Guns to gala: Chin up, spring in stride, former women Maoists walk the ramp in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: For years, their world was defined by forests, isolation and the shadow of armed conflict. Recently, under bright lights in a packed Raipur auditorium, a group of surrendered women Maoists from Bastar stepped onto a fashion ramp — and, in their own words, into a life they had once never imagined.
Draped in Kosa silk and other traditional Chhattisgarhi handloom outfits, the women walked alongside professional models during a national handloom day programme. The applause was loud, but for the participants, the most significant part of the evening was not the fashion show itself. It was the confidence to stand before hundreds of people without fear.
For rehabilitated cadre Madvi Malle, the journey to the ramp began with nervousness.
She said she was hesitant when the training started and had little idea how she would face an audience. Days of practice gradually changed that. By the time she stepped onto the stage, she said, the anxiety had given way to confidence and the experience left her feeling proud of herself.
Another participant, Punem Deve, said appearing on a fashion ramp before such a large gathering was something she had never thought possible during her earlier life.
What stayed with her most, she said, was the way she was treated.
The encouragement and respect she received in Raipur gave her the motivation to continue building a different future, she said.
A first glimpse of a world beyond conflict
For nearly all the former cadres participating in the programme, it was their first visit to Raipur.
Coming from some of Bastar’s areas long affected by Left-Wing Extremism, several of them arrived in the state capital carrying visible hesitation, those involved in their training said.
They underwent around a week of grooming and ramp-walk preparation under professional guidance. The sessions focused not merely on walking technique, but on posture, communication and overcoming nervousness.
Trainers from Mumbai said the change during the week was striking. Women who were initially uncomfortable even presenting themselves before strangers gradually began interacting more freely and ultimately shared the runway with professional models.
That transition, they said, was more significant than the show itself.
‘Never thought I would be here’
The personal accounts of the women gave the event its emotional centre.
Some had spent years in areas where encounters, security operations and the presence of armed groups were part of everyday life. Their decision to surrender eventually brought them into rehabilitation programmes and opened access to opportunities far removed from their earlier existence.
Walking a fashion ramp in the state capital was among the most unexpected of those experiences.
For the participants, their stories were less about glamour than about being able to imagine a life beyond the identity of “Naxal cadre”.
Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai interacted with the participants and wished them well in their new lives. He said, the walk reflected what he described as a wider transition in Bastar — from violence to development, fear to confidence, and isolation to mainstream opportunity. In his view, it reflected a shift “from violence to development, from fear to confidence” and towards a life built around dignity and opportunity.
Video strikes a chord online
Clips of the ramp walk later spread widely on social media, where the contrast between the women’s past and present drew strong reactions. Many users said it was difficult to reconcile images of women confidently walking a fashion runway with the conventional picture of armed cadres moving through Bastar’s forests.
Some described the scenes as evidence of social reintegration, while others said stories of surrendered cadres rebuilding their lives deserved more attention.
The former cadres have gone back to Bastar leading a routine life like others and have engaged themselves in skill training, farming, and education.
Draped in Kosa silk and other traditional Chhattisgarhi handloom outfits, the women walked alongside professional models during a national handloom day programme. The applause was loud, but for the participants, the most significant part of the evening was not the fashion show itself. It was the confidence to stand before hundreds of people without fear.
For rehabilitated cadre Madvi Malle, the journey to the ramp began with nervousness.
She said she was hesitant when the training started and had little idea how she would face an audience. Days of practice gradually changed that. By the time she stepped onto the stage, she said, the anxiety had given way to confidence and the experience left her feeling proud of herself.
Another participant, Punem Deve, said appearing on a fashion ramp before such a large gathering was something she had never thought possible during her earlier life.
What stayed with her most, she said, was the way she was treated.
The encouragement and respect she received in Raipur gave her the motivation to continue building a different future, she said.
A first glimpse of a world beyond conflict
For nearly all the former cadres participating in the programme, it was their first visit to Raipur.
Coming from some of Bastar’s areas long affected by Left-Wing Extremism, several of them arrived in the state capital carrying visible hesitation, those involved in their training said.
They underwent around a week of grooming and ramp-walk preparation under professional guidance. The sessions focused not merely on walking technique, but on posture, communication and overcoming nervousness.
Trainers from Mumbai said the change during the week was striking. Women who were initially uncomfortable even presenting themselves before strangers gradually began interacting more freely and ultimately shared the runway with professional models.
That transition, they said, was more significant than the show itself.
‘Never thought I would be here’
The personal accounts of the women gave the event its emotional centre.
Some had spent years in areas where encounters, security operations and the presence of armed groups were part of everyday life. Their decision to surrender eventually brought them into rehabilitation programmes and opened access to opportunities far removed from their earlier existence.
Walking a fashion ramp in the state capital was among the most unexpected of those experiences.
For the participants, their stories were less about glamour than about being able to imagine a life beyond the identity of “Naxal cadre”.
Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai interacted with the participants and wished them well in their new lives. He said, the walk reflected what he described as a wider transition in Bastar — from violence to development, fear to confidence, and isolation to mainstream opportunity. In his view, it reflected a shift “from violence to development, from fear to confidence” and towards a life built around dignity and opportunity.
Video strikes a chord online
Clips of the ramp walk later spread widely on social media, where the contrast between the women’s past and present drew strong reactions. Many users said it was difficult to reconcile images of women confidently walking a fashion runway with the conventional picture of armed cadres moving through Bastar’s forests.
Some described the scenes as evidence of social reintegration, while others said stories of surrendered cadres rebuilding their lives deserved more attention.
The former cadres have gone back to Bastar leading a routine life like others and have engaged themselves in skill training, farming, and education.
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