This Dalit woman is helping more than 250 homeless women get back on their feet

Shalini* ran away from home in Solapur to escape abuse at the hands of her alcoholic father. This year, the young girl ran the Mumbai marathon, passed her 10th exams and is able to partially support herself with a part-time job.

Raziya* from Mumbai ended her 17-year-long oppressive marriage to a man who restricted her from even going out of the house. She pursued her passion for hair styling and even completed a course from an academy for the same. She recently got her passport and cannot wait to travel the world.

These are two of the nearly 250 beneficiaries of the Urja (energy) Trust in Dadar. This non-government, non-profit organisation is a safe haven for young women who have been abandoned or forced to leave their kin due to violence, mental and physical exploitation, poverty, lack of opportunities, social and economic discrimination. Victims of prostitution or human trafficking also find home here. The rehabilitation home was started in 2012 by Deepali Vandana (35), a Mumbai-based social worker.

“Because I am a Dalit, I have seen discrimination very closely. That multiplied as I went to a Brahmin school,” said Deepali who holds a post-graduate degree in Economics and is currently a second year management course student and Jamnalal Bajaj Institute. From a young age, she couldn’t grasp the bigotry against certain communities.

However, instead of getting embittered, she decided to change things. Since 2000, she has been working in the development sector and has interacted with countless victims who have suffered unfortunate circumstances. Her experiences led her to deduce that a person’s caste and community are important factors in determining the path they choose in life.

“The girls who come to Urja have gone through circumstances that forced them to come here. When their dreams and desires are squashed repeatedly, basic human rights are not granted, their freedom is trampled upon, they see running away as the only option. More often than not, they belong to the marginalised communities of society. Even the women who become victims of or choose to get into prostitution come from the backward sections. It is the marginalisation of people that is responsible for their exploitation,” she explained, adding that only when this is recognised, can things change at the legislative level.

Through Urja’s restoration program, at the end of approximately 18 months, the women who come in destitute and helpless condition are ready to move out to live independently and with dignity in society. The program focuses on the education, skill enhancement and employment as well as the mental and physical well-being of the women. Currently, 19 women, between 18 to 35 years, from across the country are living in a rented ex-garment factory which they call home. Deepali bemoaned, “There is a great demand to enroll many more girls but we don’t have space to accommodate them. It is sad that we have to keep them on waiting lists.” Police, NGOs, railway station staff, other citizen groups help identify these girls when they arrive at the station. “They don’t know we exist, so we have to reach out to them.”

While running the home is a struggle owing to limited funds and Deepali has to make several sacrifices in her personal life, she says she cannot overstate the necessity of treating the oppressed with compassion. “One can achieve things only through love. Only love can conquer. Aggression, fighting, resentment will only lead to the greater disadvantage of the marginalised,” she says.

 *names changed to protect identities