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  • Events

Consultation on Women's Agency and Leadership

ओना गे मरांग दाड़े

“the most powerful energy”

  • 10 August 2026
  • Ranchi, Jharkhand
5
Partner CSOs
7
Facilitators
8
Sessions
20
Women Leaders
  • About

About the consultation

The Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership, organised by the Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation (BRLF) together with partner CSOs Kalamandir, SUPPORT, Life Education and Development Support, and Tagore Society for Rural Development, brought together women leaders from across Jharkhand’s villages to speak, in their own words, about the leadership they have long carried in their homes, groups, gram sabhas, worksites and panchayats.
Titled ओना गे मरांग दाड़े, meaning “the most powerful energy”, the consultation was built on one belief: that women’s lived experience is itself a source of knowledge, and that leadership is a journey walked over years, not a position handed down.
Twenty women leaders anchored eight sessions across the day, with seven facilitators drawing out journeys spanning MGNREGA worksites, SHGs, panchayats and gram sabhas. CSO teams, BRLF and Ford Foundation were present throughout, there not to speak but to listen and learn.
  • Discussion

Four themes

01

Leadership as a journey, not a position

02

Women's lived experience as a source of knowledge

03

Collective support strengthening individual agency

04

From listening to collective action

  • Speakers

Speakers

Six women leaders anchored the day’s sessions, drawing on years of organising across panchayats, SHGs and MGNREGA worksites.

Manorma Tuti

President, Block Level Forum · SHG Leader and Woman Mate
Murhu, Khunti (LEADS) · 7 years
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Munika Mundu

President, Block Federation and SHG · CRP, Sustainable Agriculture
Bandgaon, West Singhbhum (LEADS) · 4 years
View Profile

Suman Shalini Tirkey

Community Leader, SHG Book Keeper and Woman Mate
Mahuadanr, Latehar (LEADS) · 6 years
View Profile

Sangita Nayak

VO Leader
Nuiya, Noamundi (SUPPORT) · 8 years grassroots
View Profile

Laxmi Sundi

“Mate Didi” · MGNREGA Mate and Community Leader
Kalamandir · Since 2021
View Profile

Roseline Haiburu

“Marang Didi” · President, Block Mate Forum and Mate Trainer
Bhoya, Khuntpani (Kalamandir)
View Profile
  • Featured Voices

Featured Voices

Fourteen women whose journeys — from MGNREGA worksites to panchayat office — shaped the day’s conversations.

Monika Mundu

Woman Mate
Tokad Village (LEADS)
View Profile

Sukurmani Purti

“Mate Didi” · Woman Mate
Betarkiya, Noamundi (SUPPORT) · 4 years
View Profile

Priyanka Das

Entrepreneur, Woman Mate and GPHD
Beldih, Boram (TSRD) · 10 years
View Profile

Anita Purty

Mukhiya, Karlajuri Panchayat · GPDP Master Trainer
Kalamandir
View Profile

Babita Kumari Pradhan

Panchayat Samiti Member
Padampur, Jagannathpur (SUPPORT) · 5 years
View Profile

Belmati Bobonga

Farmer
Maluka, Jagannathpur (SUPPORT) · 5 years
View Profile

Bina Devi

Pashu Sakhi and VO Member
Birniya, Meherma (BRLF) · 6 months
View Profile

Chandu Kudada

“Marang Didi” · Panch and Mate Trainer
Baduri, Chaibasa (Kalamandir)
View Profile

Gangi Biruli

MGNREGA Mate · “Marang Didi”
Ulihatu, Baduri Panchayat (Kalamandir)
View Profile

Kalpana Devi

Anganwadi Sevika and VO Member
Gajhanda, Meherma (BRLF) · 6 months
View Profile

Kamla Gazi

VO Member · newly selected FLCRP
Churumatha, Binju, Anandpur (WASSAN) · 8 months
View Profile

