Poonam Sahu: The ‘Avedan’ Queen

Writing an avedan (application or grievance) to a government authority is not easy, Poonam says knowingly. You have to go through the Constitution so that you can put in the correct reference to fundamental rights or directive principles. You also have to go through relevant laws (Acts) and government orders to give reference of exactly what is guaranteed. Then you have to state your grievance or demand with specific details of the problem and possible solutions. When you do all this, then you have a good avedan. “Aapki baat mein vazan aata hai”. And you feel the power you hold as a citizen of India. 

Poonam has used this power relentlessly. Since her first training with WTPA in 2016, when she first learnt how to write avedans in a systematic way, she has written and filed more than 500 avedans. She remembers her progress with pride... “In 2016, I filed 26 avedans – on poor sanitation, bad roads, and on handpumps. Then in 2017, I filed 26”. Since then, she has filed nearly 100 each year. 

The avedans bring attention and action of government authorities on a wide variety of needs and grievances. These range from voter IDs and Aadhar cards to irregularities in ration, housing schemes, to bettering village infrastructure, schooling, access to water and health. 

The important thing is that she has not written all these by herself. Over time, she has trained many others to write avedans correctly and to follow up and ensure action. Poonam has worked closely with women SHG groups in Koderma district in Jharkhand, through NGOs like PRADAN and Samarpan. She regularly engages women with training sessions on the fundamentals of the Constitution, on their role as citizens, on government structure and schemes and how to use this understanding to access their rights and entitlements. 

All these efforts have yielded visible results: better roads, handpumps that work, water and toilet provisions in schools, among other ground-level impact. But Poonam is quite matter of fact about this. She estimates that the rate of success for resolving grievances is about 25%. She says, “writing avedan is the start. The start is critical because if you don’t make your demands on paper, then nothing will be done. But after writing and filing an avedan, the real struggle begins. There are many follow ups, many hurdles and many interest groups that work against you. Sometimes, you are demanding action that goes against the interests of powerful groups and people in the village. Sometimes these people are known to you, they may even be your extended family members! So, it very difficult. But it has to be done! That’s the only way to ensure that everyone gets what is rightfully theirs”.

Poonam is not fazed by difficulties. Right from her childhood, she has faced and overcome difficulties. She was married when she was studying in 9th class and was a mother when she was 15 years old. She insisted that she wanted to complete her 10th class and so, despite all odds, went back to school while nursing her baby. Then she convinced her family and completed her college education. Alongside, she took on responsibilities as a community leader in Pradan, continuously developing her understanding on matters related to women rights, food security, right to food, panchayati raj. And through all this, she studied for and completed her MA! 

At home, Poonam shares all her experiences and challenges with her husband, who is her pillar of support. He runs a shop and comes home quite late. She doesn’t get much time with him. So, she has devised a way of spending time with him. She asks him to listen to her for half an hour. Just listen. Just half an hour. And then when she has his full attention, she pours her heart out. She talks about her day, how it went, what she was able to do and what she learnt. This time together gives her the strength to go out the next day, work with her community and fight the good fight. 

The above story has been written and published with the explicit consent of the individual involved. All facts presented are based on WTPA's direct interaction with the individual, ensuring accuracy and integrity in our reporting.