Dr Pratibha Jawda, saviour of India’s poor struggling for survival
By SHAMLAL PURI
Associate Publisher & Senior Editor -UK
shamlalpuri4@gmail.com
Worth Noting:
- “I am a mother,” she says. “I feel the pain of helpless mothers whose children suffer from hunger and malnutrition.”
- While she admits it is not possible for her as a one-woman task force to tackle poverty nationwide, which she believes is the job of the Government of the day, Dr Jawda does what she can within her surroundings, her means and when her contacts bring a case to her attention.
- “Those who believe that if they want to bring any change in society, country or the world, must broaden their thinking. And this change should start with our home, family and society, “she says.
- Dr Jawda rightly feels the importance of women being educated and trained in professions so they can help their families and children.
Life can be tough when starving helpless small children look at their parents with pitiful eyes, their hearts crying, and there’s no morsel to eat at home.
Imagine how this can tear into their equally helpless mother’s heart, who can do little but pray to God to send a miracle.
This is poignant when the main breadwinner is jobless in a country where bribery, corruption or influence are just the norms, and there is no one higher up in the official circles who can put in a word for him to get employment – just any job that could bring the hapless family some money.
Welcome to this part of the world where the rich get stinking rich and the poor sinking into debt and deeper into the abyss of poverty.
This is the India of the 2020s, the beautiful land of contrasts, where its leaders thump their chests in international arenas to brag that they are the world’s economic powerhouse. At the same time, somewhere in that great country, millions go to bed hungry or have no money to buy even basic necessities.
It’s a miracle that many can survive in these dire times.
India does not have a welfare system like the one in the United Kingdom, where the Government reaches out to poor people and helps them through their troubled times with basic needs.
In India, politicians carry out a short-term pretentious exercise of offering freebies to help the poor at election times to garner their votes to remain in power.
Covid-19 hastened the deaths of many thousands who could not even have the money for a dignified religious funeral but had their bodies dumped by heartless people, in some cases, ambulance crews, into the flowing holy River Ganges from the top of a bridge. One can easily fathom the helplessness of surviving loved ones.
In these dire circumstances, there can be nothing but compassion generated by some fellow countrymen with a heart of gold who put their best foot forward to find money either from their pockets or through crowdfunding to help relieve the suffering of these poverty-stricken souls and give them a reason to feel wanted in the community.
Meet Dr Pratibha Jawda, a brave, deeply caring woman with a heart of gold who leaves no stone unturned to help ease the suffering of those who cross her path.
Dr Jawda, of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, is not an ordinary charity worker but an accomplished academic with a PhD in Psychology and is a trained Psychologist, Poet and Counsellor.
She is a woman of many talents. Her work and dedication have won her accolades both at home and abroad.
“It breaks my heart when I see so much poverty,” she tells me in an exclusive interview.
“I am a mother,” she says. “I feel the pain of helpless mothers whose children suffer from hunger and malnutrition.”
While she admits it is not possible for her as a one-woman task force to tackle poverty nationwide, which she believes is the job of the Government of the day, Dr Jawda does what she can within her surroundings, her means and when her contacts bring a case to her attention.
“Those who believe that if they want to bring any change in society, country or the world, must broaden their thinking. And this change should start with our home, family and society, “she says.
Dr Jawda rightly feels the importance of women being educated and trained in professions so they can help their families and children.
She wants to bring change through persuasion and not aggression.
She is at the forefront of a fight for women’s empowerment and fights for their rights in a male-dominated society.
Men confined their women folk to domestic chores. They force them to stay at home just because they believe that’s where they belong.
“Not so,” says Dr Jawda, “Women are as talented as men and better than them in many cases.”
She firmly believes women can contribute to the nation’s development, not just men.
India has moved forward, and woman’s emancipation is the natural course of action in a country where every citizen should contribute to its development and be proud of their role in this progress. Why should women then be forced to stay indoors and stand and watch while their desires to help the nation-building go up in dust?
In her quest to fight for the emancipation of weaker women, Dr Jawda has founded an NGO body, “I’m Women Empower”, inviting like-minded women to join in her nationwide fight to demolish the wall that blocks Indian women from coming into the open and using their talents in nation- building.
The group’s Facebook page and WhatsApp aims to make women aware and inspire them to be empowered. She firmly believes that underestimating daughters more than sons is the biggest mistake in society and the country.
Dr Jawda aims to give a new direction to Indian society. She wants to inspire daughters and daughters-in-law to live with dignity.
