Among slain Maoists in Chhattisgarh since 2024, one-third were women, show data
There has been a sharp increase in the percentage of women Maoist cadres being killed in security operations in the years 2024 and 2025, compared to the previous years, coinciding with increase in the number of operations amid the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA's) call to end Maoism by March 2026.
In the year 2024, the number of Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh stood at 217, out of which 74 were women, while till June 20 this year, out of 195 Maoists killed, 82 were women.
In the years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, the number of Maoists killed were 65, 40, 51, 30 and 20 respectively, out of which the number of women killed in the respective years stood at 17, 7, 13, 9 and 5.
'Bal Dastas'
According to the MHA, Maoists have formed 'Bal Dastas' comprising young children in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. 'The idea is to brainwash and indoctrinate young children to Maoist ideology. Most parents do not want to part with their children. But faced with coercion and threats, many poor Adivasi parents prefer to part with the girlchild. This inhuman practice by Maoists is the reason behind large number of young girls/women being present among the Maoist cadres,' the MHA said on its website.
Also read | Is this the endgame for the Maoists?
The Ministry added that women were also pushed to the forefront of engagements with the security forces. 'In spite of the Maoists professing disapproval of 'patriarchy', the number of women in top echelons of their leadership like the PB [Polit Bureau] and CC [central committee] are negligible,' the MHA said.
The Ministry data show that since 2019, 725 civilians have been killed 'by Left Wing Extremism [LWE]' and during the same period there have been 263 incidents of attack on 'economic infrastructure' in LWE-affected States.
'The Maoists wish to keep the population in their strongholds cut-off from the mainstream milieu. Schools are attacked because education promotes a spirit of enquiry among the local population and equips children with skills for alternative sources of livelihood. These developments are looked upon by the Maoists as potential threats to their very existence and their outdated ideology,' the Ministry said.
P. Sundarraj, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range), said that in the earlier years, women and young girls — particularly from the tribal and rural areas of the Bastar region — were often coerced or misled into joining Maoist organisations.
'However, once inducted, these women cadres were largely used as foot soldiers and human shields by the Maoist leadership. Over time, they were subjected to various forms of exploitation, neglect, and physical and emotional hardship. We remain firmly committed to addressing this issue with both sensitivity and determination. Our priority continues to be the promotion of voluntary surrender through humane, gender-sensitive rehabilitation policies that offer access to education, employment, healthcare, and social reintegration,' the IG said.
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