Inside Mangav, a unique Maharashtra village for abandoned women and their children

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Based on individual capacities, residents are involved in dairy and gaushala management, agriculture and fodder cultivation, among other avenues | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Tucked away in Ahilyanagar (formerly Ahmednagar), Maharashtra’s largest district, is a self-sustainable rehabilitation commune, Mangav. The creation of two doctors, Dr Rajendra Bajirao Dhamane and his wife Dr Sucheta Dhamane, Mangav is an extension of their NGO, Mauli Seva Pratishthan (MSP), wherein the duo offers lifelong care to mentally and physically ill homeless women and their children. “For more than two decades, my life as a doctor has taken me beyond hospital walls: to highways, railway stations, marketplaces, and forgotten corners of our cities where mentally and physically ill women wander without shelter, treatment, or dignity,” says Dr Rajendra, “Many are victims of repeated sexual violence. Some are pregnant. Most are nameless, undocumented, and invisible to systems. What began as emergency medical help gradually became a lifelong commitment.”

Dr Rajendra Bajirao Dhamane with a resident | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Today, 477 women and 43 children reside in Mangav as a community. “Most women were rescued from roads, public places, or hospital wards. Many children were born as a consequence of rape and exploitation of mentally ill women on highways. These children would otherwise have been born into homelessness and stigma,” he explains, adding that it was a conscious decision to not run Mauli (meaning mother, in Marathi) as a short-stay shelter. “In the early years, I realised that rescue alone does not solve the problem, nor does mental illness heal in a few weeks. Trauma does not disappear after shelter is provided. Many families refuse to accept these women back, and some women are so severely ill or cognitively impaired that independent living is impossible. Which is why we provide lifelong care, treatment, and rehabilitation,” says Dr Rajendra, recipient of the THE ONE Inte