Uttarakhand’s women have played a pivotal role in all the agitations the state has seen, be it the agitation for statehood or the Chipko Movement of the 1970s, started by Gaura Devi, or even the recent anti stone crusher movement in Maletha. Women of the state who are reverentially addressed as ‘Matrshakti’ (mothers as embodiment of power) are also relentlessly fighting against opening of liquor shops within villages or residential colonies. Given their perseverance in almost all the cases, they have been able to win the battle in their favour. As Uttarakhand changes with the times, the women are at the forefront of negotiating this change.

Suresh Bhai, social worker and environmentalist, is of the opinion that the women in the state are the most hardworking. “They slog in the field, forest and at home from early morning till late at night. In many families, the men leave their homes in the hills for employment, leaving the entire responsibility of running the house on the women. Many of the men who do not leave also take it easy throughout the day and take to the liquor bottle in the evening,” Bhai says.

Unlike the stereotypical image of women resigned their fate, the state’s women have united to fight against liquor shops and the menace of alcoholism .

Luxmi Joshi, member of the Kanepul village zila panchayat in Gopeshwar tehsil, uses ‘bichhoo ghas’, a plant that causes itching and rashes on the skin, to chase away people trying to open a liquor shop in their village. “We have been demanding basic amenities here for a long time, but the district administration has not provided them to us citing one reason or the other. But when it came to opening a liquor shop, the administration did not lose any time in giving its permission,” Joshi told TOI. “We have been seeking a mini bank for our village which will also be useful for the adjoining villages. The girls have to walk eight km to go to high school. The nearest degree college is ten km away in Nandprayag. Our roads are in a bad state. So our pent-up anger exploded when we saw the liquor shop being backed by the administration,” she added.

Joshi said that despite promising the villagers that the shop would not be allotted there, the district magistrate clandestinely gave them the permit. When the owner arrived with his staff and supporters to open the shop, all the women of the village attacked them with the plant, a strategy which worked wonders. They never returned.

The women of Ganeshpur village in Uttarkashi’s Bhatwari block locked horns not with liquor sellers in their own village but with the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN). Pushpal Chauhan, gram pradhan, who also participated in the statehood struggle said, “In 1974, GMVN had opened a furniture factory in our village, which employed some 80 villagers. However the factory was shut and replaced with a mineral water factory, which too was eventually shut after allegations of sub-standard quality of its products. After GMVN was allotted FL2 liquor sale licence in May this year, the Nigam sent truckloads of liquor here.” The women of the village protested for days until the state government removed the liquor from the erstwhile factory’s godown. “We have demanded that the place be used for productive purposes instead,” Chauhan added.

The culture of beer bars is making quick inroads in the hill areas. However, the women of Someshwar village not only fought it feverishly but also ran a signature campaign and got people in their village who drank to oppose such an outlet in the area. Basanti Bahan, coordinator, Kasturba Mahila Uthan Mandal said, “A villager sold his property to open a beer bar in the village market. However, this news alarmed all the women because it is the women who have to go to the fields, jungle and market all alone via that route and could be harassed by drunks, not to mention the negative impact on youngsters.” The women protested at the tehsil headquarters and got signatures from everyone, including people who drank, against such a beer bar opening within the village.

These movements are no limited to women in Uttarakhand’s villages. In Dehradun, women fought with strength against a liquor shop on Kanwali road last year. “The administration is hell-bent on spoiling our men and boys by opening a shop in the residential area. Not only this, drunks will also harass our daughters and sisters and disturb the peace. So we fought it tooth and nail and compelled the administration to shift it elsewhere,” said Sarita Chamoli, resident.

As the state changes with the times, the women remain ever vigilant so that only the positive aspects of change come to the hills, and not the negative.

