Daringbadi: Bastina Singh, a tribal woman in Kandhamal district has carved a niche for herself as a social reformer by challenging conventions and breaking barriers. Her fight against liquor consumption by men at the expense of family welfare has been hailed by all and sundry. Bastina is a native of Dasingbadi locality under this block in Kandhmal district.
She was recently felicitated with the state-level ‘Ananya’ award at a function organised by ‘National Alliance of Women’. Bastina has become an example for others to emulate and a role model for scores of women to fight against various social evils. With liquor consumption ruining many families, Bastina started a movement against it. She has also lent her voice and might to prevent child marriages and for providing education to kids. Bastina’s work came to notice when she launched an agitation against liquor consumption by male members of many families in the 1990s. After drinking, these men used to torture women and other family members. Uncontrolled drinking also led to families facing severe financial constraints. The education of the kids suffered and there was never enough food in the house. Many of the male alcoholics also got their kids married off at a very early age. Bastina herself was married off early when she was a 16-year-old kid. She knew the trauma associated with child marriages. She decided to do something to curb and eradicate the drinking habits of men. The first thing Bastina did was to bring women who were suffering due to their alcoholic husbands under one umbrella. These women then started protesting against the sale of country-made liquor in Dasingbadi area.
However, Bastina’s road was never smooth as she had to face opposition from the members of her community as she intensified her agitation against sale of liquor. However, she refused to cow down and resolved to make Dasingbadi panchayat a liquor-free one. Her efforts began to show results as Dasingbadi panchayat was declared liquor-free and received the ‘Gandhi Award’ in 1995. Appreciating her work, the then Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik sanctioned special powers to Bastina and 11 other women of her organisation. They were provided with 12 lathis known as ‘Biju lathis’ to launch a crackdown on liquor sales. Since then, Bastina has never looked back and has been in the forefront against liquor consumption and preventing child marriages in her area.
