UTTAR PRADESH: If green symbolises prosperity and health, a group of 14,000-odd women draped in green saris are epitomizing the notion across six district of eastern UP. Better known as the ‘Green Gang’, the group was started about eight years ago when a small group of 10-15 women of Ramasipur village in Varanasi district came together. They shared the same predicament: domestic violence by their husbands who were deep into alcoholism and gambling.
Having taken birth as a motley group of women with the intent to try and correct the ways of the men, this gang has now metamorphosed into an organised movement, to such an extent that the UP government integrated it with its flagship campaign ‘Mission Shakti’, which is aimed at promoting the security, dignity and empowerment of women. From Ramasipur village, it spread to Deora, Khusiyari, Jagadeopur and Bhadarsi villages of Varanasi where about 40 per cent of the 12,000-odd men were addicted to the two vices. “Now most of them have shunned booze and gambling, or are in the process of doing so,” said a police official of Varanasi.
Their modus operandi is simple and direct. The Green Gang members do the recce of the ‘addas’ and the meeting points of men where they collectively indulge in boozing and gambling. These ‘addas’ are generally situated in secluded areas of the village or outside. After the recce, the Green Gang members raid these spots, destroy the play cards and smash the liquor bottles. This had immediate and tangible effects.
Now the Green Gang is working in tandem with Mission Shakti, making a discernible impact on incidents of domestic violence, eve-teasing, child marriage and female foeticide in around 150 villages across half a dozen districts including Varanasi, Mirzapur, Ayodhya, Sonbhadra, Chandauli and Jaunpur in eastern UP. Green Gang leader Geeta Devi narrates her ordeal which pushed her to stand up against the vices of her husband. She says she wanted to end her life as she had given up on her husband.
“As I was running to take the plunge in river Ganga at Assi Ghat, a person approached me. He asked me to calm down and listened to me patiently,” she says, referring to Divyanshu Upadhyay, a member of Hope Welfare Trust, a group of students from various colleges in Varanasi working towards checking social evils from villages in Varanasi district. The members of the trust decided to help the woman. “We imparted basic literacy and martial arts lessons to the women and educated them about brave women from Indian history,” says Divyanshu.In the meantime, Geeta contacted other women and encouraged them to act against their husbands’ vices by destroying the liquor bottles and playing cards.The women decided to don green sarees as their dress code and started carrying batons.
Recalling the initial days, Geeta says it all started with patrols in Ramasipur. Initially, the villagers mocked at them but gradually the group started getting recognition. “We used to target the addas. The impact was such that gradually the addicts started fearing the colour green. They used to run for their life on seeing us”, says Geeta, with a grin. “We have also reported cases of domestic violence to the police, and some men were also sent to jail,” she says. Even the men accept and appreciate the efforts of the green gang in transforming their life. “Initially, it seemed difficult. We suffered from sleep disorders, irritation and loss of interest in work, but gradually we learnt to cope with it. We are completely cured now,” says Raj Kishore, a plumber in Ramasipur village.
Being a part of Mission Shakti, each member of the Green Gang has the contact details of the nearest police station which can be directly contacted in case of emergencies, and for police assistance. Each group of the gang comprises of a ‘Police Mitra’ - one member who keeps in touch with the local police, providing them with regular updates.
Shayma, who leads the campaign in Mirzapur’s Jungal Mahal village says that the gang celebrates the birth of a girl child by putting affixing a ‘Khushhali Chinha’ (mark of happiness) on the house where a girl child is born. The gang has also started focusing on issues related to environment. Sunita, group leader in Jalalpur village of Jaunpur district claims that they planted trees to check soil erosion near a pond in the village.