Gender
A voice against abuse and exploitation
Standing against forced marriages in the old city of Hyderabad, Shaheen has emerged as a space for women of minority and oppressed communities to empower themselves
Purulia’s nachaniyas still dance to escape destitution
Exploited by their so-called masters, the folk dancers of rural Bengal have no option but to keep dancing and entertaining to escape poverty and destitution, shunned by society and with no help from the government
Pad women of Assam start menstrual hygiene movement
Young women have brought about a change in the mindset of rural men and women in Assam about menstrual hygiene and steered the women towards better hygiene with reusable cloth pads
Community radio creates waves of change in Karnataka villages
Run primarily by women, the Sarathi Jhalak radio station has brought administrators, experts and villagers on the same platform, giving rural communities a voice
Snow leopard conservation brings socioeconomic benefits to Rumbak village
A remote hamlet in Leh’s high altitude Hemis National Park constantly loses its livestock to snow leopards, but have turned to homestays around conservation tourism, reaping rich rewards
Salem marriages bane of Malabar girls due to dowry problem
Caught in an unenviable situation where dowry demands are unreasonably high due to increased inflow of money from gulf jobs, girls in rural Malabar are virtually compelled into unequal marriages, often with disturbing consequences
Solapur farmers turn lives around with crop diversification
With recurrent droughts, landowning marginal farmers of Solapur in Maharashtra were forced to work as wage laborers till they switched from cash crops to horticulture and millets for an economic turnaround
Kanas villagers make water safe through simple interventions
Water from ponds and tube wells made safe for consumption through simple and easy to maintain solutions have reduced water-borne diseases in coastal Odisha and has enabled village women to utilize the saved time more productively
Cooking imposes heavy burden on rural women
The simple act of cooking takes on a difficult dimension due to lack of easy access to fuel and water, forcing women in rural India to walk long distances to get them, increasing drudgery and leading to health hazards that call for immediate action
Woman mason rebuilds life after devastation of Cyclone Phailin
Stepping into the exclusive male preserve of masonry, Damayanti Patra of rural Ganjam has shown exemplary determination to overcome personal tragedy and natural disaster to secure a sustainable vocation
Mising weavers intertwine technology with traditional skills
Living in flood-prone areas of Assam with no alternate sustenance options, women of Mising tribal community have upgraded their traditional handloom weaving skills, and have adapted to market needs for a lucrative livelihood
Rural women start bank for economic transformation
Started by women in Chhattisgarh villages from their personal savings, the Sakhi Mahila Bank has not only boosted rural women’s income but also their confidence and economic independence
Anita Devi of Anantpur works magic with mushrooms
From an impoverished village woman to mushroom farmer and successful entrepreneur, Anita Devi has inspired hundreds of women in Nalanda to adopt the profitable venture of mushroom cultivation
Widowed by silicosis, women of Odisha village await justice
Young men, who joined a pyrophillite grinding factory dreaming of a better future, succumbed to silicosis, leaving families struggling for survival and justice
How distressed rural migrants shelter in cities
Flood and drought often drive the rural poor to cities. Those who are landless often stay on. Risking lives under the open sky, they hope a city’s many work opportunities will help them survive somehow
Meo girls step into modern world through schooling
Breaking long-held taboos and gender biases, girls of conservative Meo Muslim community in Alwar have convinced their parents to put them into school, and the results are showing
Revival of traditional sattu helps village women make a living
Women in rural Nalanda are popularizing the use of a traditional grinding stone to pound flour out of roasted gram, providing a healthier alternative to machine-ground sattu and earning a livelihood for themselves
Rural women’s collectives are all about empowerment
Self-help groups in villages bring financial and social empowerment to women, changing entrenched perceptions on their competence in managing their affairs
Fetching water adds to the drudgery of J&K women
Lacking piped water supply, young girls and women in rural areas of Jammu & Kashmir spend hours walking long distances to get water far from their homes and waiting for their turn at the source
Women-centric interventions needed for flood-ravaged Sundarbans islands
After men migrate for work, women of Mousuni Island in the Sundarbans in West Bengal have to struggle for survival, losing land to floods and erosion, and livelihoods to salinity ingress