When a Man Helps Empower Women

There are persistent people and then there is Subhash Mendhapurkar. As the Founder and Director of SUTRA (Society for Social Uplift through Rural Action) he has persistently championed women’s empowerment in Shimla and roused the women of this quaint hilly region to demand that their rights be met.

Subhash has spurred, stood by and fought for and with the women, whether it’s for their livelihood or for their health benefits. Through SUTRA he recruited rural women as members and taught them how to thwart the problem of their husbands spending money on alcohol. Leveraging the fact that every liquor store had to get a permit from the Gram Panchayat if they wish to start business, he advised the women to oppose the opening of liquor shops by forming the majority in any Gram Panchayat meetings. The women did as advised and managed to solve the problem through this simple solution.

As women were largely ignored where their health was concerned, Subhash decided to egg the women on to demand the basic rights to healthy living. He began a campaign called the ‘Ekal Naari Shakti Sangathan’, keeping in mind the woes of single women who were left to fend for themselves. Under his guidance and constant motivation, in April 2008, 3000 women from rural Himachal met the CM to address their concerns about the lack of proper medical facilities. The CM promised to provide free treatment for all ailments in government hospitals.

The man can be credited with the honour of having transformed the lives of the women in rural Himachal for the better – but the best part is this; his efforts have helped stabilize the sex ration in Solan district!

One person may start something but to turn it into a revolution, he or she will still need the strength of numbers. It’s time the women of India come together and lend their individual numbers to form what could be the single largest voting bloc at the 2014 elections.