Hirabai Ibrahim Lobi is an Indian social activist who works to empower more than 700 women in the Siddi community of Junagadh, Gujarat. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2023 and many other awards.
Wiki/Biography
Hirabai Ibrahim Lobi also known as Hirbaiben Ibrahimbhai Lobi was born in Jambur village in Talala tehsil of Gir Somnath district of Gujarat. Since she came from a poor family, she could not go to school or college. She had a strong desire to learn and increase her knowledge as she wanted to move away from a traditional wood cutting career. Her husband believes in women’s equality and she works with him on their 0.5 hectare plot of land. They were saddled with a family debt of Rs 1 lakh; however, she refused to sell the land to repay the debt and started looking for new ideas to repay the debt.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′7″
Weight (approximately): 60kg
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye color: black
family
She comes from a poor family.
Parents and siblings
Her parents died when she was 14. She was raised by her grandmother.
wife and children
She married young and had two sons and a daughter.
Hirabai Ibrahim Lobi (far left) and her family
Religion/Religious Views
She believes in Islam.
Race
She belongs to the Afro-Sidi community and was brought here as a slave of the Islamic dynasty from the 7th century onwards and later as a British slave in the 16th century.
social work
Training women to produce organic compost
She heard about organic compost on radio and television, which piqued her interest and she began preparing organic compost in her own fields. She started looking for a buyer for her compost and successfully found one. The first year, she produced 160 bags, and the next year, she added nine women to her team and increased production to 500 bags. She then formed 12 groups of 95 women who produced organic compost and sold it. She also helps women create orchards to grow different fruits. She said in an interview that she would train any woman who wanted to improve her standard of living and retain those who studied.
Hirabai Ibrahim Lobi works with fellow women in composting
Launching educational reforms among Siddis
She came from a family where no women were literate, but she made it her life’s goal to educate every Sidi woman. She works to improve the educational standards of Sidi women by motivating them to go to school and learn. Her village of Jambur has a kindergarten, but the school is often vandalized. Teachers asked her for help, and her intervention resulted in more children enrolling in school. She went on to establish several kindergarten schools in her area.
Jambur School opens with support from Hirabai Ibrahim Lobi
Promote the economic independence of Sidi women
She actively helps women in the community open bank accounts, accompanies them to banks and interacts with officials to encourage them to achieve financial freedom. She also promotes government programs aimed at improving the condition of women in the community and encourages them to take advantage of these programs to improve their living standards. She joined the Aga Khan Foundation and later the Indian Agricultural Industries Foundation (BAIF) to learn about the activities of these NGOs. In 2004, she established the Mahila Vikas Foundation to help her fellow women. She said in an interview that she has been able to stop women from logging and engage them in different money-making activities. she says,
I didn’t plant trees in the forest, but I saved the forest from being cut down. “
Promoting health and hygiene practices among Sidi women
She spread practices to improve health and hygiene among women in the Siddi community. She also promoted birth control as a means of living a better life and caring for children more effectively.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- Received Samman Patra Award from Gujarat Agricultural University, Junagadh in 2001, 2007 and 2012
Hirabai Ibrahim Lobi and Samman Patra
- 2002 Women’s World Summit Foundation Women’s Creativity Award for Rural Life
- Jankidevi Bajaj Puraskar wins Outstanding Women Rural Entrepreneur Award 2006
- 2010 CNN IBN Real Hero Award Winner
- Padma Shri 2023
Hirabai Ibrahim Lobi was awarded the Padma Shri in 2023 by President Draupadi Murmu of India
Facts/Trivia
- In 2002, when she received the $500 Women’s Rural Life Creativity Award from the Women’s World Summit Foundation, she donated the prize money to her village.
Women’s World Summit Foundation awards Women’s Creativity Award for Rural Life to Hirabai Ibrahim Lobi
- She was extremely excited and thanked Indian Prime Minister Modi for awarding her the Padma Shri in 2023, saying that this was the biggest reward given to her when she was unknown. she says,
Mere pyaare Narendra Bhai, apne hamari jholi khushiyon se bhar di”
She also added that no one gave them any recognition and cared about them until Modi brought them to the front. While accepting the award from Indian President Dhurupati Murmu, she put her hands on Murmu’s shoulders and expressed her blessings.
- She said in an interview that she had dreamed of being unable to study due to financial reasons since she was a child; however, she would not allow any girl in her family and community to give up her studies because of financial constraints. She also said in another interview that she wanted Siddis to become engineers and do jobs other than manual labor. she says,
I have a dream that not all Sidis will become workers, that one day a young man will knock on my door and ask for help to become an engineer.”
- She has helped more than 700 women study, work and become financially independent.
- She has received awards from many organizations for her work and has been honored by several individuals including Amitabh Bachchan and Mukesh Ambani.
Hirabai Ibrahim Lobi (center) with Rajdeep Sardesai (left) and Amitabh Bachchan
Hilabay Ibrahim Lobi (right) with Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani (left)
Hirabai Ibrahim Lobi receives awards and honors
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education