Radhika Gazi

Active VO Member
Churumatha, Binju, Anandpur (WASSAN) · 8 months
View Profile

Sarala Kumbhkar

GPHD and Woman Mate
Gordhi, Boram (TSRD) · 10 years
View Profile

Uma Rani Mahato

Woman Mate and Business Correspondent, Bank of India
Kumir, Patamda (TSRD) · 10 years
View Profile

Manorma Tuti

President, Block Level Forum · SHG Leader and Woman Mate
Murhu, Khunti (LEADS) · 7 years
About the speaker
Seven years of organising have made Manorma a trusted convenor of the block forum and a facilitator who brings other women onto the microphone at state-level programmes, including in front of government officials.
She has worked against child marriage and girl trafficking by strengthening community institutions and collective action. Recognised as a model woman farmer, she creates space for other women to speak for themselves.

Munika Mundu

President, Block Federation and SHG · CRP, Sustainable Agriculture
Bandgaon, West Singhbhum (LEADS) · 4 years
About the speaker
Munika leads both her SHG and the block federation, works as a CRP for sustainable agriculture, and serves as a Woman Mate under VB-G-RAM-G.
She has served on social audit juries, organised Jan Sunwai at panchayat level, and coordinated the MGNREGA Commissioner’s block visit. Four years of organising have strengthened her ability to bring quieter community members into public processes.

Suman Shalini Tirkey

Community Leader, SHG Book Keeper and Woman Mate
Mahuadanr, Latehar (LEADS) · 6 years
About the speaker
Six years of organising at panchayat and block level have positioned Suman as a facilitator who brings other women onto district platforms to raise their own concerns with the DC and DDC, rather than speaking on their behalf.
She manages her SHG’s books, works as a Woman Mate, and has helped build women-led enterprises and improve access to government schemes in Mahuadanr.

Sangita Nayak

VO Leader
Nuiya, Noamundi (SUPPORT) · 5 years with project · 8 years grassroots
About the speaker
With eight years of grassroots organising, Sangita has helped build VOs and SHGs and facilitated Gram Sabha and GPDP processes so that women’s priorities are reflected in local plans.
She works on child protection and against child trafficking, coordinating with government departments and local stakeholders, and facilitates block-level meetings and awareness programmes.

Laxmi Sundi

“Mate Didi” · MGNREGA Mate and Community Leader
Kalamandir · Since 2021
About the speaker
Selected as a MGNREGA Mate through the Gram Sabha, Laxmi learnt planning and labour management by participating in panchayat meetings and observing how local works were organised.
She went on to deliver field bunding, farm ponds, water-harvesting structures and mango plantations. During ‘Government at Your Doorstep’, she identified families missing from official lists and helped them complete the paperwork needed to access services.

Roseline Haiburu

“Marang Didi” · President, Block Mate Forum and Mate Trainer
Bhoya, Khuntpani (Kalamandir)
About the speaker
Roseline enrolled as a MGNREGA Mate in 2021 but withdrew twice, convinced she could not do the work.
After joining the Marang Didi Support Centre in 2022, she began helping villagers access pensions, loans and other services; the village subsequently elected her as a facilitator and she went on to become President of the Block Mate Forum. As a Mate Trainer, she now supports other Mates to regain confidence and return to active roles.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

Woman Mate
Tokad Village (LEADS)
About the speaker
Monika shared her journey from social barriers to community leadership during the self-appreciation and letter-to-self session. Her reflection created space for participants to recognise their own journeys, acknowledge the work they have done, and reflect on how they have grown.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

“Mate Didi” · Woman Mate
Betarkiya, Noamundi (SUPPORT) · 4 years
About the speaker
Sukurmani’s journey began with migration and led to community leadership. She entered MGNREGA work through her own household and chose to stay on, learning to create job cards and raise demands for work.
She has since helped move works such as TCBs, mango orchards and boundary walls through her panchayat, and now heads the Panchayat Mate Forum while serving as Block Secretary.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

Entrepreneur, Woman Mate and GPHD
Beldih, Boram (TSRD) · 10 years
About the speaker
Priyanka’s journey has taken her from domestic responsibilities to leadership and entrepreneurship. Over ten years, she has facilitated more than 50 assets under MGNREGA while building and continuing to run a copy-making enterprise that contributes independently to her household’s income.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

