Sister Sabeena Remembered

SISTER SABEENA IN SASARAM PARISH COMPOUND

I sit here on this November afternonn, trying to make sense of the news that Sister Sabeena is no more. She died in a tragic accident in Sasaram, where she had spent many years with the poor and the disadvantaged women. Sister Sabeena was the director of the state run Mahila Samakhya programme in Bihar till 2009. She has the unique distinction of being a catholic nun, heading a government run women's programme.

I have had the privilege of knowing and working with Sister Sabeena for several years, sometimes helping out with the annual reports of the Mahila Samakhya, at other times as a resource person for MS programmes. We were planning a documentation exercise for the village level workers of the Nav Jeevan Community Centre in Rohtas (where she was serving as director) after Christmas. And now this news of her sudden death.

Her love for the Dalits and the poorest of the poor was well known and documented through several anecdotes that the women and workers of the Mahila Samakhya programme repeat at the mention of her name. All this afternoon, I have been receiving calls from several of her former colleagues, many of whom were stunned and shocked at the news, that she is no more.

Her loss will be felt and she will be mourned, not only by us, but by several thousand women and their families throughout the length and breadth of Bihar.