Women empowerment
Madhya Pradesh activist gifts home for tribal museum
Born in a poor family, Subhadra Khaperde, 56, is doing her bit for uplifting the downtrodden, including turning her own modest home into a tribal museum.
Self-help groups – learning from the roots
While the reasons that motivate women to join self-help groups are the same, developing each group through a facilitative process instead of on a pre-conceived concept works better.
Tribal women stitch a new future in Gujarat’s Dang
Left without farm work after the harvesting season ended, women from two villages in Dang district of Gujarat come together to form successful tailoring units.
All that glitters in Antia village is indeed gold
The centuries-old use of golden grass in making crafts is financially empowering the women of Jajpur in Odisha. A GI tag and aggressive marketing can improve things further.
Punjab women weave ‘rug’ to riches story
Once a part of every Punjab household, durries (rugs) and khes (thick bedspreads) have been pushed out of use by machine-made furnishings. A brand born in a village is now reviving these traditional handloom products.
Fit to core: Kashmiri women smash patriarchy
Hundreds are enrolling in female-only gyms in cities and the countryside, smashing taboos and stereotypes that forbade women from sports and fitness training.
Rural women farmers plough their way to financial freedom
With a good push from self-help groups and NGOs, women who had never stepped out of their house without a man, are now earning a decent living and a lot of respect from farming.
How a tribal women-run magazine changes life for the better
Mahila Navodayam, a Telugu magazine meaning “new dawn”, published for women and by women, brings about social changes and women’s empowerment – despite initial hardships.
How Manipur’s rural women are weaving wonders from Kauna weed
Organic baskets, mats and other decorative handicrafts made of kauna grass grown in the marshes of the Imphal valley are providing a sustainable livelihood to women and their families.
How rural Rajasthani women break social shackles to earn freedom, respect from Africa tours
Rajasthani women - who barely went outside their state - earn respect after travelling to Mali in west Africa to teach women there how to form self-help groups, never mind make rotis and wear saris.
For women in Ayodhya, becoming micro-entrepreneurs is not just about money
Coming together as collectives and running micro enterprises help rural women not only earn more and provide better for their family but also become more confident decision makers.
Good or bad to call women leaders ‘mahila sarpanch?’
Identifying women leaders by gender – like ‘mahila sarpanch’ – seems a step back, but one development worker sees it as acknowledging the challenges women overcame to become leaders.
Women’s collectives need to think beyond livelihoods
Agricultural interventions by women have ensured nutritional security in many parts of rural Odisha. Building further capacity will now help them see themselves as change agents who can tackle societal issues
Empowering rural women in Assam through the Internet
Women trained in the use of the Internet are fanning across four districts of Assam to bring its benefits to rural women, which in turn is boosting their household earnings and changing everyday lives for the better