Thread by @dalitwomenfight

"I grew up seeing my mom doing all the work on her own. From going to the office, to a bank, to market, to getting things fixed in the house, taking care of her old parents, getting to learn how to drive a car at the age of 50, and much more." - @elite_dalit. #TheyInspireMe

Today for #DalitHistoryMonth, meet Kusum Chauhan, a 'catalyst and a facilitator for countless women around her.' #TheyInspireMe

My mom was 5 years old when she came to Delhi along with her mother & siblings. After securing a small paid job and a decent shared-shelter in Delhi, my grandfather brought them here from a village of Western #UttarPradesh. #TheyInspireMe

She is the first woman in our family, both paternal & maternal to enter a school, enrolled herself for graduation which she could not complete, got married when she was 20 years old and joined the Cement Corporation of India under the Group B employees. #TheyInspireMe

My father didn't have a job when they got married. He could continue studying & preparing for civil services post his marriage since my mom took on all responsibilities on her which allowed him to not feel burdened by responsibilities post marriage & aspire to achieve his dreams.

My father finally got through it.

Along with supporting my father in this big city, my mom also supported seven of my father’s siblings who would come to Delhi for studying and preparing for different competitive exams. #TheyInspireMe

I am proud of the support she had stretched to the entire family however I also feel that it must have been extremely tiring for her. She had a 9 to 5 job and this entire family to take care of. I don’t think my mom had enough time to invest emotionally with so many people.

Yet, there was one big job that she had to do every time before leaving for work and after she had returned from work- Cooking for so many people.

I have never heard her complain about this. Rather she shares that she wanted everyone to study well and attain a job like her.

She would never say no to guests who would come to Delhi in search of jobs or for education.

My mom took charge of the house without choice in the initial phase of her life and even after my father attained a reputed job, she continued that. #TheyInspireMe

My parents have not lived together for most of their lives. I was born in the absence of my father and I only saw him when I was 5. We managed to stay with him for some years and he was again transferred. We only got to stay together at one place post his retirement.

All this while, I grew up seeing my mom doing all the work on her own. From going to her office, to a bank, to market, to getting things fixed in the house, taking care of her old parents, getting to learn how to drive a car at the age of 50, and much more. #TheyInspireMe

She didn’t have much money. I realised it very late in life. I always thought that since my father has a fancy job it means we are rich. But it wasn’t true. However, my mom never made us feel that she didn’t have enough money for our needs. #TheyInspireMe

I remember that whenever I would tell her to get me something she would just ask me how useful it was for me and then she would just say – “in some days you will get it”. #TheyInspireMe

I always felt awkward when friends around me would say that they will have to seek their father’s approval or ask them for money. I have never sought my father’s approval for anything in my life and for money I could only ask my mom. My father was nowhere in the picture.

This was also precisely because he was away most of the time. I never even saw my mom asking for money from my father. Even when he was around, I could never ask him for anything, because it was my mom who got me everything that I needed. #TheyInspireMe

I see my mom as a single mother despite her being married and what not! Her economic independence, the ability to make decisions and having independent positions on issues makes me call her a single mother. #TheyInspireMe

She raised me & my 2 elder sisters alone. Her determination & desire for women to be economically independent had been tremendous. Both my elder sisters are now bureaucrats.

She's also my 1st mentor of feminist principles. She's never studied feminism. #TheyInspireMe

Yet, she has led a feminist life and has also passed on feminist principles to me & my sisters. What she understood as basic & minimum is extremely feminist and so many women around us struggle to get it. #TheyInspireMe

However, she made so many struggles and mental pressures easy for me- Economic independence, job security, ownership of land & property, zero tolerance to physical abuse. These are some of the concepts we have grown up listening to and have seen her following it. #TheyInspireMe

She is also the first woman from the family to give up Hindu religion. It had been a tough journey for her since her siblings would often get in conflict with her over her views. She was introduced to Dr. Ambedkar’s work by my father post their marriage. #TheyInspireMe

She had to bear the consequence of all of this, which was in a sense isolating for her. However, she, me and my father have a better world now. We are fine being like this. #TheyInspireMe #DalitHistoryMonth

I've seen my mom building a protective wall for me to save me from my relatives and neighbours according to whom I had extremely bad manners and rude thoughts which a woman of my age shouldn’t have. These were my rejection of Hindu religion, gods and demand of equality to women.

In my young days I saw her always standing in front of me to protect me and defend my opinions and now I see her standing behind me like a pillar, saying “break that face”! #TheyInspireMe #DalitHistoryMonth

My mom doesn’t talk much. Also, she didn’t know much about what we three had been studying etc. but she knew two things for sure- one, she wanted all three of us to speak only in English, second, three of us needed to get the best jobs no matter what! #TheyInspireMe

English had been a really big issue for her. She can not speak English. I asked her why she made English a big deal, she shared her experience that when she joined her job, she would see people in the office speaking in English. #TheyInspireMe #DalitHistoryMonth

She could follow the instructions and understand what people said and never had the courage & confidence to speak in English. She still smiles and secretly feels proud when she sees us speaking in English.

My mom is a very introverted kind of a person. #TheyInspireMe

She doesn’t talk much, also probably because she did not have enough time for talking while doing all of this. She has been a person who spoke less but did a lot. #TheyInspireMe #DalitHistoryMonth

She has been a catalyst and a facilitator for countless women around her. She is a champ when it comes to facilitating things for girls & women who are aspiring to pursue their dreams. #TheyInspireMe #DalitHistoryMonth