Village life pivots around women. And – at the same time – they are often pushed to sidelines, quietened, ignored. Here we look at how and why that happens, and champion those working to change it. We would also feature LGBTQ individuals and communities who are all too often overlooked in rural India.
Gender
Enterprising Odisha women take to selling fish to improve lives
Women in Odisha’s coastal fishing villages have turned to selling fish and value-added fishery products after eliminating middlemen and abolishing the home brewing of country liquor, the root cause of their problems
Women in rural Uttar Pradesh declare war on skin infections
Through the community village clinics they have established, women collectives in parts of rural Uttar Pradesh have started campaigning successfully against fungal infections that affect the quality of their lives
Kantha embroidery empowers women in rural Bengal
A single woman’s journey to earn a dignified livelihood has today evolved into a revival of the traditional Kantha embroidery that has led to empowerment of rural women in West Bengal
Manipuri women revive village republics for all-round development
Despite dwindling forest resources that had traditionally sustained them, villagers in Churachandpur district of Manipur have successfully shifted to growing new crops, and are now exploring new livelihood options
Can managing electricity access empower women in rural India?
Even as India provides electricity to all villages, it is important to reflect on how electrification affects men and women in different ways, and the opportunities that decentralized energy access creates for sustainable gender-balanced development
An ancient art is earning modern dividends in Khasi Hills
From being one of the poorest areas of Meghalaya, Umden in Ri Bhoi has emerged as the epicenter of ethical sericulture and Eri silk weaving, thanks to the persistence of women practicing the traditional art
Goats and poultry help tribal women turnaround impoverished lives
Poverty-stricken women in the semi-arid regions of West Bengal and Jharkhand, used to subsisting on meager incomes, have defied huge odds and transformed their lives by rearing goats and poultry
Dharmapuri has forgotten the many names for rain
Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall in the drought-prone dry land farms of Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu is making rain-fed agriculture non-viable but some women farmers are adapting by growing millets
Saran women banish poverty by cultivating vegetables
Switching from traditional rain-fed crops such as rice and wheat to growing vegetables through the year, women farmers of Saran district in Bihar have ensured financial and food security without any external assistance