Now Reading: Padma awardee Hirbai Lobi who uplifted 700 Siddi women dies at 65
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Padma awardee Hirbai Lobi who uplifted 700 Siddi women dies at 65
Hirbai Ibrahim Lobi, the Padma Shri awardee who helped more than 700 Siddi women become economically independent, died on January 24 at her home in Jambur village, Gujarat. She was 65. The…
Hirbai Ibrahim Lobi, the Padma Shri awardee who helped more than 700 Siddi women become economically independent, died on January 24 at her home in Jambur village, Gujarat. She was 65. The social worker from Gir Somnath district had no formal education but learned agricultural techniques and government schemes from radio programmes, then taught them to other women in her community.
Lobi founded the Mahila Vikas Foundation in 2004 and worked with the Adivasi Mahila Sangh to help Siddi women, many of whom depended on cutting wood near the Gir forest, find alternative livelihoods. She opened bank accounts for women, set up early-childhood learning centres known as balwadis, and promoted organic farming. At the 2023 Padma Awards, she placed her hands affectionately on President Droupadi Murmu's shoulder and also stopped to speak with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Her death has been mourned by the Siddi community, an African-origin community that has lived in parts of India for centuries. Lobi is survived by two sons and a daughter.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Siddi community, of African descent, has lived in Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra for centuries but remains among India's most marginalised, often lacking land rights and access to government schemes. Hirbai Lobi's work focused on replacing forest-labour dependence with organic farming and small enterprises, a shift that requires steady institutional support. The Mahila Vikas Foundation she founded in 2004 now carries her model forward. With her death, the question is whether local administration and social organisations will sustain the balwadis and livelihood programmes that reached over 700 women in Gir Somnand district alone.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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