“If we think about it for a minute, all women are working women; only a few are salaried though. And this reality holds true even for millions of educated mothers and wives in our country, who’ve given up their whole lives to take care of their families. I realized this a few years into my job, after having a look at the world through various lenses as a sociology graduate. You see, I was lucky enough to be born into a family with fiercely supportive parents. They empowered me with the freedom to carve my own journey and that was something I aspired to transfer to members in my society as well, from very early on.

So with that solid ideal in place, I remembered being approached by a middle aged woman for a job, in one of my on-ground visits. Having been employed by a popular environmental foundation, I was speaking to the locals on geo and socio-political matters when it happened. She was from a less privileged background with no access to education but still an earnest hope to prove herself.

Now seeing that and subsequently a few other women in a similar scenario, I decided to take a big leap of faith and start ‘Dhivija’- a platform for empowering women through skill-based training. It was a big move considering the plethora of changes one witnesses in the journey towards entrepreneurship. I had to develop a business plan that suited both the investor and the ladies working with us, but it was the cause that kept me going strong!

Today, the ladies we have in our team come in to learn monetizable skills like crochet and subsequently make accessories that are then sold online. Of course, I did have naysayers calling it a slow business but they don’t see the value it adds to the people working here. Having completed about two years now, it’s endearing to see the psychological impact the step has had on people’s families. Our workers tell us that there’s a newfound respect amongst closed-circle members, even husbands and children who look are praises for the change.

And seeing all this, I believe the path to profound changes does, in fact, start with a simple idea! What I look forward to is scaling it the right way to positively impact many more women out there!”