The Hindu : SHGs plan campaign against cheap liquor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 26, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

SHGs plan campaign against cheap liquor

By Our Special Correspondent

TIRUCHI MARCH 25. Women self-help groups have planned to launch a massive campaign to urge the Government to scrap the cheap liquor scheme and introduce total prohibition. The campaign will be launched under the joint auspices of the Gandhi Peravai and the LEAD (League for Education and Development).

A meeting attended by over 5,000 women from rural areas organised by the LEAD in connection with the World Women's day today decided to spearhead the campaign, since the SHG movement which came into existence about six years ago, proved that women could take up economic ventures with the small savings they were able to make daily.

The founder of the Gandhi Peravai, Kumari Anandan, said Gandhiji, Rajaji and E.V. Ramasami, who had fought for women empowerment, had championed the cause of prohibition. The evil of drinking would make rural women poor.

The Collector, K. Manivasan, who inaugurated the conference, appealed to women to fight casteisms.

Caste feelings were raising their ugly head in many rural areas, and dividing people, and causing disharmony.

The LEAD will organise special campaigns in 10 selected villages to educate men of the evils of drinking and make them dry villages, and extend the campaign to other areas, said the executive director, N. Radha.

She said it was a tragedy that the Government, which had the duty to uphold human rights, in practice seemed to be the worst violator of human rights.

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Southern States