Hailing from Bihta, 35 kms away from Patna , famous for brass work and Son River, Shiela Devi, a member of Jatta Sattu Producer Group (PG) who works as Community Mobiliser (CM) at BRLPS Jeevika is an epitome of bravery.
A few years back
Shiela Devi led a miserable life. Her husband was an alcohol addict and would come
home drunk everyday. He would be violent and Shiela Devi suffered domestic
violence almost every day. In fact, this was a problem of many households.
Shiela realised that the men would not listen to reason and the best way to stop
this social ill of alcohol addiction was to shut down the liquor shops. So one
fine day, she along with 2 friends of hers, took a lead to force the alcohol
shops shut.
Her movement gained momentum as other affected women joined her to
demand closure of liquor shops. During this period, she received countless death threats from the villagers who
owned and ran the alcohol shops. But this did not deter her and she continued
her protest valiantly. Because of protests by her and other women and
organisations, the government of Bihar finally brought about liquor prohibition
in the state in 2016.
Shiela Devi then
persuaded her husband to quit alcohol
consumption. Now, her husband leads a happier life working as a mason, earning
a decent livelihood. So is the case with other men who would earlier squander
their earnings on liquor and be a nuisance to their families as well.
In 2018, Shiela Devi received
accolades from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for her bravery and
contributing her part, however minor, to help end alcohol consumption in her village.
