Bhanwari Devi
| Bhanwari Devi | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Known for | Vishaka Judgement. |
| Home town | Bhateri, Rajasthan, India |
| Awards | Neerja Bhanot Memorial Award for her "extraordinary courage, conviction and commitment" |
Bhanwari Devi (also spelled Bahveri Devi) is an Indian dalit social-worker from Bhateri, Rajasthan, who was allegedly gang raped in 1992 by higher-caste men angered by her efforts to prevent a child marriage in their family. Her subsequent treatment by the police, and court acquittal of the accused, attracted widespread national and international media attention, and became a landmark episode in India's women's rights movement.
Bhanwari is a woman belonging to a caste kumhar (potter) family and living in Bhateri, a small village in Rajasthan state, located 55 km from the state capital, Jaipur. Most of the villagers belonged to the Gurjar community of milkmen, which is higher in the caste hierarchy than Bhanwari's own Kumhar caste. In the 1990s, child marriages were common in the village, and the caste system was dominant. Bhanwari was married to Mohanlal at a young age, and came to live in Bhateri village while still in her early teens.
In 1985, Bhanwari Devi became a saathin ("friend"), a grassroots worker employed as part of the Women's Development Project (WDP) run by the Government of Rajasthan. As part of her job, she took up issues related to land, water, literacy, health, Public Distribution System, and payment of minimum wages at famine relief works. In 1987, she took up a major issue of the attempted rape of a woman from a neighbouring village. All of these activities had the full support of the members of her village. However, in 1992, Bhanwari found herself alienated, when she took up the issue of child marriage which is still widely practiced in India despite being illegal.
In 1992, the state government of Rajasthan decided to launch a campaign against child marriage during the fortnight preceding the festival of Akha Teej, which is considered an auspicious date for marriages. Many child marriages take place during this festival. WDP members were tasked with convincing local villagers not to conduct child marriages, a task that Bhanwari took up, along with prachetas and members of the District Women's Development Agency (DWDA). The campaign was largely ignored by the villagers and faced disapproval from local leaders, including the village headman or pradhan.
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