A lifelong journey of empowerment

JALANDHAR: In 1983, Mohinder Kaur of Dhoot Kalan village in Hoshiarpur joined the mahila mandal. Committed to the cause of women’s empowerment, Mohinder, in 1993, decided to get a clear understanding of the status of women in different states. She could have simply collated data to form a sketchy picture. But she decided to travel across the country and even to neighbouring countries of Nepal and Bhutan to gain a first-hand experience of the lives of women.
Despite being a school dropout, the septuagenarian has a clear understanding of cultural nuances that direct the lives of women.
Based on her experience, she pegs Kerala the highest in terms of women’s empowerment and Punjab among the lowest. She feels women in Punjab act as proxies of their husbands as patriarchy does not allow them to work independently at the panchayat level.
Mohinder was born in Lahore and moved to Amritsar with her family, where she studied up to Class VII. She may be a wanderer but her sojourns have a purpose.
“My only aim is to motivate women to come forward in society,” she says during an interaction with TOI.
No wonder she loves being in Andaman and Nicobar, where she finds women enjoying a status of equality with men. “To me, South India appeared to be doing better in terms of women’s empowerment at the panchayat level. People there are also well-behaved,” says Mohinder.
She also feels south Indian women are more aware of government schemes and benefits than their north Indian counterparts.
“Awareness about Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, pensions and other government schemes among elected women representatives in villages is better,” she says.
Even though she can converse only in Punjabi, language has never been a barrier.
“Whichever state I visit, I go to the block level office of the area first and tell the officers that I wish to visit their villages and interact with women. When I reached Thimpu (Bhutan) or Kathmandu I told the officials that I wanted to see their villages and women. They arranged translators who could speak in Hindi for me,” she says.
Coming back to the issue of problems with the northern states, she says, “Even though women have been given 33% reservation, many of them, especially in Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar and Rajasthan, act as rubber stamps for their husbands. They do not hold office because of their merit but by virtue of being somebody’s mother, wife or sister,” she says.
Urging the Punjab government to revive mahila mandals, she says, “My journey continues. Now, I plan to go to Ganga Sagar (West Bengal) and then to Guwahati, from where I intend to go to Dimapur (Nagaland).”
The states which she is yet to visit include Tripura, Manipur and Telangana.
Smitten by both a sense of detachment and wanderlust, she says, “I shall keep travelling till my last breath.”
Mohinder has a family, complete with children and grandchildren but she insists she does not need a mobile phone to stay connected. “When I reach a place, I look for a gurdwara first, where I eat and stay. Sometimes, I stay in temples or other common places. I am carrying my papers with me and if I die somewhere people will inform my family,” she says in a matter of fact manner. Her only possessions are two suits, two dupattas, a sweater and a blanket.