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We are the Women of Bhopal, We are Flames, Not
Flowers
Hum Bhopal ki nari hai, phool nahi, chingari
hai

• August 2, 2005 Emerson College
• Association For Indias Development,
• Boston Chapter

Rashida Bee - Bhopal Campaign
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Bhopal Historical Perspective

• Historic city 11th century city of Bhojapal
• Dosh Mohammed Khan (Emperor Aurangzebs Afghan
  Soldier) Rani Kamlapati (Queen of Gonds)
• City of Lakes
• City of Mosques
• City of Mushariras and Kawalis
• The Baghdad of India cross-culture of India
  and Afghanisthan.
• City of Begums

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Walled City of Old Bhopal
Taj Ul Masjid Largest Mosque in India
Sarangi Players
City of Lakes
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Strong Female Leadership in Bhopal(Historic
Perspective)
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Bhopal Rule of the Begums

• The 19th century also belonged to the women, who
  ruled over Bhopal for almost 100 years.
• Aggressive, bold and fiercely independent, the
  Begums of Bhopal, who were Muslim women of high
  rank, have influenced the Bhopali women, who are
  a force to reckon with even today.

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The Begums of Bhopal

• Bhopal became a major princely state in British
  India and, early in its turbulent history, the
  role of its women rulers was vital.
• Mamola Bai (1744-95), a Hindu Rajput, married the
  Muslim Dost's son, Yar Mohammad Khan. Though
  never recognized as a Begum, for 50 years she
  ruled from 'behind the curtain' (purdah) on
  behalf of Yar's ineffective sons.

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The Begums of Bhopal

• The accepted rule of the Begums dates from the
  accession of the formidable Qudsia (1819-37), who
  seized control on behalf of her 15-month-old
  daughter Sikandar, warding off competing male
  claims.
• She ruled effectively while preparing Sikandar
  for power and so laid the foundations for
  Bhopal's golden age.

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The Begums of Bhopal

• Sikandar (1844-68) was fearsome in her Amazonian
  physical power and a typical 19th century
  modernist and reformer.
• She presided over administrative, social and
  educational reform and made Bhopal a haven for
  scholarship and culture and a centre for
  building, arts and crafts.

Ref http//www.4dw.net/royalark/India/bhopal5.htm
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The Begums of Bhopal

• Shahjehan (1868-1901) proved a marked contrast to
  her powerful mother but, although her long reign
  saw constant opposition from both the British and
  her Indian subjects to the influence of her
  unpopular husband.
• She still left a considerable mark in
  architecture, music, poetry and the arts.

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The Begums of Bhopal

• The last Begum, Sultan Jahan (1901-26) stamped
  her rule with her own powerful image, despite
  personal tragedy and long legal wrangling over
  the succession of her son, Hamidullah, whose
  reign marked the end of Bhopal's rule by the
  famous Begums.
• Sultan Jahan combined Muslim piety with ardent
  reform and became an international figure as
  first president of the All India Conference on
  Education and first chancellor of the Muslim
  University of Aligarh.
• She was a tireless worker for women's
  emancipation and education, publicly abandoning
  purdah two years before her death.

Ref http//www.4dw.net/royalark/India/bhopal5.htm
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"Women are the worst affected from any kind of
violence - be it domestic, development-related or
that caused by corporate polluters like Union
Carbide. It is up to us, the women, to join hands
across the world and keep the fight for justice
and against violence alive and unwavering."

• Rashida Bee, Bhopal Gas Affected Women's
  Stationery Union, and winner of the Goldman
  Environment Prize 2004

Women Become Leader by becoming the voices from
the community
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Rashida Bee Champadevi Shukla

• Bhopal Grassroots activists
• Roots in Labor activism
• Jhadoo Maro Dow Ko
• Fighting DOW in court
• Inspirational leaders for ICJB

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Roots in Labor Activism

• Met GOI training for stationary mfg
• Formation of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery
  Karmachari Sangh (BGPMSKS -- Bhopal Gas-Affected
  Women Stationery Workers Union)
• What is a Chief Minister?
• Giving voice to struggle by formation of womens
  union
• Demand Factories Act Minimum wage

Champadevi Shukla and Rashida Bee at a stationery
production centre for survivors of the Bhopal gas
disaster. Through the union they established, the
workers have secured a living wage.
Refhttp//www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2113/stories/
20040702001808200.htm
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Jhadoo Maro DOW Ko Campaign
Hit DOW with a broom campaign

• What were the demands of the campaign?
• Submit to the ongoing criminal proceedings in
  India as the new owner of Union Carbide, an
  accused in the Bhopal Chief Judicial Magistrates
  Court
• Clean up contaminated areas within and outside
  factory, and the poisoned groundwater
• Release medical information about toxicity of MIC
  and poison gases, and arrange for long-term
  medical treatment and rehabilitation of survivors
  and their children
• Arrange for long-term economic rehabilitation of
  survivors whose quality of life and livelihoods
  have suffered as a consequence of the disaster.
• Why is the campaign against Dow led by women?
• Women have borne the greater burden, says
  Rashida bai. The men have to earn, so every day
  they go out to look for work. Mostly they are
  construction workers. The women have to face many
  challenges every day at home feeding their
  children, caring for the sick. If a woman is
  infertile, her husband or her parents create
  difficulties. Sometimes the women get so angry
  that it stirs them to take action.

Traditionally, in India, the rolling pin and
broom are the two weapons of a housewife men
dont touch them. Being struck by a jhadoo is
the ultimate insult, and we feel that Dow
deserves this treatment. By delivering jhadoos to
Dow, were telling the company to clean up its
mess in Bhopal or be prepared to be swept away,
says feisty Champa Devi Shukla
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Taking it to the next level
Champadevi Shukla (left) and Rashida Bee, winners
of the 2004 Goldman Environmental Prize, holding
the Ouroboros statuette, which comes with the
prize. The oboros is a representation of a
serpent with its tail in its mouth, a symbol of
nature's powers of renewal.
DOW Shareholder meeting in Michigan May 2004 -
shareholder resolution (6 - 40 million shares)
for DOW to accept responsibility for Bhopal.
It doesn't feel like we have been fighting for
20 years. I feel like the struggle has just
begun. Rashida Bee in Frontline Interview
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Rachna Dhingra AID Jeevansaathi

• AID Ann Arbor (1999)
• Move to Bhopal (ICJB) in 2003
• Key organizer and inspiration to all.

"I truly believe in the power of ordinary people
because they simply are capable of doing
extraordinary things. I see it Bhopal everyday
and that is what keeps me going and inspired.
Rachna Dhingra
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Rachna Dhingra AID Jeevansaathi

• Organization of women to get clean water for
  20,000 people in impacted areas Close ties to
  the community
• Action for the International Campaign For Justice
  For Bhopal

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International Campaign For Justice in Bhopal
Demands

1. The Precautionary Principle
2. The 'Polluter Pays Principle' - the idea that
   those responsible for polluting the environment
   and endangering our health should also be held
   responsible for cleaning up that pollution and
   preserving our health.
3. The 'Right to Know' - people should have easy
   access to information about potential or current
   threats to the quality of the environment and
   their lives.
4. International Liability - CEOs and Corporations
   should not be allowed to abscond from legal
   proceedings levied against them in other nations.
5. Environmental Justice - poor, indigenous and
   people of colour communities should not be
   targeted with polluting facilities, dangerous
   technologies and other threats to their health
   and community.

More info www.bhopal.net, www.studentsforbhopal.o
rg