On this day in 1974, India’s Gaura Devi and village women hugged trees to prevent logging
Photo: Citizens demanding clean rivers and stop tree cutting at Chipko Andolan, 2023 / Samruddhi2897 / CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
On this day in 1974, India’s Gaura Devi and 27 village women in Reni, Himalayas, prevented tree logging by confronting armed lumber company men. Inspired by the Chipko movement, a non-violent struggle aimed at protecting trees and forests, they hugged the trees and refused to move out of the forest, eventually forcing the loggers to withdraw. This act marked a pivotal moment in the modern Indian environmental movement, which began to emerge as a women’s movement for forest rights.
Also on 26 March
In 1973, Muriel Wood, Susan Shaw, Hilary Root, Anthea Gaukroger, Audrey Geddes and Elisabeth Rivers-Bulkeley became the first women in the 171-year history of the London Stock Exchange to step on the trading floor, ending years of campaigning by women working in the financial sector.
Read more about women’s achievements throughout history here
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