Saving women from becoming

joginis was not an easy task for

Grace Nirmala
   By  Kavita Kanan Chandra 
  11 May 2016

Posted 11-Feb-2012 
Vol 3 Issue 6
In the darkened lives of Anjali, Thirupathamma, and many other girls, Grace Nirmala
came as a ray of light.

Grace has been rescuing teenage girls destined to become joginis in the Telangana region
of Andhra Pradesh, and taking them under the wings of ‘Aashray’, a voluntary
organization founded by her in 1993.

Grace has rescued several

children from the jogini
custom
Joginis, Basvis, or Mathamma, are different names given to the women ‘dedicated’ to
Gods and Goddesses in different parts of Andhra Pradesh. Young illiterate dalit girls are
pushed into this custom, only to be exploited sexually by upper caste and influential men
in their villages. Once they turn old, they are dumped and left to beg.
Though the centuries-old practice has been banned by specific laws of the nation, not
much has been done to put an end to it completely.

Grace, who was a homemaker and part-time educator in the 1990s, learned about the
condition of joginis through her husband, Neelaiah, who had done a research on the
economic conditions of joginis in Nizamabad district.
She immediately felt the need to do something for their emancipation. “I started my
work in Utkoor village and found that their belief in God and superstition was very
strong. So I decided to first start a residential school for the joginis,” says Grace.

With the support of her husband, she shifted to Mahaboobnagar district where she
brought up her two children along with dalit children. “I treated all of them like my own
children. In the process of imparting education to them I counselled and discouraged the
dalits from becoming joginis,” she says.

Initially, she found it tough to strike a chord, as neither the joginis nor their parents took
her seriously. Breaking an age old tradition, however demeaning and superstitious it
might be, was an uphill task.

“There is a Jogii Abolition Act of 1988, but it was not being implemented. The problem is
with the lawmakers and implementers,” says Grace’s husband, Neelaiah, who runs an
organization that works for Dalit rights.

He laments that he had seen joginis being physically abused for meagre amount of
money, sometime as measly as one rupee. He finds it deplorable that even after decades
of campaigning against the system the practice still prevailed due to lack of will by
authorities to curb this medieval practice.

Grace spreads awareness

among the dalits on their
rights
But Grace was perseverant. She met a jogini, Hajjamma, at a workshop imparting skills
to dalit women in Mahabubnagar. She also came in contact with joginis like Lakshamma,
Devendramma, Papamma, Kishtimma, and formed a core group of joginis, who came
forward to prevent more girls from becoming joginis and suffer the humiliation they
underwent.

This women based initiative is now active in nine districts of Andhra Pradesh. It enabled
all the oppressed women to come under one umbrella and raise their voice for their
rights and entitlements. The women also do advocacy and lobby with the government
and other organizations.
But even way back in 1995, Grace was able to do the unthinkable by campaigning hard
for Hajamma’s marriage. Working in the face of threats and stiff opposition, it took her
three years to get her married.

Till date, she has conducted fifteen marriages of former joginis. She has rescued several
children from the jogini custom and is giving them good education.
Aashray is also working on a series of awareness and orientation programmes on
HIV/AIDS among its members, and publishes a quarterly magazine ‘Dalitha’ that carries
success stories of dalit women.
 

- See more at: http://www.theweekendleader.com/Crusade/968/by-her-

grace.html#sthash.S2ksJtak.dpuf

Source: http://www.theweekendleader.com/Crusade/968/by-her-grace.html