We have studied in the earlier classes about the unequal treatment of women
and the struggle being waged by them for equal rights and opportunities, personal
safety and justice. Women have been at the forefront of many important social
movements in the recent past. Here, we will take up two specific examples to
understand this better – the anti arrack movement of Andhra Pradesh and the
movement of Manipuri women against special powers of the armed forces which
had been misused against the people of the North Eastern states.
This is not a story. This is the achievement of women who have studied in an
evening school. “Our village is Dubagunta. We are wage earners. We produce
gold from earth. But all our hard-earned money is spent on toddy and arrack.