An all-woman band is shattering stereotypes of gender and caste in a village in the eastern Indian State of Bihar, among the poorest and least developed in the country. The Sargam Mahila (woman) Band in Dhibra village near State capital Patna, was set up about two years ago by Sudha Varghese, who runs a charity for women. After about six months of practise, they were ready.
Initially, the 10-member band was ridiculed by their families and other villagers, but they refused to be deterred, said Sabita Devi, a member.
“People used to laugh at us, but why should women sit at home?” she asked. “These days, women are flying in planes – why can’t we be in a band?”
It wasn’t long before the drumming group caught the ears of the community, said Varghese who heads the charity Nari Gunjan. “These women are Mahadalits, the most margina-lized among the Dalits. For them to receive bookings for weddings and company functions, and to perform in front of people is a very big deal,” she told the Tho-mson Reuters Foundation.
The women used to work in the fields for daily wages, but making a living by playing music has provided them with “inde-pendence and dignity,” said Var-ghese, a Catholic nun who has worked with lower-caste Dalit women for several decades.
