Women Forest Guards at KazirangaCEFR B1
3 Nov 2025
Adapted from Arpita Das Choudhury, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by muallim nur, Unsplash
More than 5,000 women now work as frontline personnel in India’s forests, and many serve as forest guards at Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in Assam. Kaziranga covers 430 square kilometres from the Karbi Anglong hills in the south to the Brahmaputra River in the north. National Highway 37 cuts through the park’s five ranges, and the park last recorded a poaching case in 2021.
In August 2023 a group joined KNP as “Van Durgas.” They include Priyanka Bharali (23), Mitali Boruah (27), Rashmi Borah (27) and Dipanjali Boraik (21). Many are farmers’ daughters from nearby districts. They trained at the 11th Assam Police Battalion in Dergaon. Training covered combat, emergency response, physical fitness, weapons handling, shooting and night exercises.
Their duties combine daily patrols and community work. Patrols begin at 5 a.m., when teams check for animal deaths or signs of poaching. Guards walk along fences armed with 7.62 mm SLRs and can patrol until 10 p.m. They also work to stop poachers, use boats in floods and inform the ranger’s office about suspicious people. During the July 2024 flood they guided animals through nine corridors and rescued stranded animals.
Difficult words
- conservation — protecting nature and wildlife.
- biodiversity — variety of living things in an area.
- patrol — to watch over an area for safety.patrolling
- bravery — courage in difficult situations.
- forest — a large area with many trees.forests
- women — adult female humans.
- guard — a person who protects or watches.guards
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think women are important in conservation?
- How can communities support forest guards?
- What challenges do you think they face in their jobs?
- What qualities do you think make a good forest guard?
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