The Women Who Hugged the Trees


The morning air smelled of damp earth and pine as Gaura Devi stepped outside her mud-walled home in Reni village. The Himalayan forests surrounded her like an old friend, their tall trunks whispering secrets in the wind. These trees were more than just wood, they were shelter, firewood, food, and protection from the landslides that sometimes tumbled down the mountainsides.

But that morning, a dangerous rumour had spread through the village like wildfire. The loggers were coming.

Gaura Devi wiped her hands on her sari, her heart pounding. The government had sold the trees to a logging company, ignoring the women’s pleas. The men of the village were away, working in the fields. If no one stopped the loggers, the trees would be gone by nightfall.

She gathered 27 women, young girls, grandmothers, mothers carrying babies. Together, they marched up the rocky path toward the sacred trees.

The loggers arrived shortly after, their axes slung over their shoulders. One of them sneered at Gaura.

"Step aside, old woman. This is government land."

Gaura stepped forward, her silver bangles clinking as she raised her hand.

"This land is our mother. These trees are our brothers. You will have to cut through us first."

The women linked arms, their backs pressed against the rough bark. The loggers hesitated, their hands gripping their axes. How do you cut down a tree when a woman is wrapped around it like a child clinging to its mother?

Minutes turned into hours. The sun dipped lower in the sky. The women sang songs; songs of their ancestors, of the forests that had fed and sheltered them for generations.

Night fell, and the loggers, frustrated and defeated, left. The trees stood tall, untouched.

News of the women who hugged the trees spread across India. More villages joined the fight, and soon, the government banned logging in the Himalayas for 15 years.

Gaura Devi never called herself a leader. She was simply a woman who loved her land. But because of her, and the fearless women of Reni, the forests still stand today.

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