Name of Fellow: Richa Singh
Genre: Social and Economic Justice
Area of Work: Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh
Richa Singh has devoted more than three decades of her life to social upliftment of women, labourer, and farmers. Starting from 1991, she has been engaged in women empowerment and gender justice. Though she was born in Juanpur but while working with community-based organisations, she settled in Sitapur.
Educated in sociology from Bundelkhand university, she has been devoted to social work for women, gender justice, rights of farmers and labourer, and communal harmony.
Richa started her social work with Mahila Samakhya in Varanasi and continued at the organization at Saharanpur and Sitapur till 2004. During this time, she led campaigns against the misogynist traditions in the districts. One such practice, found in Awadh region, was Gudiya. On the occasion of Naagpanchami, women would make dolls using cloths and leave them at public places. Men would pick up the doll and beat it symbolizing punishment towards women for enraging the Naaga Devta (snake god) as the god cursed some woman for doing something which had pained him. She started a campaign against this practice in Sitapur with the slogan Betiyan Padhaye, Gudiya Jhulaye (educate the girls, and swing them) which she successfully implemented.
Feeling the need to continued work for the empowerment of women and labourers in Sitapur, she along with other women from the district formed Sangateen Sanstha and got it registered. From 2004 onwards she started to devote her fulltime to the organization. She wanted the organization to run organically by the community members to facilitate empowerment and social change in the region instead of depending on external funding. People should take their own initiatives and adapt to the situation arising in the locality and sustain their movement, she believes.
Presently her organization, Sangateen Kisan Mazdoor Organisation is actively working in 150 villages under various blocks in Sitapur district.
Her work goes beyond rights and encompasses community participation in raising their issues. In 2005, people of Pisawa and Misrikh block raised the issue of non-availability of water supply. In a 17 km long canal passing through the block, water supply was available only to 5 km. In the remaining 12 km, there was no water for 2o years at that time. Richa’s organization organized rallies and meetings to make the water available to the 40,000 residents. The movement bore fruit and water went to the last point in 2008. She describes this as collective effort and peoples’ win.
Her organization also raised the issue of MGNREGA workers as the wage guarantee act provides that the state is bound to provide 100 days wage to workers seeking work. In 2007, despite seeking work, the workers associated with the organization did not get 100 days work and they demanded unemployment compensation. After two years of struggle 826 job card holders associated with the organization were paid Rs 14,99,340 in compensation.
She had many other such movements e.g. struggle against erosion, building women-led organisations, and ensuring equal gender representation in the organisations.
In her vast network of community members, she is imparting capacity building workshops, holding discussions, organizing rallies, organizing sports events , screening films etc. to make the participants aware about the values inherent in the Constitution.
She has organized Samvidhan Cycle Rally to create awareness among the community members about the Constitutional values. As a fervent believer in walking the talk, she has been devotedly working to instill the Constitutional values within herself and her organization. She believes that equality, justice, fraternity, freedom must also be exercised within the self and own organization as well.
She also has co-authored two a book named Sangateen Yatra: Saat Zindegiyo Mein Lipta Naari and Neemsaar: Sangateen Atmamanthan Aur Andolan.