From Maoist camps to catwalks: The stunning transformation of 9 Naxal women in Chhattisgarh

Highlights:

• Nine surrendered women Maoists walked the ramp in Raipur.
• The event celebrated Chhattisgarh handloom and Kosa silk.
• Most participants surrendered in Hyderabad over the last 18 months.
• They received seven days of professional grooming and ramp training.
• The women are currently undergoing rehabilitation in Sukma.

In a striking image of transformation, nine surrendered women Maoists who once moved through the dense forests of Bastar in green fatigues walked the runway in Raipur, smiling as they showcased traditional handloom and Kosa silk garments from Chhattisgarh.

The women participated in a state-level weavers’ conference held on National Handloom Day on August 7, turning what was expected to be a routine cultural event into a powerful symbol of rehabilitation and reintegration. Eight of the participants were from Sukma district and one from Bijapur.

For 22-year-old Punem Jyoti from Elmagunda village in Sukma’s Chintagufa area, the experience was beyond anything she had imagined during her years in the Maoist movement.

“I had never imagined that something like this would happen in my life,” said Jyoti, who surrendered in Hyderabad in December last year.

Speaking in a mix of Hindi and the local Gondi dialect, she said her life has changed significantly after leaving the Maoist movement.

Another former Naxalite, aged 28, described the event as her first encounter with the world of fashion shows.

“We had never seen such things in the jungle,” she said with a laugh.

Wishing anonymity, the woman, who surrendered in Hyderabad in April, said she knew a thing or two about performing before an audience because of the Maoists’ cultural wing.

“We had seen women performing in the cultural wing. That helped us learn some of the nuances of ramp walking,” she said.

“We are happy that after quitting violence, we are living a peaceful and respectful life,” she added.

According to officials, seven of the nine women surrendered in Hyderabad in neighboring Telangana, while one each surrendered in Sukma in Chhattisgarh and Mulugu in Telangana during the last one-and-a-half years. All are currently undergoing rehabilitation at the Punarwas Kendra in Sukma.

Before appearing on the runway, the women underwent seven days of specialized training conducted by professional experts from Mumbai. The program included ramp walking, grooming, attire selection, and confidence-building exercises for public speaking.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai attended the event and interacted with the women after the show. Officials said the state government has been expanding skill-development opportunities for surrendered Maoist cadres as part of its rehabilitation policy.

The goal, they said, is to help former insurgents build dignified livelihoods and become economically self-reliant after leaving the movement.

The visual contrast was impossible to ignore: women once associated with an armed insurgency walking under bright stage lights in traditional silk garments before a public audience. Yet officials framed the event not as spectacle, but as evidence that rehabilitation can extend beyond financial assistance to include confidence, identity, and social acceptance.

The runway presentation also highlighted Chhattisgarh’s indigenous textile heritage, particularly its Kosa silk and handloom traditions, linking cultural preservation with social rehabilitation. For the participants, the event represented not merely a fashion show but a public acknowledgment of a new beginning.

Their appearance in Raipur offered a rare glimpse into a different chapter of the long-running Maoist conflict in central India — one focused not on surrender statistics, but on what happens after surrender. The women who once disappeared into the forests of Bastar now stood before cameras, speaking about peace, respect, and the possibility of a future they say they never expected to have.