Seema Topoo and Sukarmani Topoo, Busur village, Ranchi, Jharkhand

Childhood friends Seema Topoo and Sukarmani Topoo who live in Busur village near Ranchi in Jharkhand never ever imagined that their adult lives would one day be inextricably tied and that they would one day together take up cudgels against the all-powerful village panchayat.

Twenty-three-year-old Seema Topoo’s parents made a living out of brewing and selling liquor from mahua. After Seema completed her fifth class at the age of 15, Seema’s parents got her married to Munnu Ekka, who used to frequent their house and drink heavily.

Munnu began to beat Seema violently after marriage and after withstanding a year of abuse, Seema returned to her parents. She resumed her ties with Sukarmani Topoo her childhood friend and two became inseparable. Seema was, however, forced to fend for herself and had to soon leave for Haridwar to work as a maid and then to Delhi. After a spell of two years, she once again returned home.

Sukarmani then introduced her to the activities of the Free Legal Aid Committee (FLAC) of which she was a member and together they became an active in its theatre group that used drama to tackle social concerns like dowry deaths, witch hunting and trafficking.

A year passed. Without warning, one day, Seema’s neighbour labelled her widowed mother a witch and blamed her for his wife’s delivering a third girl child. The village panchayat supported him and ordered that Seema’s mother be exorcised by the shamak (witch healer). Seema was devastated. She knew her mother would be incapable of handling the physical manhandling and the emotional strain.

She appealed to Sukarmani for help. On the day her mother was to be exorcised, Seema stridently and publicly opposed the panchayat members. Sukarmani stood by her all the time and threatened to file a case under the Dayan Pratha Patishod Adhiniyam 2001. This law lays down a year of jail and a monetary fine of Rs 2,000 for anyone who discriminates against women on the basis of her being a dayan.

Today, the two women continue to be amazed at their own courage in defying the panchayat and reading them the law. No one has ever done such a thing before in their village, they say. They argue that their strength stemmed from the fact they were both convinced they were right. By making their voices and opinions heard, they believe that other women will also find the courage to fight their battles and stand up for themselves.