How These Three Women Became Trendsetters In Their Villages In Maharashtra

Pratibha Pravin Khonde, a resident of Sakri Tehsil of Dhule district in Maharashtra defied the unwritten rule of the world around her that women should stay confined to their homes and leave earning money to men.

Life came to a standstill for Pratibha when her husband, Pravin, a barber by profession, was diagnosed with a serious health condition and had to be hospitalised. The financial condition of the family was in shambles. With no money to pay for her husband's treatment and piling debt, Pratibha was left with no option but to look for work.

She joined the Usha Silai School, a community based initiative that aims to empower village women to become entrepreneurs and teach sewing in their respective communities. More than one per cent from the sale of every Usha Sewing Machine is invested into this programme. More than 10,000 women are being trained every day under this initiative.

After a training at the Silai School, Pratibha started stitching clothes and earn a steady income. After some time she started her own school within her house. The aim was not only to make extra money but also to enable other women to earn their own livelihood. Many of Pratibha's students are now teaching other women and becoming financially independent.

Kalpana Kamadi, a resident of Maharashtra's Dhule district, was struggling to make ends meet. She was in dire need to earn money to sustain her family and this situation was further aggravated when her son was admitted to the hospital due to an illness and passed away as she and her husband could not bear the cost of his treatment.

Loss of their son, says Kalpana, made her realise the value of money. She ventured out of the confines of her home, reinvented herself by starting her own silai school, after getting trained in Usha Silai School. Today she has saved up Rs 1.5 lakhs and has a car of her own.

Chhotibai Sahebrao Chaure, 32, hails from Dali Samba village of sakri block, Dhule district of Maharashtra. She has been running her own Silai School since November 2014.

She took sewing training of 7 days from USHA Silai School and now trains women of her village regularly.

Till date, Chhotibai has trained 28 women who would pay Rs. 500/per month for the classes.

She stitches 7 to 8 women blouses everyday and earns arounf Rs 700 on an average from selling these.

Chhotibai now aims to increase the number of sewing machines in her class and hopes to give training to more women of her village.