This story is from September 25, 2018

Women become guerrillas to wriggle out of early marriage

AP police and ministry of home affairs claim that Adivasi women are joining the Leftwing extremist movement to escape early marriage and as parents feel girl child as a burden and pushing them into the outlawed group.
Women become guerrillas to wriggle out of early marriage
Tribal women Maoist recruitment has surpassed men’s recruitment and almost 50% cadres are women
HYDERABAD: AP police and ministry of home affairs claim that Adivasi women are joining the Leftwing extremist movement to escape early marriage and as parents feel girl child as a burden and pushing them into the outlawed group.
Tribal women Maoist recruitment has surpassed men’s recruitment and almost 50% cadres are women. On Sunday, in the killing of TD MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao and former MLA K Soma, around 20 to 25 women Maoists took part.
Visakhapatnam
rural SP Rahuldev Sharma told TOI, “A large number of women took part in the incident, all aged between 18 and 20 years. Most of them are believed to be from Chhattisgarh. Some of them were speaking Telangana dialect Telugu. Two of them have been identified from Vizag and East Godavari. The recruitment of tribal women is happening in Chhattisgarh. Women to escape early marriage are joining the movement.” In Sunday’s attack, police believe that Aruna, a Special Zonal Committee member of Nandapur dalam, was actively involved in the killing of the MLA.
MHA says “Faced with threats, Adivasi parents prefer to part with the girl child. Maoists’ cruel practice is the reason behind a large number of young girls and women being recruited into the Maoist cadres. They have also used a shield during an exchange of fire with the security forces. But in the top leadership like central committee and politburo, there are a negligible number of woman Maoists.”
During the 2018 March encounter, seven Maoists were killed in police encounter and the incident highlighted that women Maoists are killed in large numbers during police firing. Interestingly, most of the rights activists based in Hyderabad and New Delhi refused to comment.
A rights activist based in Hyderabad, who doesn’t want to be quoted, said, “50% Maoist cadres are women. To escape bad and forced marriages they run away from home. They also oppose patriarchy.”
author
About the Author
U Sudhakar Reddy

Sudhakar Reddy Udumula is the Editor (Investigation) at the Times of India, Hyderabad. Following the trail of migration and drought across the rustic landscape of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Sudhakar reported extensively on government apathy, divisive politics, systemic gender discrimination, agrarian crisis and the will to survive great odds. His curiosity for peeking behind the curtain triumphed over the criminal agenda of many scamsters in the highest political and corporate circles, making way for breaking stories such as Panama Papers Scam, Telgi Stamp Paper Scam, and many others. His versatility in reporting extended to red corridors of left-wing extremism where the lives of security forces and the locals in Maoist-affected areas were key points of investigation. His knack for detail provided crucial evidence of involvement from overseas in terrorist bombings in Hyderabad.

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