April 18
'Women Declare War on Liquor in Uttarakhand'.....
In the 1990's women also declared 'war' on alcohol to try and prohibit the government from issuing licenses for alcohol shops. Women's groups soon coalesced and tactics ranged from 'sit ins' at existing alcohol shops, to not sleeping with their husbands as a form of protest. For many years the fierce protests of female villagers helped stop the spread of 'wine shops' (whisky, rum) to numerous areas. Alas, by the early 2000's they had lost the battle as the government began to hand out licenses across the state.
The negative outcomes of excess alcohol consumption are obvious even at village level. So I was impressed to open up The Times of India on Saturday to find an article titled ' Women Declare War on Alcohol in Uttarakhand* in which it was stated:
"A silent revolution is brewing in the hills and plins of rural Uttarakhand. Women are stepping out of homes to join anti-liquor protests across the state. Their targets are not just husbands but all men who are habitual drinkers as well as wine shops selling liquor in rural areas".
This problem is replicated across the state as alcohol consumption is on the rise and the associated detrimental impacts that come with alcoholism ranging from (but not limited to) domestic violence, family feuds, financial issues and chronic health ramifications. Across the state (but not in Khati - yet) women have banded together in self help groups with their key objectives to "not only prevent their men from drinking liquor but preventing its sale and creating awareness among people about alcohols ill effects".
Several organisations are spearheading the agitation. So far I think the best form of protest would have to come from Berinag in Pittoragargh district (Uttarakhand) where hundreds of women staged a week long dharna outside the wine shop, they carried a prickly pear grass known as Kandali and terrorised all in sundry who came near the shop!!
We notice what I would term the 'insidious' placement of wine shops. Like the case of the magnesite mine (on the Takula/Bageshwar road) where the village is a fair distance away but the wine shop stands looking desolate on an isolated stretch of road with one track leading up from the valley below... the track leads directly from the mine site. Or in Bageshwar you can watch queues of men lining up for 'specials' from 11am till late at night at the two shops that stand side by side at the bus station and them witness them literally rolling around the streets.
Here's 'cheers' that the collective power of women in the region are successful in their quest.
Bonnie
peAk
* 'Women Declare War on Liquor in Uttarakhand', DS Kumar, The Times of India, New Delhi, Saturday, April 16, 2011.
