While the national capital Delhi seethes in anger again in the backdrop of continuing assault on women, thousands of rural women attending the concluding session of ‘Violence against Women’ held at Kanheipur village near Chilika vowed to take the fight to the finish.
The two-day national meet on violence against women flagged off at Puri on April 18 by NCW member Hemlata Kheria decided to have its concluding session in rural pockets of Odisha to enable rural women join the movement.
The meet held on Saturday at Kanheipur, adjoining NH-5, was attended by thousands of rural women from different parts of the State and outside. Jointly organised by leading women organization OYSS Woman and National Commission for Women (NCW), Delhi, the meeting was presided over by OYSS Women founder Manasi Pradhan and graced by NCW member Hemlata Kheria as the chief guest.
Most village women speaking on the occasion portrayed how they have been bearing the violence perpetrated against them silently for decades. Many women were seen breaking down into tears while depicting the horror they have gone through. Most blamed the unrestricted liquor trade, lack of empowerment, apathy of police and civil administration for the rising violence against them.
lauding the effort of OYSS Women for giving a voice to rural women, most women gathered were of the opinion that more meets involving village women were necessary as they are actually the ones bearing the brunt of social injustice and exploitation. Kheria assured that the NCW will stand united with OYSS Women in its fight to eliminate violence against women. In 2004, Kanheipur, an obscure village of Banpur block adjoining NH-5 had suddenly grabbed national headline with much talked about visit of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Accompanied by OYSS Women founder Pradhan, Gandhi had spent over an hour in the village, understanding the pioneering women empowerment works done by OYSS Women in the village. Since then, Kanheipur has been host to many high profile guests from Delhi and OYSS Women has extended its women empowerment works to hundreds of nearby villages in the Chilika constituency
