Prestigious International Award for Witch Hunt Crusader Birubala Rabha

She is Padmashree Birubala Rabha, a name that is strong enough in itself to speak a lot about her. She is brave at heart, strong at will and an idol every woman should look up to. She is the ‘witch hunt’ crusader from Assam who has garnered such noble words and applauds for her great deeds that her fame has crossed the boundaries of the nation now. The latest international recognition coming on her way is an award by Geneva-based Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF).

It was Birubala Rabha who had first dared to speak against the blind superstitious practices that are found still being practised in dark remote areas of the state. A matter that is hard to be taken up by renowned and socially recognized social activists was taken up by this 69-year-old crusader who has risked her life on several occasions to make sure that the innocent victims could be saved from the heinous witch-hunting practices.

Remarkably, the Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) shortlists 10 outstanding women from across the globe, to honour them for their exceptional contributions to the society and for their efforts to improve the quality of life in their areas. The WWSF awards $1,000 each to such outstanding social workers.

This foundation based in Geneva recognizes such women as eligible to receive this prestigious honour who takes up social causes like sharing knowledge for social development, protecting the environment, standing up for women’s rights, and participating in United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

As for a person living in remote areas of Assam, witch hunting is a common and most dreadful superstitious practice, they must be educated enough to realize the harm it causes to their society and the new generation. Reports say that more than 200 people, of who most are women, are subject to suffer from brutal harassments and are lynched since 2002.

Those men or women who are tagged as witches are often blamed for health issues like illness, death or financial loss that occurs in a certain family. People believe that as ‘that’ particular witch has spelt a cast on the person or his family, the family is suffering from such problems and killing the witch will only save them from these troubles.

Birubala Rabha has interrupted such superstitious villagers to prevent them from killing the innocent victims and have also given them better lives. She is also involved in campaigns against superstition.