https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=ThennamadeviThennamadevi - Revision history2026-08-21T06:44:28ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thennamadevi&diff=540811&oldid=prevJyotikaSBaliarsingh: Creating new bio2024-03-05T15:41:36Z<p>Creating new bio</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Village in Tamil Nadu, India}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}<br />
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'''Thennamadevi''' or '''thennaven ma devi''' is a village in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]], not far from [[Viluppuram]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2018/0415/The-girls-who-took-over-a-town-in-rural-India?subid=22645325&CMP=the_upside_email|title=The girls who took over a town in rural India|last=LaFranchi|first=Howard|date=2018-04-15|work=Christian Science Monitor|access-date=2018-04-27|issn=0882-7729}}</ref> In 2016, a group of teenaged women "took over" the village and enacted several civic improvements within two years.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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The village is located among rice paddies, banana trees and sugar cane fields.<ref name=":0" /> There is a high level of alcoholism among men in this village, and it's been reported that most of the 150 men in the village engage in heavy drinking every day.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/oct/21/india-villagers-child-abuse-trafficking-alcoholism|title=Indian village run by teenage girls offers hope for a life free from abuse|last=Townsend|first=Mark|date=2017-10-21|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-04-27}}</ref> The village has an extremely high percentage of widows and also high rates of human trafficking.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ndr.de/info/sendungen/echo_der_welt/Indische-Maedchen-uebernehmen-die-Dorf-Macht,indischesdorf102.html|title=Indische Mädchen übernehmen die Dorf-Macht|last=NDR|date=2018-02-15|website=www.ndr.de|language=de|trans-title=Indian girls take over the village power|access-date=2018-04-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.oddnaari.in/life/story/thennamadevi-tamil-nadu-young-girls-alcoholism-sexual-abuse-child-trafficking-development-change-126564-2017-10-26|title=An inspiring story of 16-year-old girls running a village on their own|date=2017-10-26|access-date=2018-04-28|language=en}}</ref><br />
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== Young girls' club ==<br />
After a women's empowerment club called the "young girls' club" opened in Thennamadevi, approximately two dozen teenaged women decided to enact major changes in their village.<ref name=":1" /> Between 2016 and 2018, the group focused on making it safer for young people in the village to attend school. They installed street lights in the village's two unpaved streets, added a 150-book library and got local authorities to add a bus stop that goes into town.<ref name=":0" /> They convinced health officials to provide modern [[Sanitary napkin|feminine sanitary products]] in the nearest clinic.<ref name=":0" /> They also started a campaign to install toilets in individual homes, to both prevent men from harassing women in the town's public toilet, and to address the health challenges associated with large public communal bathrooms.<ref name=":0" /> Club members have pledged to help girls who are married against their will before they are 18 (which is illegal in India, but not well enforced), and in meetings they teach each other about self-discipline, personal hygiene and menstrual issues.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/in-this-tn-village-teen-girls-set-the-agenda-for-change/articleshow/64165562.cms|title=In this Tamil Nadu village, teen girls set the agenda for change - Times of India|work=The Times of India|access-date=2018-06-22}}</ref> Kousalya Radakrishnan is the Thennamadevi girls club president and spokesperson, replacing the original president Says Sowmya.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/india-girls-empowerment-tamil-nadu-alcohol/|title=In a Village Struggling With Alcoholism, These Teenage Girls Are Making Changes for the Better|work=Global Citizen|access-date=2018-04-28}}</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
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{{coord|11|58|57|N|79|28|50|E|type:city_region:IN|display=title}}<br />
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[[Category:Cities and towns in Viluppuram district]]</div>JyotikaSBaliarsingh