Birubala Rabha (; born 1954) is an
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
who campaigns against
witch-hunting in India. She is based in
Goalpara,
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
.
She runs an organisation called Mission Birubala which spreads awareness against witch hunting.
She was instrumental in the Assam Government passing the Prevention of and Protection from Witch Hunting Act, 2015. The
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
awarded her the fourth-highest civilian honour of the
Padma Shri
Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...
, in 2021, for her contributions to social work.
Background
Rabha was born in 1954 in the village of Thakurvila, near the border of
Meghalaya
Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...
in Assam's Goalpara district.
Her father died when she was six, forcing her to drop out of school and help her mother run the household.
Rabha was fifteen when she was married to her husband, a farmer who she had three children with.
In 1985, her mentally-ill eldest son, Dharmeswar, suffered from a bout of
typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
, leading Rabha and her husband to take him to their local
quack
Quack, The Quack or Quacks may refer to:
People
* Quack Davis, American baseball player
* Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack (1834–1917), Dutch economist and historian
* Joachim Friedrich Quack (born 1966), German Egyptologist
* Johannes Quack (b ...
. They were told that he had been possessed by and had married a fairy, who was pregnant with his child and that as soon as this child was born he would die.
According to the quack, Dharmeswar had only three days to live. However, he eventually recovered, living long after his diagnosis. After this incident, Rabha realised that the superstitions that led to the diagnosis of her son were baseless and stopped visiting quacks, who she believed were 'frauds'.
Activism
Initially, Rabha formed the Thakurvila Mahila Samity, a women's association raising awareness of various social ills, including witch-hunting in her local village, and later in 2006 became involved in the Assam Mahila Samata Society.
In 2011 she founded Mission Birubala; a non-profit organisation made up of a network of social activists, survivors and lawyers; which aims to educate and spread awareness against witch-hunting, as well as support and protect survivors and potential victims of witch hunts across the state of Assam.
Despite facing ridicule and attacks from those who defend the belief in witches, and being subjected to accusations of witchcraft herself, Rabha has frequently spoken out against witch-branding and hunting at meetings, organises awareness camps and has taught school lessons denouncing the practice, she has also rescued over thirty-five women branded as witches in the last decade.
In 2015 the activist's campaigning prompted the Assamese government to pass The Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition Prevention and Protection) Act, which many consider to be India's toughest anti-witch-hunting law.
The act, which came into effect in 2018, allows up to seven years in jail along with a substantial fine for identifying and branding a person as a witch, and extended the punishment for leading a person to commit suicide after accusing them of witchcraft to life imprisonment.
Recognition
Rabha had been recognised for her work against witch-hunting in Assam with numerous awards and accolades. In 2005 she was nominated for a
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
by the Northeast Network (a women's rights organisation operating in Assam) and in 2015 was awarded an honorary Doctorate from
Gauhati University
Gauhati University, also known as GU, is a collegiate public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established on 26 January 1948 under the provisions of an Act enacted by the Assam Legislative Assembly. It is the oldest ...
.
In 2021 she was recognised by the Indian government for her social work and campaigning with the
Padma Shri
Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...
, the fourth-highest civilian award in India.
See also
*
Modern witch-hunts Witch-hunts are practiced today throughout the world. While prevalent world-wide, hot-spots of current witch-hunting are India, Papua New Guinea, Amazonia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. While an unknown problem in vast parts of the Western populations of ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabha, Birubala
Indian human rights activists
Indian women activists
Assamese people
Living people
People from Goalpara district
Women human rights activists
Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work
1954 births
Critics of witch hunting