The response from women inspired her to create a YouTube channel where she shares her poems so that women can become aware of their power and abilities.
She aims to make all the women of India live with self-respect and renewed self-confidence and make them aware of their rights. In fulfilling this goal, she is inviting all Indians to share their dreams.
Today India has female commercial pilots flying on international routes, air force pilots and fighters, naval officers, engineers, and, oh yes, astronauts like the late Kalpana Chawla, who have done wonders to solidify India’s international reputation.
Many names of Indian-origin women in top international corporations come to mind.
The world over, Indian women are shining in professions, giving their motherland a pride of place in the international arena and inspiring the younger generation.
International advertising guru, Punjab-born, US-based Devika Bulchandani took over as the Ogilvy empire’s Global President, covering 131 offices in 93 countries.
Lena Nair heads the French luxury fashion group, Chanel. She is connected with the Indian city of Jamshedpur.
Mumbai-educated Aruna Jayanthi was appointed Managing Director of Capgemini’s Latin America and Canada sections.
London-born, who was brought up in India and US-educated Jayshree Ulall is the President and CEO of Arista. Anjali Sud, daughter of an NRI who previously worked at Amazon and Time-Warner, heads Vimeo.
Back in India, Dr Pratibha Jawda has worked hard to achieve her success. She had humble beginnings and was born in Khaur, a small village in the Pali District of Rajasthan.
Her father, the late Jivraj Jawda, was a station master. Her mother, Gyanlata Jawda, was a knowledgeable woman. They had five daughters, and Pratibha is the youngest.
Her inspiration for social reform and love for education came from her parents and teachers. Sadly, her mother died when she was 12. Since then, she has vowed to bring glory to her parents.
She is happily married to a popular Rajasthan physician Dr Rupendra Chouhan, and the couple has two talented sons – Divyansh, 18 and Ritwik, 12.
She is the director of the VT Industrial Training Institute and firmly believes that children’s “education or great thinking does not come only from reading or writing but from the values imparted from their parents, family and the added impetus from their teachers.”
Remembering her childhood, Pratibha says that because of her pioneers’ values, she moved forward as a philanthropist and social reformer.
She has provided training to poor and needy children and women in her circle. She was based in a small village in the Nagaur district where she went to meet women door-to-door, making them women aware of her work and getting them interested.
She provided psychological therapy to children and women when time permitted.
Her social work and dedication were noticed. She was honoured with the Nari Shakti Samman and Most Inspiring Women of India Award in March 2021.
Since then, a multitude of awards rolled in, giving her work not only national but also international recognition,
She has been engaged in social reform work for over a decade. She established Hanuman Prasad Education and Welfare Society, intending to emphasise on social work.
Dr Jawda has also organised many free medical camps through her organisation. She has also organised webinars many times to generate interest in women on issues relevant to them.
In a country where joblessness is endemic, Dr Jawda has endeavoured, through her contacts, to provide employment for the needy.
Her organisation has held job camps to advise participants on work opportunities and the qualities needed to get a job.
Dr Jawda’s goal is to make Indian women aware of self-respect and self-reliance.
The power of her pen is reflected in her poems. Her verses reflect her mission of making women aware of their unique qualities, to utilise them instead of wasting them.
There are many poems which have proved to be very inspirational for women. Many of her poems have been published.
She has been honoured by numerous institutions and welfare organisations in different fields. They were impressed by her special public services and outreach to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit India very hard.
The number of professional awards and recognitions Dr Jawda has received is a roll of honour for her hard work, generosity and dedication to humanity. Her vision of providing succour to the suffering women and sacrifices in delivering her message are commendable.
Dr Jawda is destined to go places. Her work does not only inspire women in India but also across the oceans.
Dr Jawda should, no doubt, be considered for recognition of a high public award such as the Nari Shakti Puraskar, awarded by the Government of India to individual women or institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is the highest civilian honour for women in India.
She is also worthy of receiving international recognition such as the Points of Light awarded by the 53-nation Commonwealth, of which India is a member.
The King of the United Kingdom awards Points of Light, as the head of the Commonwealth, to recognise outstanding volunteers every day of the week – people whose service is making a difference in their communities and whose story can inspire others to creative, innovative solutions to social challenges in their communities and beyond.
Such an honour would not be out of place for Dr Pratibha Jawda, a woman with humble beginnings whose aim is women’s emancipation and fighting, cultural ignorance and extreme poverty in India.