Dulari Devi

A grassroots Indian activist who fought for women's land rights and led movements against gender-based violence in rural India.

Dulari Devi: The Rural Warrior for Women’s Land Rights

Dulari Devi (1925–2015) became a symbol of resistance in India’s Bihar region, challenging patriarchal norms through her advocacy for women’s land ownership. Born into a marginalized Dalit family, she witnessed systemic discrimination against women in inheritance laws. In 1958, she organized the Saheliyon Ki Dhadkan movement, which pressured the government to amend land inheritance laws. Her 1963 campaign secured 1,200 acres of land for widowed farmers, a groundbreaking achievement. Devi pioneered the "Women’s Land Rights Charter", adopted by 200 villages, ensuring daughters’ inheritance rights. She also founded the Pahal Foundation, which trained 10,000 rural women in legal literacy. Her 1975 memoir "The Soil Beneath My Feet" (published posthumously) details her struggles. Devi’s work inspired India’s 2005 Hindu Succession Act reforms, and her portrait hangs in the National Women’s Memorial Hall in Delhi.