Even at 71, Dr V Rukmini Rao is one of the most active people you’ll ever come across. In fact, her work is such that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was out and about to ensure her work continued. “The Sakhi Centre [Nalgonda district], which I help run, was open for 24/7 services. I have been out of the house all the time, but with care of course,” she explains, adding that age is just a number for her, and when you are involved in aid work these are some of the choices you simply make. “It’s not as if you’re sacrificing your life,” she says, addressing the age-old misconception people have about social work. “I’ve enjoyed meeting people of all classes of society. The important thing for me is that I like the work I’m doing, and I gain a lot from it. It’s not that I’m giving. I’m actually gaining a lot.”
This, coming from a prominent social activist who has dedicated around 40 years of her life fighting for women’s rights—especially those of rural women—clearly suggests that engaging in social or developmental works that help gain social justice in all its forms is one of the most rewarding things one can do.
Currently the executive director of the Gramya Resource Centre in Telangana’s Nalgonda district, Dr Rao has made immense contributions to the social justice movements across India. She was one of the seven women who founded the Saheli Resource Centre in Delhi in 1981, which provided holistic support to women facing domestic abuse and dowry violence. She is also a part of other critical initiatives, like Makaam, which works to promote the rights of women farmers of the nation.
During our conversation with her, Dr Rao explained why this work is critical, and how women from all backgrounds in India should help create an ecosystem that supports all women, everywhere. A synergy between urban and rural women, she says, can help both groups of people grow.
So, how can urban Indian women extend a helping hand to women in rural India? Firstly, Dr Rao suggests, urban women must learn resourcefulness from their rural counterparts. This apart, she says, financial contributions are the easiest to make. “If you know of any organisations which are working with rural women, please donate financially. Be in touch with the groups, find out what they need,” she says.
But more than money, she says using your time and thoughts is important. “For example, I work with women farmers who are growing a variety of food crops. But they never get a good price because, you know, the farmer’s movement is struggling for minimum support price,” she explains. “And women farmers, the crops they grow, the millets they grow, don't even come into the discourse, even now. They're not even talked about. These women are actually putting food on our tables. So, if you can have that interaction with women farmers, if you can buy their produce directly, we can have a producer-market interaction so that you can intervene and give them a better price for their products,” she says. Apart from buying things from them, there are a number of things you can do for rural women and farmers:
• You can sell products they need cheaply
• You can give them legal advice and access to legal resources
• You can help them access and manage their finances
• You can mentor their children to ensure they get access to more opportunities of growth
The efforts, Dr Rao says, should be focused on creating a just society. “That is what I think young women leaders in our country can do today. Because if you look around, I will tell you that our country is being built by women. Look at who is leading the social justice movement. Think about Aruna Roy. There are hundreds of Dalit women today in the country who are very active and are changing the world. So you can do the same,” she says.