Striving always to be morally right and socially correct,Amol Morajkar chose the path few women dare to choose. And while some may haveto fight a battle more than once to win it, Amol did not have to fight for herright. It just happened that she came, she saw and she conquered.
Socially active right from her school days, Amol helped herfather late Waman Kalangutkar, the first sarpanch after liberation of Goa inMerces, to spread the word of awakening. With the first chief minister of Goa,Dayanand Bandodkar alias Bhau being a close friend of her father, school-goingAmol explained the government schemes for rural women in her neighbourhood. “Iwas in seventh standard then. I helped them avail of various schemes and beself-dependent.”
Solving someone else’s problems for them and helping them tobe economically independent, helped Amol widen her social network, especiallyamongst women before she got married. An arranged marriage to Krishna Morajkarin 1985 allowed Amol to spread her wings and embrace the rural women in her newneighbourhood “ Anjuna. Her in-laws appreciated and encouraged the leadershipqualities she possessed and there was no looking back for Amol.
Amol’s interaction with the women and her wish to empowerthem, lead to her being appointed ‘Mahila Chief’ of Bardez Bhandari Samaj, in1987-88. Along with secretary of the Mandal Hemashri Gadekar, she formedcommittees in 11 villages which again formed 15 sub-committees including morewomen at the grass root level. “We held camps through Kamgar Shikshan Kendraand helped these women monetarily through the first bank for women “ Women’sCo-operative Bank that was started by women, for women in 1972 in Goa. Weoffered them jobs in Pigmi collection, loans of Rs 5,000 to start smallbusinesses and gold loans.” Amol was elected as the Director of this bank in1997, when Pratima Dhond was the Chairman of the bank.
Amol became the president of Inner wheel Club in 1999 andorganised health check camps, remedial teaching courses for village schools andcottage industries, opened a working women’s hostel in Porvorim, a familycounselling centre at Junta House and a corner ‘Gharkarnn’ at Institute MenezesBraganza Hall that sells snacks and accepts catering orders “ all for and bywomen. The milestones are many. She started legal awareness programmes forwomen in Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka. She was active in Women’s CricketAssociation and arranged cricket camps for girls in Anjuna. Working under theguidance of Shashikala Kakodkar, the first woman Chief Minister in Goa, Amolorganised inter-state cricket tournaments for girls for the first time in Goain 2002. Last but not the least; Amol is the Co-Chairperson of the Women’s Wingof Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries from 2006 till date.
Amol is 51 now but she still has not stopped. On a partingnote she says, “A meeting with Anna Hazare at Ralegaon Siddhi in 2007 haschanged me for better. I have miles to go yet and sow the seed of empowermentin the eyes of every Goan woman. My message to the women of Goa, - shed yourdeepest fears and be yourself!”
