“I have a business idea,” Afreen Banu (24) shares. The idea is to rear goats and poultry outside her home in Semri Bazar, Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh. With her mother being bedridden and requiring round-the-clock care, Afreen has had to stay by her side. If she were to count how often she has stepped outside the home in the last few years, her fingers would suffice.
This is why, when ideating a business, she zeroed in on goat rearing. This, she says, will enable her to be at her mother’s beck and call while also letting her earn some money. “I want to be independent,” she reasons.
This desire for financial freedom is shared by 67.2 percent of women in India — the percentage of women who fall outside the country’s labour force. Most of their dreams have been stifled into inaction by a lack of funds.
So, here’s our attempt to revive their ideas, by assuring them financial help. By donating to this cause, you can help 10 women start their businesses. You can be the investor they need.
1. Shakti Kumari
A foot disability means that Shakti Kumari (35) cannot move around much. She and her husband live in a one-room rented home in Nirala Nagar, Khojanpur, Ayodhya. While the money he earns through odd jobs is enough to pay the rent, Shakti finds it inadequate to match the rising prices of groceries.
Keeping in mind her constraints, she came up with the idea of a home kitchen. “That way, I won’t have to walk a lot, and I can put my cooking skills to good use.” Shakti wants to make pickles and papads (fried Indian snacks). “These are items I have been making for years. Now, I plan to earn through them.” She plans to use the investment amount to purchase a machine to cut the mangoes for the pickle and the chips.
2. Pooja Yadav
“Everyone loves the food I make,” Pooja Yadav (29), a resident of Mathia Mehdauna, Barun Bazar, Ayodhya, says at the outset. “Whenever a neighbour is celebrating their birthday and having a party, I cook and send food.” The appreciation her samosas and pakodas (fried savoury Indian snacks) draw is compelling her to formalise the venture and expand delivery across Faizabad.
Pooja eventually wants to empower more women like her who wish to earn. “Once I expand my business, I want to employ women who need the money. I want to be able to help them.”
3. Komal Kumari
Komal (21) proudly flaunts the bag she has stitched. She dreams of someday owning a centre near her home in Budhanpur, Ayodhya, where she will retail these bags. Elaborating on this idea, Komal says the plan is to sew bags using waste cloth material that would otherwise go into landfills.
Like her, several young girls in her village are ambitious but unable to pursue their dreams. “Once I start the centre and we begin sewing, I want to train these girls so that they can earn some money too,” Komal says.
4. Hina Kausar
Hina is a young mother brimming with ideas and ambitions. But after having children, she let these dreams take a backseat. “I rarely leave the home, so pursuing a job isn’t something I have considered.” In recent years, Hina has become more aware of her financial dependency on her husband. “I have to think twice before spending money on myself. After all, it isn’t my money.” But now, she feels it’s time to dream. And to pursue those dreams.
Explaining her pitch, she says she wants to run a sewing business. “My children are young, so I can’t think of doing anything that involves working outside the home. But, stitching is something I can do while looking after them. I can create an identity for myself.”
Adding that she is tired of sitting idle, she says a sewing machine would change her life. You can ensure Hina gets the wherewithal to start her business by donating.
5. Suman Kumari
Ayodhya sees an influx of tourists who relish aachars (pickles), local chips, kachari papads (sun-dried crunchy snacks) and even take bottles of vinegar home with them. Suman Kumari (30) wishes to start a business retailing these items, which she prepares at home. “My family was very happy when I told them I wanted to start a business. They believe in me.”
To start, she requires a mango-cutting machine, a chip-making machine, vessels, a mixer grinder and groceries. And your donation can help.
6. Rabab Anjum
For years, Rabab Anjum (35) has been a doting wife and daughter-in-law. She loved sketching and designing but put these dreams on the back burner as her family needed her. One day, Rabab, who could no longer ignore the creative itch, took out her notebook and started sketching. Now, she wants to bring these designs to life. And all she needs is a sewing machine.
“I want to stitch lehengas (traditional Indian outfits) for the women in Ayodhya. I have always loved to design. But earning money for myself is not my only goal. I have young children and want them to have a good education. If my earnings can help, why not?”
7. Arzoo Dilkusha
“If you look around, you’ll see there is so much cloth that goes to waste after an outfit is stitched. My idea is to collect this fabric and make jholas and potlis (fashionable bags). See, I made one,” Arju proudly shows. She explains how she has decorated the bag by adding lace, beads, and colourful fabric patches. “I want to turn this idea into a business.”
Arju (26), a resident of Dhara Road, Ayodhya, is keen to become financially independent before she gets married. And she wants other girls in her area to follow suit. The bags will serve more purposes than giving the girls a new lease of freedom. They will also limit the use of polythene.
8. Afreen Banu
Her mother’s fall around two decades ago — which took a toll on her back and mental health — left her bedridden. Afreen (24) had to become her caregiver overnight. This put a damper on her studies and her potential dreams. She shares, “No one is ready to marry me because of my family’s financial condition. Our home was damaged a few years ago, and we do not have the money to repair it or move into a new place. We are living on rent. My father’s earnings are not enough.”
This is why she wants to earn. And goat rearing is the best way to do this, in her opinion. “I will use the money to sponsor my mother’s medicines and to buy food for the family.”
9. Naim Akhtar
Naim’s husband passed away a few years ago, leaving her with the responsibility of their home and two children. It was out of dire need for money that Naim (44) decided to oblige when a relative or neighbour would ask her to alter an outfit or stitch a garment. But then, the sewing machine she was using broke down. While the orders would pay her Rs 250 a piece, even that has now stopped.
Now, Naim wants to start a tailoring business to earn for the family’s upkeep. “I want to make women’s lehengas and gararas (traditional Indian outfits),” she says. Naim needs a new sewing machine, and your donation will make this possible.
10. Humaira Khatoon
The resident of Ayodhya wishes to start a business where she stitches salwar kameez (traditional Indian attire) for women, potli bags, and hand-stitched fans. Humaira is a widow and needs the money for the home’s upkeep. Her children are young, and she wants them to have a good education.
Elaborating on her pitch, Humaira says she wants to purchase cloth and a sewing machine so that she can begin taking orders for alterations, outfit making, etc, that will help her earn.
Plus Trust — a Bengaluru-based organisation that provides micro-incubation support for changemakers from resource-poor communities — will be ensuring that the funds are directed to these women. The organisation will also have its volunteers on the ground to ensure that the women are helped in setting up these businesses once the funds are received.
Edited by Khushi Arora
