Mumtaz and her group clean Dulli Ghat. Picture by Sachin

Spreading the message of religious harmony, a Muslim woman decided to clean the Chhath ghats in the Patna City area in 2002. A decade on, she has become an icon for those observing the festival as she continues to work to keep the ghats in good shape.

Along with 200 women of her community, Mumtaz Jahan, 35, has been busy preparing the ghats for worshippers this year as well.

Mumtaz, a resident of Gurhatta in Patna City, began her mission ten years ago, helped by just 15 women. Several people of her community had reservations about her work in the initial days. But she did not relent. “When I started the work of cleaning the ghats in 2002, I had to face a lot of problems. People of my community had reservations about my work. They used to make fun of me, discourage me and tell me that if I continue with the job, I would only earn a bad name for my family and myself. But I persisted.”

Her resolve started paying dividends after some time.

“Today, my group consists of around 200 Muslim women. They are proud of cleaning the ghats for a noble cause. A week before Chhath, we start planning. We take a call on which ghat we would go to first, what measures we would take while cleaning the ghats and other necessary things. If you want to see how much we are excited about our job, just attend one of our meetings. You would see every member offering suggestions,” she says.

Mumtaz said every year her gang makes it a point to clean seven Patna City ghats — Adarsh, Bakshi, Mittan, Sirhi, Colony, Nauzar and Dulli.

The clean-ghat crusader’s husband, Mohammad Javed, is all praise for her. “Mujhe Mumtaz par naaz hai. Usne na sirf yeh nek kaam apne hathon liya, balki usne aur aurton ko bhi protsahit kiya yeh kaam karne ke liye, jo kabiletarif hai (I am proud of Mumtaz. She not only took up this noble task, but motivated other women to join her, which is commendable).”

“Usually women are recognised by their husband’s name but people recognise me today as the husband of Mumtaz. I am proud of it,” adds Javed.

Mumtaz says she could persist with the job of cleaning the Chhath ghats because of her husband’s support.

“My husband supported me throughout. Initially, women of my community were sceptical about joining me. So, I used to go to their homes and spend hours to convince them that they should join me because this work will send a good message across society. While a few women agreed with me, many could not join me because their shouhar (husband) and family were not supportive. My husband used to go and meet the spouses and family members of these women. He used to try and convince them. Many women were allowed to join me because of my husband’s initiative and today my group has around 200 women,” says Mumtaz.

She also has some big plans for the future, one being to “start a small-scale industry” that would be a platform for poor women to earn a living on their own.