In rural Bihar, the Jeevika programme, led by the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society and supported by the World Bank, is empowering women from marginalised communities by providing financial support and livelihood opportunities.
Poverty and despair have long defined the lives of thousands of women in Bihar’s vast countryside. However, there are stories that stand out. Like those of Soni, Deepu and Rajni. They have overcome extreme poverty and domestic abuse to achieve financial independence and rebuild their lives.
These are not tales spun from fiction but are real accounts of women who, against all odds, have carved out new futures for themselves and their families. At the core of this transformation is the Bihar government’s Jeevika programme, an initiative that has been a lifeline for women trapped in cycles of poverty, abuse and hopelessness.
Jeevika, a project run under the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (BRLPS) and supported by the World Bank, is part of the broader National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). It seeks to empower women from marginalised communities by organising them into self-help groups (SHGs), helping them build skills and giving them access to financial resources.
It is here, in the quiet villages and dusty roads of Bihar, that women have begun rewriting their narratives.
Soni Devi from Piprabank village in Jamui district is affectionately known as “Lakhpati Didi” — a title that reflects her newfound financial success. But life wasn’t always so generous. Just a few years ago, Soni and her husband struggled to make ends meet, their meagre income barely enough to provide for their two daughters.
Her husband earned Rs 3,000 a month as a tutor, a sum that threatened the future of their children’s education.
Everything changed for Soni in 2018. A loan of Rs 10,000 from her local Jeevika SHG gave her the courage to start a saree business. That business slowly expanded, as Soni took another loan of Rs 50,000 and added cosmetics to her stock. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she adapted once more, selling masks to meet the demand and increase her income.
Today, Soni earns Rs 20,000 a month. She now runs a general store alongside her husband and has taken loans amounting to Rs 4 lakh. Her daughters attend quality schools, and life is comfortable — a stark contrast to the struggles of a few years ago. Soni credits all of this to Jeevika, the programme that gave her hope and opportunity when she needed it most.This August, she was invited as a special guest for the Independence Day celebrations. It was a moment of pride that left her deeply moved.
“It was an unforgettable moment to be present there, and I only have Jeevika and my women’s group to thank for it,” she said.
In West Champaran district, 30-year-old Deepu Devi faced a different but equally difficult battle. Her husband, an alcoholic, refused to take responsibility for their family, leaving Deepu to support them by any means necessary.
Desperation led her to brew and sell moonshine or hooch, as many women in her community did. But when Bihar imposed a prohibition, she lost her only source of income.
By 2020, the introduction of the sustainable livelihood scheme under Jeevika presented her with a new opportunity. Deepu opened a shop selling provisions with help from her SHG, but things were slow to take off. Still, she refused to give up. Her husband, who is a musician playing at weddings and other social functions, expressed interest in starting a band party, and Deepu seized the chance.
“Life has become considerably better with this,” Deepu said. “I had no fixed income earlier, but with this, there is some stability and peace in life. We also have a rental shop now for some additional income. We started the band in 2023, and we earned a good amount. With Chhath Pooja and festival season around the corner, we are hoping we would be able to earn more.”
With funds from the livelihood investment fund, Deepu and her husband started their own band, which quickly became popular in the community. They now earn around Rs 18,000 a month, and their business has created jobs for 10 other people. Deepu’s life, once characterised by hardship, now thrives on hope and opportunity.
Then, there is Rajni, a 35-year-old woman from Bhawara Pultola village in Katihar district, whose story is one of survival against horrifying odds. Married to an abusive alcoholic, Rajni’s life took a dark turn when her husband, in a drunken rage, set fire to her parents’ house.
Her husband was jailed, but Rajni was left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life alone.
“He would always abuse and beat me after drinking, and one day I left the home with my children and came to my parent’s village. He did not let us live there peacefully and came one midnight and burnt the house down,” Rajni recalled. “We were saved but lost a lot. He was sent to jail for three years and I had my whole life ahead of me.”
With no steady income, Rajni worked as a labourer, but even then, providing her children with one proper meal a day seemed impossible. Her future appeared bleak — until the women of the Om Jeevika Mahila Gram Sangathan approached her and urged her to join their group.
Through Jeevika’s sustainable livelihood scheme, Rajni received Rs 30,000 to start a grocery shop, and slowly but surely, she began to rebuild her life.
Today, Rajni earns Rs 6,000 a month and has saved some money in her bank account. Her children are back in school, and she is able to provide them with a stable home. The wounds of the past still linger, but they no longer define her future.
“Almost all women in my village are associated with the group, and are earning something,” Rajni said. “The group is helpful, we get loans whenever we need and can return them easily without any stress.”
Soni, Deepu, Rajni and many more. Through Jeevika, the women of Bihar are rewriting their stories — stories of courage, hope and transformation. By giving women the means to break free from the chains of poverty and oppression, Jeevika has strengthened entire communities.
The lead image at the top shows Deepu Devi with the musical instruments used in the band that she owns with her husband. (Photo by Unnati Sharma)
Unnati Sharma is a journalist, writer, and translator. She has worked with ThePrint as a Senior Correspondent specialising in politics, in-depth features, and art and culture stories.
