‘Women need to be fearless, face challenges’

 

 

 

‘BE FEARLESS and fight for your rights, don’t get scared, know your strength’ is the message for women by noted social worker and co-director of SEARCH Dr Rani Bang. Dr Rani, who belongs to a well-to-do family, has been extending health services in the remote areas of Gadchiroli district for the last many years. She spoke to ‘The Hitavada’ while unfolding her life journey and women’s contribution to society. “I got fellowship of the United States of America and my family wanted me to do MD and go ahead in medical field. But I chose to engage myself in health services in remote areas by remaining in India itself,” Dr Rani said. During education, she got acquainted with Dr Abhay Bang and was impressed by his ideas. It changed her ideas too. “My first guru of public health was thus none other but Abhay Bang,” she told proudly. “My friends happened to be from the lower income group families so I knew poverty and poor people’s life. With the support and firm desire of Abhay Bang, I finally decided to join the social service and started work with SEARCH,” she added. Speaking about the challenges before women while doing social work, Dr Rani said society still did not think that women can work independently and practice their choices. “They think that women should work with their husbands.

 

I am of the view that women, too, have their independent identity and should work independently. “My decision-making was independent, my personality was independent and with this identity, I started my work. I accepted the challenge of work despite many challenges and have been doing my work of women’s health,” she added. Dr Rani felt the approach of the male-dominated society has, unfortunately, not changed yet. “Science has developed much and many researches have been conducted but the people have not changed their narrow mindset. They still think that woman is a thing of just enjoyment. If women develop fright due to such mindset and sit idle, they won’t be able to do anything. Women, therefore, need to be fearless and face the challenges.” Dr Rani said the societal approach towards women is still pretty much biased. “If a woman is raped, people think that there might be some mistake in that woman, man is not held guilty for the act of rape. This approach needs to be changed,” she stressed. The social work icon has a question for women. “How long are we going to get scared? Women should learn to live with dignity with their heads high.” She further called for change in the approach of families with girls. They cannot put restrictions on women without reason.

 

“Women are always told by the parents that they should not move alone, they should wear particular type of clothes, they should come home early and so on. Boys are not asked to follow these restrictions which is very sad. Boys also should be taught good values so that they do not commit any wrong with the girls,” Dr Rani Bang said. Strongly advocating for the need of sex education, Dr Rani said the society must learn to support women. “There is a need of sex education to the society. Society needs to be educated about it. “Earlier women were not coming out to lodge complaints of rape or other wrongdoing because of the fear of defamation. Society needs to support the women to come forward fearlessly and speak against their exploitation and injustice,” she said. Speaking about legal provisions for women’s security, Dr Rani opined that laws in regard with the women were good but their strict implementation was not done. Actual implementation of the laws on women is quite necessary to deal with the cases of atrocities on women, she pointed out. A propagator of education for girls and women, Dr Rani said women must be literate to know about their rights.

 

Lack of education often serve as hindrance in empowerment of women. It can only be tackled by literacy, Dr Rani said and added that there were still many hurdles in reaching education to girls and women in rural areas. “Information about various government schemes needs to be reached to women so that they can avail them for their progress. Women should be more literate to know their rights. They are still facing many problems. There is no literacy, there is a lack of transportation in remote areas, several posts in health centers are lying vacant, women have to walk for several kilometres due to lack of transport system and network of roads and bridges. All these problems needed to be addressed urgently,” she stressed. “It is shameful that the women have to face these basic problems even after 77 years of Independence. Government should take urgent action on these issues and ensure that women are not put to suffer anymore,” Dr Rani exhorted, adding that an action plan for health education of women and overall society also is needed.

 

The award-winning social worker praised the services rendered by the ASHA workers. She called for strengthening this support system by making available necessary facilities for their welfare. “During COVID-19 pandemic, these workers performed really well which the society will not forget,” she said and added that the role of Anganwadi workers also is very important in taking services to mothers. Dr Rani Bang advised women to be fearless. “Come forward with daring, don’t get afraid, take the benefit of all the government schemes and make other women avail them for society’s overall progress,” she appealed. n