More professional women turning up at RSS shakhas

Prayagraj: Call it impact of the saffron surge or well-planned outreach campaign that more and more professional women like advocates, teachers, doctors are joining the shakhas of Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the women’s wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, in Sangam city.These women have been attending physical, spiritual, and intellectual development lessons, besides learning martial arts like judo karate and ‘lathi’ training at shakhas.Momi Dey, qVibhag Sharirik Pramukh of Rashtra Sevika Samiti told TOI, “Scores of women volunteers are attending the 11 major shakhas operating currently in the Sangam City.”These 11 shakhas in north, south and Naini pockets of the city are named after prominent personalities and freedom fighters.Two shakhas, Beni Madhav Shakha (

Triveni Nagar

) and Prayagraj Shakha (Bhardwaj Nagar) are functioning in north, while seven — Anusuiya Shakha (Nyay Nagar), Janki Shakha (Nyay Nagar),

Tulsi Shakha

(Madhav Nagar), Kalyani Shakha (Kalyani Nagar), Padmavati Shakha (Keshav Nagar),

Yamuna Shakha

(Shree Krishna Nagar) and Manikarnika Shakha (Lokmanya Nagar) are running in south part of the city. Two shakhas,

Triveni Shakha

and Tejaswini Shakha (Manas Nagar) are in Naini area.“There are three types of shakhas for women volunteers — Bal Shakha, Grahani Shakha and Milan Groups. After the pandemic, shakhas for women volunteers are being held daily and weekly and more women with professional backgrounds are joining,” Dey added.Apart from physical, spiritual, and intellectual training, we also work on personality development of women in our shakhas, she added.Women are enthusiastically attending martial art lessons like Judo-Karate and lathi training for self-defence, said Dey. We hold interactive sessions with girls and women coming from different parts of the city, including Naini, City North and City South. We also discuss how to uphold our culture and traditions, she added.In a positive development, more and more women from rural and urban backgrounds are expressing their willingness to join the Samiti’s activities. The volunteers are also involved in socio-cultural activities to inculcate patriotism and social awareness among them and other women.