a beautiful, strong-willed 32-year-old Jordanian mother of four, is traveling outside of her village for the first time ever to attend Barefoot’s solar engineering program.

Once there, she will join women from Guatemala, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Colombia in a life-changing, six-month job training program that will transform her into a solar engineer — and change her life. “Solar Mamas” premieres on INDEPENDENT LENS in November 2012.

As the world’s only college built by and for the poor, Barefoot’s groundbreaking program addresses the needs of rural communities for both jobs and

sustainable energy by teaching women the skills they need to create solar energy and then earn a living by practicing the trade and teaching it to others.

In addition to an education, the college experience provides new friendships and an eye-opening adventure for women who have never before been on their own. But Rafea’s adventure is soured by her husband’s threat to divorce her and take their children if she does not return home.

With no real choice in the matter, Rafea goes back to her village and sets out to persuade her husband and other family members that her studies in India will benefit everyone.

In her journeys to India, back home, and then back to India, Rafea goes through a profound transformation, returning to Jordan stronger and more confident, with the skills to earn an income and help her community in ways never done before.

“Solar Mamas” is part of the international WHY POVERTY? Project, a groundbreaking, cross- media event reaching more than 500 million people around the world via over 60 international television broadcasters as well as radio, internet, and live events in November 2012.

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2012/nov/02/independent-lens-solar-mamas/

Niharika Mohanty Dedicates her Dance to MSSOn August 11, 12 Niharika Mohanty along with her daughter Maya presented a dance performance in Odissi style in Dundas (adjacent to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada). Rini was born in Hamilton and brought up in Dundas and extensively participated in community activities. The dance performance was her expression of gratitude to the teachers,

well wishers and members of the community. Rini also took the opportunity to dedicate the evening’s programme to Mahila Shanti Sena and felt very proud to be associated with it.

12

Niharika Mohanty

Born and raised in Hamilton, Canada, Niharika is a leading Odissi dancer in North America and prominent disciple of the legendary Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She took to Odissi dance at the age of five. Her early training was under Guru Murali Dhar Majii, Padmasree Late Guru Pankaj Charan Das, Srimati Ananda Radha, and for several years under Canada’s renowned Indian classical dancer, Dr. Menaka Thakkar.. Niharika also has an MA in Dance from York University and is the recipient of several grants and awards for her training and choreography. She has performed extensively in North America and overseas. Recently, she has been in festivals in Windsor, ON and College Station, TX.

Famed dance critic, Ashish Mohan Khokar, wrote:

The [International Odissi] festival showed one interesting aspect very strongly: while each guru has trained their ward well, and some perform excellently too, it is only one or two in a whole

gang of over 600 dancers that showed spark...Niharika Mohanty is another, though of much quieter quality. Her dance had a solidity and suppleness, a rare twin quality.

Niharika currently resides with her family in the San Francisco bay area.

Guru Shradha

Guru Shradha is a non-profit organization and dance company established by Niharika in 2008. She has been teaching in North America since 1993. In 2003, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra gave Niharika his blessings to start Guru Shradha as a formal institution affiliated with Guruji in order to carry forth his vision and propagate his dance style throughout North America and abroad. In passing

away of Guruji, the institution carries on his tradition with the help of his son Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, who is a Key Advisor and his daughter-in-law Smt. Sujata Mohapatra, who is the Artistic Director.

Photo Credit: Amitava Sarkar

Menaka Thakkar Receives Prestigious Walter Carson prizeMenaka Thakkar (see MSS Newsletter December 2011) is an internationally renowned and multi-honoured dancer, choreographer, teacher and institution builder. She has been a pioneer of Indian dance in Canada for the past forty years and has created several generations of Indian dancers in classical Odissi and Bharatanatyam.

This year Menaka received the prestigious Canada Council Walter Carson Prize for excellence in the Performing Arts. The award was presented in a special event on October 20, 2012 by Robert Sirman, Director

and CEO of Canada Council for the Arts. In his words: “Menaka Thakkar is a major figure in

Canadian dance landscape. She has trained with some of the best in India and, for years, has made their teachings accessible to the mainstream in Canada. Her work has truly enriched our collective culture.”

Menaka who is a great supporter of MSS presented her school Nrtyakala Academy of Indian Dance and her dance company Menaka Thakkar Dance Company in a cultural performance for Mahila Shanti Sena fund raising

event in Hamilton on June 12, 2012.