Women Healing Women is the true story of the Maher ashram, a remarkable home for battered women and children near Pune, India. Founded in 1997, the project has provided refuge to more than 1350 women, half of whom would have likely been murdered, committed suicide, or starved to death were it not for this project. Maher is an interfaith community that profoundly honors all religions and strongly repudiates caste distinctions-making it a rare beacon of light that shines new hope upon some of the most intractable problems in India, and around the world.
Much has been written on the plight of women in Indian society, but Women Healing Women is rare in presenting an effective practical response to the appalling injustices. Home to some 100 women and 400 children, Maher offers compelling testimony to the power of women in community to overcome some of the most appalling social conditions on Earth. Female staff are formerly-battered women who once took refuge at Maher and are now highly effective healers and care-givers for the incoming battered women. Women Healing Women offers stirring inspiration and practical hope not only for women in India, but for oppressed women and children across the globe. The book is written in a concise narrative style, making for an easy and compelling read.
The early chapters of Women Healing Women tell the story of Maher by drawing upon poignant accounts of women and children in their own words whose lives have been transformed by the project. Most stories in the book are presented in dramatic narrative style to bring the anecdotes alive and engage the reader's heart as well as mind. For every tale told in Women Healing Women, thousands of similar stories remain untold in India and elsewhere-most with far less happy endings. Rich insights and statistics about conditions for women and the poor in Indian society are woven throughout the book. Examples of Maher stories include brides who narrowly escaped the grisly fate of 'dowry murder,' battered women forced to flee for their lives from their families, teenage girls raped and forever banished from their families, unwed mothers abandoned on the streets to starve, and mentally disturbed women rescued from the streets. The book is full of powerful healing stories of battered and abused women who took refuge at Maher and were rehabilitated through its social programs. Equally poignant stories are recounted by Maher children: preadolescent girls sold to brothels, toddlers and young children who witnessed their mother burned alive, and beggar children rescued from squalor and starvation who have been groomed at Maher to become national dance performers.
The later chapters of Women Healing Women articulate the larger implications of Maher�s pioneering work, and explore the potential for implementing similar projects elsewhere. Because women and low-caste populations in India face some of the most oppressive social conditions anywhere on the planet, the fact of the Maher achievement in this exceedingly challenging cultural context is a remarkable example of spirit in action that serves as powerful inspiration to anyone interested in practical solutions for healing and uplifting downtrodden people. One chapter highlights the epic story from the Mahabharata of the princess Draupadi, who successfully escapes from patriarchal abuse and oppression through the depth of her spiritual faith--providing a startling example of an Indian woman who prevails against patriarchal oppression with truth and dignity. Draupadi�s story sends an inspiring message to all women about the power of standing firm in spiritual faith in the face of injustice--just as Lucy Kurien did, thereby enabling Maher to be born.
The reasons for Maher's success are not specific to India. The principles and practices implemented at Maher are transferable to other potential projects, both in India and abroad. Women Healing Women articulates this auspicious potential, and recounts how Maher has already begun to train social workers, clergy, and other clinical professionals who are learning from Maher's experience. The training aspect of Maher will be expanded significantly in the future, but Maher's goal is not to grow into some mega-project. Instead, Maher staff and trustees strive to provide inspiration, training, and practical skills to others who seek to create their own similar projects elsewhere.
About Maher
While recognizing that no project is a panacea, Women Healing Women highlights the keys to Maher's success:
- Vibrant community of women healing women.
- Interfaith, caste-free spiritual foundation.
- Power of love in community.
- Tackling fundamental causes of poverty and oppression.
- Serving vulnerable and outcast populations.
- Integrity of principles and practice.
The final chapter of Women Healing Women makes the case that these keys to Maher's success are not unique to Maher alone, nor even to an Indian social context. Rather they represent a practical implementation of universal principles of the human heart, and with appropriate adaptations they can be implemented to create similar projects in oppressive societies elsewhere. The example of Maher is therefore vital not only for India, but stands as a pragmatic inspiration and support for anyone who seeks practical avenues to uplift oppressed women and children from the clutches of injustice and poverty into productive lives of dignity and purpose. For every tale told in Women Healing Women, thousands of similar stories remain untold in India and throughout the world�most with far less happy endings. Maher provides a blueprint for healing these painful realities, even in some of the most patriarchal societies on earth. Women Healing Women is a beacon of new hope for oppressed women everywhere.
For more information about the Maher Community, please visit www.maherashram.org.
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