Patna : A statewide women’s empowerment campaign, Mahila Samvad, is set to launch on April 18 across Bihar, aiming to engage over two crore women in 48,000 villages. The two-month-long initiative will be spearheaded by Jeevika, the state’s rural livelihoods programme, and implemented simultaneously across all 38 districts.
According to Himanshu Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of Jeevika, the outreach will be conducted through a series of village-level dialogues at 70,000 locations, with over 1.35 lakh Jeevika Didis (community mobilisers) leading the effort. Each day, discussions will be held in around 1,200 villages—both in the morning and evening—using a fleet of 600 mobile units.
Empowerment Through Dialogue
The Mahila Samvad initiative is designed to foster economic and social empowerment by directly engaging women in conversations around key government schemes and policies. These include awareness and feedback on the Bihar State Women Empowerment Policy 2015, reservations for women, anti-dowry and anti-child marriage campaigns, de-addiction drives, and various girl-focused welfare programmes such as the Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana and Balika Poshak Yojanas.
In densely populated areas, multiple dialogues will be held to ensure inclusive participation. For example, in Patna district alone, events will take place in 1,395 villages, including Phulwari, Punpun, and Sampatchak.
Women’s Voices at the Centre
During these sessions, women will be encouraged to share their aspirations, concerns, and experiences related to the implementation of state-led welfare initiatives. Officials say the inputs collected will help shape more responsive policy decisions in the future.
