Phool Kumari has become famous for her act.
By Sreekanth A. Nair
A rural woman from Bihar has mortgaged her ‘mangalsutra’ (a sacred necklace worn by married Hindu women) to build a toilet at her husband’s house.
Phool Kumari from Barahkhanna village in Bihar’s Sasaram decided to go ahead with mortgaging the sacred necklace when she couldn’t raise money through her efforts, reported Press Trust of India.
Hailed as a superwoman, she was made the ambassador of the district’s sanitation program by the administration.
Phool Kumari had a tough time after realizing that there was no toilet at her husband Vinod Kumar’s house when she reached there after marriage some years back. She asked Kumar to construct a toilet. But, Vinod Kumar, a farmer, didn’t have the financial ability to construct a toilet.
Kumari started working as a cook at a local school for finding money for constructing a toilet. But she decided to mortgage her ‘mangalsutra’ when couldn’t save enough money from her current income.
“Phool has become an icon for woman’s empowerment. I salute her for her courage and commitment,” the local district magistrate Animesh Kumar Parashar told media. “We have declared her our brand ambassador”. According to him, the local administration will also honor her on Independence Day, he added.
The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been promoting ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ (Clean India Mission) which aims at ending open defecation by 2019.