Sitavva Joddati is a

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

-based social activist working for the emancipation and empowerment of women suffering within the

Devadasi system In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

. In 2018, she was conferred the

Padma Sri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferr ...

, the fourth highest civilian award, by the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

Early life

Joddati was born in

Kabbur Kabbur is a town in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 12600 It is located in the Chikodi taluk of Belgaum district in Karnataka. Demographics Kabbur has 2059 families residing in it. The Kabbur town has a population of 18 ...

village of Chikkodi Taluk in the Indian state of

. The youngest of six daughters, Sitavva was "promised" as a Devadasi to the community by her parents who believed that by doing this, they would be rewarded with a son. After undergoing a religious ritual at the age of 7, Sitavva was made a Devadasi. By age 17, she had borne three children.

Career

Sitavva met Latamala, the Managing Director of Women Development Corporation, in 1991 who made her realise how degrading the practice of Devadasi was to the dignity of women. Sitavva decided to save herself from the Devadasi system. She and the other Devadasis who used to travel to southern Maharashtra and northern Karnataka to attend religious fairs began to speak up against the practice, and within a week, the number of dissenters had risen to 45 women. Soon after, Sitavva joined the Mahila Abhivrudhi Samrakshana Sansthe (MASS), an organisation dedicated to the eradication of the Devadasi system. Since then, she has rescued over 4,000 women and rehabilitated them with other jobs. She joined MASS when she was 17 and for over three decades, she has worked to uplift Devadasis and Dalits in

Belgaum Belgaum (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous ...

, Karnataka. She is the CEO of MASS organisation since 2012. The organisation has around 4000 former Devadasis as members. Joddati conduct aids and legal workshops and programmes on women and child rights, financial management, STDs and other issues. She has created over 300 self-help groups (SHG) that provide financial support to former Devadasis, through banks and micro-lenders.

Recognition

In March 2018, Joddati was conferred the fourth highest civilian honour of India, the

, by the

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joddati, Sitavva Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Indian women's rights activists Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work