Sinumoni's relentless fight against gender discrimination, domestic and women's violence... ...She led protests when police failed t...
Sinumoni's relentless fight against gender discrimination, domestic and women's violence...
...She led protests when police failed to apprehend the culprits involved in molestation cases and murder...
By DIGANTA SARMA
diganta.saadin@gmail.com
Various obstacles and misfortunes have not been able to dominate her. She has, instead, trans- formed all hardships into strength to march ahead and pursue her goal. A confident, de- termined and committed woman, she hasn't allowed financial hard- ships stand in the way of her work. She is Sinumoni Bora, a women's rights activist who has continuously worked to give justice to the survi- vors of gender discrimination and domestic violence in the remote areas of Assam.
Bora was born on April 4, 1979, in Phesowal village, a remote locality of Teok, in Jorhat district. When she was in Class-IX, her mother passed away and this was a difficult time for the family. The eldest among two sisters and three brothers, Bora was only 15 at that time and had to take the responsibility of looking after her younger siblings. This teenager had to play the dual role of a mother and elder sister. Above all, they had to struggle against poverty. Amidst all odds, she passed her matriculation in 1995 and took admission in Kakojan Higher Secondary School. Unfortunately, she could not continue her education due to poverty. As a helping hand to her carpenter-father, Sinumoni got engaged in cultivation. But her family problems did not prevent her from staying away from the field of social activism..
In 1997, she first came out to protest against the atrocities of security forces on civilians in the name of anti-extremist operations, where many people were arrested, tortured, killed and sexual violence also occurred. In 2001, Bora complained to the BDO about a contractor who had constructed a road in their village. She alleged that the contractor had used sub- standard materials. She persistently pursued the matter until it drew the attention of the higher authorities. Because of Bora's protest the road had to be reconstructed. That was her first successful struggle against injustice.
As a crusader and social activist Bora has done a lot for the sake of justice and human rights, "I started my work against injustice in the late '90s when many civilians were tortured by security forces in the name of insurgency operations. Many women became victims and we protested against the human rights violations. Since then, I have been working for justice on behalf of other survivors in Upper Assam," she says, adding, "In the last two decades, I have handled several cases of domestic violence, sexual violence by State actors, gender discrimination and other forms of human rights violation, and I directly helped more than 500 women get justice. Besides, I am working against corruption and malpractices in government schemes. On the other hand, I am working to sensitise women about their rights and trying to march ahead with the survivors to achieve their legal rights and justice. So, if I appear in court one day, the other day I have to be at the police station or in an advocate's chamber. And the next day, I have to be present in some victim's house or on the field to study the crime."
Bora played an instrumental role in organising uneducated women and forming a self-help group called Ankurjyoti. She encouraged women to take up weaving for livelihood and formed an organisation Achal, for rural weavers. Due to Bora's initiatives, many rural women have been able to start livelihood work like goat rearing, weaving, poultry farming, etc.
Later, she became an RTI activist and resource person on RTI. As secretary of the Nari Adhikar Suraksha Samiti, a well-known women's organisation, Bora staged several protest marches against the violation of women's rights, seeking justice for victims. Besides, she also launched a battle against alcohol menace and gambling. She called a boycott of alcohol addicts and liquor suppliers in many remote villages of Jorhat district and other women joined her. This mission was successful in making many villages of, Jorhat district liquor-free.
She led protests against the police when they failed to apprehend the culprits involved in a number of molestation cases and also the murder of a widow, which resulted in the arrest of many such culprits, Bora was also a field worker at the Centre for Social Development, a project under North-east Affected Area Development Society (NEADS). She even worked as a project coordinator of several projects under the Purba Bharati Educational Trust. At present, she is also associated with the Women in Governance (WinG), and working as a president of PRAHELIKA, an organisation dedicated to women's rights. For her outstanding service to society, in 2014, Sinumoni Bora was honoured with the C. Subramaniam Award for Community Leaders by the National Foundation for India.
In an conversation with this writer Sinumoni Bora said, " I had started my work against injustice in the last part of 90's when lots of civilians were tortured by security forces in the name of insurgency. Many women became victims and we started protest against the human rights violation. Since then, I have been struggling for justice on behalf of other survivors in upper Assam region. In last two decades I handled several cases of domestic violence, sexual violence by state actors, gender discrimination and other form of Human Rights Violation and I directly helped more than five hundred women for getting justice. Besides, I am working against corruption and malpractices in government development works and schemes. On the other hand, I am working to sensitized women about their rights through gender perspective and trying to march ahead with the survivors to snatch their legal rights and justice. So, if one day I have to be appear in court, another day I w'd have to appear in police station or in advocate chamber. And next day, I have to be present in some victim's house or in field to study the crime. Besides, I have been attending many public meeting, awareness programme, discussion or other programmes.'
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