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The Durga Vahini (Army of Durga) is the women's wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). It was established in 1991 and its founding chairperson is Sadhvi Rithambara. The Durga Vahini is often considered to be the female face of the hardliner Bajrang Dal. The organization is described as a militant outfit, right-wing religious fundamentalist group and a proto-fascistic young women's wing.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad states the purpose of the Durga Vahini is to encourage more women to participate in prayer meetings and in cultural activities. According to Kalpana Vyash, a senior leader of the organization, the Durga Vahini members dedicate themselves "to physical, mental and knowledge development".

Mala Khullar and Ihwa Yŏja Taehakkyo in their book Writing the Women's Movement: A Reader writes:

The fundamentalist/communalist organizations, aware of the ferment in women's minds, are today making a bid to channelize/harness the nascent consciousness about women's rights for their own purpose. Taking advantage of women's deep attachment to religion they are today floating new organizations and fronts such as the Hindu Mahila Sammelan and the Durga Vahini, wherein women's role as mothers, progenitors and defenders of the faith, etc., are highlighted along with their role in the family.

The Durga Vahini aggressively recruits young women from low-income earning and lower caste families. Members learn karate and lathi, and receive ideological education. The organization especially recruits young girls for carrying risky tasks of militant activism in which much physical strength is required, for example confronting Muslim people and to fight on the front lines in places like Ayodhya.

Controversies

• In the Bijnor riot in 1990, activists belonging to the Durga Vahini organized a possession of Hindu men through the Muslim quarters of Bijor shouting provocative slogans which started violence.

• Six members of the Durga Vahini were arrested in Gwalior in March 2004 for blackening the face of Neetu Sapra, director of the play Kal Aaj Aur Kal. The Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal claimed the play depicted Rama, Sita, Laxman and Hanuman in "indecent" way. The activists also damaged the furnitures in Sapra's home.

References

1. ^ "Women 'Ram Bhakt' hog limelight" (HTML). The Tribune. 2002-04-11. Retrieved 2008-06-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
2. ^ Fiona Wilson, Bodil Folke Frederiksen (1995). Ethnicity, Gender, and the Subversion of Nationalism. Routledge. pp. p91. ISBN 0714641553. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
3. ^ Joanna Kerr, Alison Symington (2005). The Future of Women's Rights. Zed Books. pp. p81. ISBN 184277459X. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
4. Chetan Bhatt (1997). Liberation and Purity. Routledge. pp. p168. ISBN 1857284240. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
5. Mala Khullar, Ihwa Yŏja Taehakkyo (2005). Writing the Women's Movement: A Reader. Zubaan. pp. p65. ISBN 8186706992. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
6. Feminist Review: Issue 49. Routledge. 1995. pp. p15. ISBN 0415123755. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
7. David E. Ludden (1996). Contesting the Nation: Religion, Community, and the Politics of Democracy in India. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. p77. ISBN 0812215850. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
8. "'Durga Vahini' activists held" (HTML). The Hindu. 2004-05-15. Retrieved 2008-06-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

• Organizations based in India
• Sangh Parivar
• Hindu movements and organizations