How Thavri Devi & Kesari Ensure Their Rajasthan Village Stays Lit In Crisis

Rural India is considered as the heart of our country. The farms, grassy wetlands by the lake, pollution-free air pollution, alive traditions and simplicity - all this tells a tale of what India actually was. However, with rapid modernisation, the definition changed and the heart of the country remained oblivious to the changes and continued to toil under poverty, lack of infrastructure, low literacy rate and injustice. It just became a fetish for the citygoers looking for respite. How long will rural India remain alienated from modernisation? When will people break their oblivion and see the reality of the villages and towns?  

As of 2021, 70 percent of the Indian population still resides away from cities. It is predicted that even in 2040, approximately 50 percent of the population will be outside the cities. Moreover, rural India accounts for 50 percent of the manufacturing GDP. When rural India creates more than half of the country's population and growth, why is it being ignored?

Gender discrimination in rural India 

Out of all the problems that rural India faces, the most prominent and grave issue is gender discrimination. Men in rural India get opportunities but women face discrimination at every level. Some are married early and confined within their homes while others who walk out for work are discriminated against and exploited. 

For example, in Maharashtra's Beed, women work on the farms where they cut and harvest sugarcane. However, the contractors avoid hiring women since the work is tedious and requires a lot of strength and manpower. Consequently, these women remove their uterus so that their work doesn't stop due to periods or pregnancy. 

I recently spoke to many rural women and asked about their struggles and expectations. Most of the women were working as domestic help even though they disliked the job and didn't get enough money. Some of them faced injustices like child marriage and domestic violence. But all of them looked at me with hopeful eyes and asked, "Will you get me a proper job?" 

Let's walk into rural Rajasthan

According to a study, women's participation in the labour force in Rajasthan is 10.9 percentage points higher than the national rate of 37%. Women usually start working from the age of 15 onwards. However, most women are self-employed with only 6.6 per cent in salaried or wage jobs. 10.8 per cent of women work in casual labour. 

At face value, the labour force participation of women in Rajasthan has remained higher than the national level in the five years between 2018-19 and 2022-23.  The unemployment rate of women has also reduced. However, Rajasthan is still not a state for women. Do you know why?

According to an NCRB report, Rajasthan recorded the highest number of rape cases in the country at 6,337. This was just an annual increase of 19.34 per cent in the rate of rape cases as 5,310 cases were reported in 2020. The issue of early marriage is also prevalent in the state as 24.5 per cent of women aged 18-29 years were married at the age of 18.

Silver lining: Story of Thavri Devi and Kesari

However, every cloud has a silver lining. Amidst the hopelessness that many women in rural Rajasthan face, Thavri Devi became the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Hailing from a remote village Nichlagarh, Sirohi district, Mount Abu, Rajasthan, Thavri Devi was initially a homemaker. Like every other woman in the village, Thavri stayed at home, did the housework and never thought of stepping out of the hamlet. However, her life was ready for a change in 2022 when an NGO based in Kishangarh conducted a survey in Nichlagarh. 

The survey found that a severe shortage of electricity. To find a solution, the NGO conducted a five-month residential training program in solar engineering in Kishangarh. This became the turning point in Thavri's life. She, along with another woman from the village, Kesari, considered this as an opportunity to empower themselves.

The training upskilled them by teaching them skills like solar bulb making, circuit construction, installation and repair. They also learned the dynamics of the digital world like using the BHIM app, writing emails and using WhatsApp. Along with these skills, Thavri and Kesari were enlightened about health, hygiene, gender equality, their rights, and confidence-building in personality development sessions. After having learned how to make solar products, the duo was taught about the intricacies of selling the products in the sales training. 

Thavri and Kesari returned to Nichlagarh with the determination to bring a change. The people of the village had great hopes for the two women which were met when Kesari and Thavri lit 100 houses in the villages. 

At present, Thavri and Kesari are maintaining the equipment so that the village doesn't spiral back into the darkness. Thavri and Kesari broke many rules. They defied their confinement within houses, learnt skills which are mainly considered 'manly', empowered themselves, pulled the village out of darkness and inspired other women too to dream and pursue empowerment. 

This project of training them was supported by the Royal Rajasthan Foundation. The complete groundwork was done by Bindi International.