NEW DELHI: For nine women from Chhattisgarh’s Naxal-affected Bastar region, the stage in Raipur offered a strikingly different kind of experience. Once part of an armed insurgency, they recently walked the ramp in handloom outfits at a National Handloom Day event, as part of efforts to help surrendered Naxalites rebuild their lives.The women, all from Sukma, took part in a Swadeshi fashion show organised as part of rehabilitation efforts for former Naxalites.Sukma SP Mayank Gurjar said the event also gave them an opportunity to promote Swadeshi products.For some of the women, the experience was unlike anything they had done before. One former Naxalite, who had worked with the Pamed Area Committee, said she surrendered in 2026 and travelled to Raipur for six days of training before taking part in the programme.“I used to work in the Pamed Area Committee. I surrendered in 2026. We went to Raipur recently. There, we were trained by people who had come from Bombay…prominent ministers also came. The training was of six days…it was the first time we did something like that…we enjoyed it,” the former Naxalite told news agency ANI.Another participant, Poonam Devi, said her journey with the Naxalite movement had begun in November 2007. She surrendered on July 12, 2025, bringing that chapter of her life to an end.“I surrendered on July 12, 2025. I liked the program…we were trained for it…I joined the Naxals in November 2007 and left in 2025,” she said.According to Gurjar, the women’s participation reflects the opportunities being offered under the rehabilitation policies of the Central and Chhattisgarh governments to those who surrender and choose to return to mainstream society.“As you all know, through the rehabilitation policy of the Government of India and the Chhattisgarh Government, various benefits and advantages are being provided to surrendered Naxalites. In that context, on National Handloom Day, nine surrendered women who had surrendered in Sukma participated in a Swadeshi fashion show,” he said.The nine women had held different positions within the Naxalite organisation. Some were associated with the Pamed Area Committee, while others had served as gunners for senior Naxalite commanders in Battalion Number 1. One had worked as a school teacher within the organisation, according to the SP.“Among the nine surrendered women, some were working in the Pamed Area Committee. Some worked as gunners for major Naxalite commanders in Battalion Number 1. One of the surrendered women Naxalites was working as a teacher in a school,” Gurjar said.Their past also included handling weapons. Gurjar said one of the women had carried an INSAS rifle and that the participants had surrendered around six months earlier.Now, instead of carrying weapons, the women are being encouraged to explore skills and opportunities that can help them build a different future.
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Gurjar said their participation in the fashion show showed a change in their outlook and suggested that their confidence in the rehabilitation process was growing.“They are now actively promoting Swadeshi products and refining their artistic skills,” he said.For women who once lived amid the forests and violence of the Naxal movement, walking a ramp in handloom clothing may appear like a small moment. But within the larger rehabilitation effort, it represents something much more significant, a visible step away from an armed past and towards an ordinary life.
