This story is from April 4, 2021

22-year-old people’s sarpanch on crusade to teach Gadchiroli tribals period hygiene

Elected as a people’s sarpanch by Koti gram panchayat in Gadchiroli, 22-year-old physical education student Bhagyashree Lekami is on a mission to educate tribals about hygienic practices for the menstrual cycle
22-year-old people’s sarpanch on crusade to teach Gadchiroli tribals period hygiene
Bhagyashree Lekami, Sarpanch, Koti Gram Sabha
Elected as a people’s sarpanch by Koti gram panchayat in Gadchiroli, 22-year-old physical education student Bhagyashree Lekami is on a mission to educate tribals about hygienic practices for the menstrual cycle

Nagpur: Bhagyashree Lekami, 22, one of the youngest sarpanch or village head in Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district, is on a mission of building as many ‘kurma ghar’ as possible for menstruating women. Following tribal traditions in this area, women are kept out of their homes for around five days during their monthly menstruation cycle.
The final-year student of Bachelor’s in physical education has been on a crusade to raise awareness about menstruation cycles and hygiene ever since the gram sabha elected her as a people’s sarpanch without any political connections.

Lekami, daughter of a Zilla Parishad teacher, has been teaching tribals about hygienic practices for the menstrual cycle. Traditionally, such women are made to stay at separate accommodation facilities, called ‘kurma ghar’, in the villages.
“I intend to erect at least two kurma ghar in each big village and one in smaller ones, where tribal women would have better facilities to stay, cook food and have a comfortable stay while menstruating,” said Lekami. She rides a bike to move around among the nine forested villages of Koti gram sabha, despite Naxal threat in the locality. The area serves as the getaway to the Maoist stronghold of Abujhmadh on Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border.

“The existing kurma ghar are plagued by leaky roofs and broken floors, inviting snakes and poisonous insects and also dripping water in the monsoon,” she said. “Apart from trying to allow them better accommodations, I am also making them aware about maintaining hygiene during the cycle to avoid falling prey to infections,” said Lekami, who rued losing a year due to Covid lockdown and related hurdles.
Lekami, the younger of two siblings, has also been distributing sanitary pads among young girls and women, trying to convince them to use and dispose them of properly instead of the traditional cloths pads.
Lekami was a unique sarpanch candidate in 2019 for Koti gram panchayat in the interior Bhamragarh tehsil when she filed her nomination form. Lekami was not only barely 20 years of age but also a woman who had filled the nomination without any political backing.
“My agenda revolved around people-centric issues as I was elected by the gram sabha as a will of the people and not on the basis of political backings or symbols. I had been striving to make people aware of their rights, the benefits due to them through government projects or schemes, and budgetary allocations,” said Lekami whose mother is an anganwadi sevika.
“I was born and brought up in the same locality, as a local madia girl, where I am now serving as sarpanch. Hence, I know the issues and people here, and am more motivated to work for them without any interest,” said Lekami. She also aims to become a physical and sports instructor after completing her academics.
“If people want me to return, I shall come back to serve them or else move on to pursue my dreams of becoming a sports teacher,” said Lekami, who is a volleyball player.
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