Mukhiya, Karlajuri Panchayat · GPDP Master Trainer
Kalamandir
About the speaker
Anita took charge as Mukhiya of Karlajuri unsure of the work, and learnt by doing it in the open. More than 15 MGNREGA projects have moved under her leadership, including works that turned muddy tracks into all-weather roads.
She worked to keep vaccines, medicines and pensions reaching people despite funding delays. Her 250-member WhatsApp network across five villages reports problems as they arise.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

Panchayat Samiti Member
Padampur, Jagannathpur (SUPPORT) · 5 years
About the speaker
Babita began as a Woman Mate and is now a Panchayat Samiti Member. Along the way, she brought other women into Mate work, increased participation in Gram Sabha, and helped families access social security schemes to which they were entitled but had never claimed.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

Farmer
Maluka, Jagannathpur (SUPPORT) · 5 years
About the speaker
After being left by her husband with two children, Belmati continued farming and found ways to make it more productive and profitable.
On her mango plantation, she developed an integrated system combining fisheries, livestock, trellis vegetables and intercropping. Other farmers in Maluka have since begun adopting practices they have seen on her farm.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

Pashu Sakhi and VO Member
Birniya, Meherma (BRLF) · 6 months
About the speaker
When her family and village opposed her attending trainings, Bina went anyway. As a Pashu Sakhi, she now reaches around 800 farmers with vaccination and disease-prevention support for goats and poultry. She has also helped 160 adolescent girls return towards education and connect with the Tejaswini programme.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

“Marang Didi” · Panch and Mate Trainer
Baduri, Chaibasa (Kalamandir)
About the speaker
Married at sixteen, Chandu completed her graduation while raising a child. In 2022, she became the first woman MGNREGA Mate in her village, leading work on irrigation wells, plantation drives and labour registration. Alongside this, she has campaigned against child marriage and child labour.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

MGNREGA Mate · “Marang Didi”
Ulihatu, Baduri Panchayat (Kalamandir)
About the speaker
Gangi stepped forward as a Mate when her village needed one, despite having no prior training. She learnt land measurement, geotagging and how to work with officials by doing the job herself. She now speaks in Gram Sabha and is preparing to contest for a panchayat position.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

Anganwadi Sevika and VO Member
Gajhanda, Meherma (BRLF) · 6 months
About the speaker
Kalpana has supported more than 100 pregnant women to access institutional deliveries. When Anganwadi Sahayikas were denied their dues, she took the matter to the District Commissioner and helped secure the entitlements. She has also previously contested for the position of Mukhiya.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

VO Member · newly selected FLCRP
Churumatha, Binju, Anandpur (WASSAN) · 8 months
About the speaker
Kamla joined the Village Organisation eight months ago and was recently selected as an FLCRP. Women in Churumatha turn out when she calls a meeting, giving her an early but growing role in mobilising the community. She comes to this convening ready to listen and carry lessons back to her VO.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

Active VO Member
Churumatha, Binju, Anandpur (WASSAN) · 8 months
About the speaker
Eight months into her association with the Village Organisation, Radhika has become someone who can bring other women to meetings and keep them engaged. She comes to this convening to learn from women who have moved from mobilising others to participating directly in collective decision-making.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

GPHD and Woman Mate
Gordhi, Boram (TSRD) · 10 years
About the speaker
Over ten years, Sarala has facilitated more than 100 assets under MGNREGA and regularly mobilises and manages more than 60 labourers on site. She keeps works moving on schedule and to the required standard, building authority in a role where women are still often assumed to be out of place.

Consultation on Women’s Agency and Leadership

Woman Mate and Business Correspondent, Bank of India
Kumir, Patamda (TSRD) · 10 years
About the speaker
Over ten years, Uma has facilitated more than 200 durable assets under MGNREGA. She then expanded her role by becoming a Business Correspondent for Bank of India, bringing banking services closer to people in Kumir.
Her journey connects long-term work leadership with a newer role in expanding access to formal financial services.