Mahila Shanti Sena (Women’s Peace Corp)
Mahila Shanti Sena (MSS) was founded in a collaborative effort between the Centre for Peace Studies at McMaster University and Shrambharati (NGO) at an international conference on Peace, Non-Violence and Democracy held at Vaishali (Bihar) in 2002. This conference attended by over 5000 men and women resulted in the creation of a new peace training program for women called Mahila Shanti Sena. With the overall aim to prepare women for participatory democracy at the grassroots level, the goal of MSS is to empower women to build a peaceful and just society and to promote the Gandhian tradition of engaging in constructive village service. While women become agents of change, they also focus on problems disproportionately facing women such as violence, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and neglect.
During and after the Vaishali Conference, thousands of women participated in 1-3 day training camps with the help of funding from Oxfam, CIDA, McMaster University, and the public at large. The training focused on rudiments of peace, democracy, and development and built upon their inner strength. Tens of thousands of women subsequently attended rallies and several ran in local village panchayat (assembly) elections and were elected. Starting from Bihar, MSS spread to several northeastern states and currently operates training camps in Bihar, Odisha, Assam, and Tamil Nadu.
For the last several years, MSS members have been engaged in reducing conflicts and making improvements in their respective communities while paying attention to building their self-capacity. With the help of others in their communities, they have been running an annual “Love India, Clean India” campaign to focus on cleaning their villages twice a year. They also work to monitor and sustain children’s education in their community. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, they helped provide food to people experiencing poverty and to returning migrant labourers, as well as distributed hand-stitched masks in their neighbourhoods.
The most striking change in MSS women is that they have been transformed into “Be the Change.” Before joining MSS, many of the women had never set foot outside their home or village, spoken with anyone outside of family or a small friend circle, and were unaware of their ability to make significant and valuable changes in their communities. After participating in MSS, many women began to speak with courage and confidence. Initially, when they started taking an interest in village matters, many women faced dismissal and ridicule. However, over time they have experienced success in their community engagement work and have gained the confidence of their community, so much so that often people actively seek their advice and help when there is a problem.
An MSS (international) wing was created in Hamilton in 2009 and registered in Ontario (Canada) to support the activities of MSS in India. Several founding members continue to work with MSS women in India.