Gender

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Mising weavers intertwine technology with traditional skills

Living in flood-prone areas of Assam with no alternate sustenance options, women of Mising tribal community have upgraded their traditional handloom weaving skills, and have adapted to market needs for a lucrative livelihood

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Rural women start bank for economic transformation

Started by women in Chhattisgarh villages from their personal savings, the Sakhi Mahila Bank has not only boosted rural women’s income but also their confidence and economic independence

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Anita Devi of Anantpur works magic with mushrooms

From an impoverished village woman to mushroom farmer and successful entrepreneur, Anita Devi has inspired hundreds of women in Nalanda to adopt the profitable venture of mushroom cultivation

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Widowed by silicosis, women of Odisha village await justice

Young men, who joined a pyrophillite grinding factory dreaming of a better future, succumbed to silicosis, leaving families struggling for survival and justice

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How distressed rural migrants shelter in cities

Flood and drought often drive the rural poor to cities. Those who are landless often stay on. Risking lives under the open sky, they hope a city’s many work opportunities will help them survive somehow

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Meo girls step into modern world through schooling

Breaking long-held taboos and gender biases, girls of conservative Meo Muslim community in Alwar have convinced their parents to put them into school, and the results are showing

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Revival of traditional sattu helps village women make a living

Women in rural Nalanda are popularizing the use of a traditional grinding stone to pound flour out of roasted gram, providing a healthier alternative to machine-ground sattu and earning a livelihood for themselves

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Rural women’s collectives are all about empowerment

Self-help groups in villages bring financial and social empowerment to women, changing entrenched perceptions on their competence in managing their affairs

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Fetching water adds to the drudgery of J&K women

Lacking piped water supply, young girls and women in rural areas of Jammu & Kashmir spend hours walking long distances to get water far from their homes and waiting for their turn at the source

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Women-centric interventions needed for flood-ravaged Sundarbans islands

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After men migrate for work, women of Mousuni Island in the Sundarbans in West Bengal have to struggle for survival, losing land to floods and erosion, and livelihoods to salinity ingress

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Community radios in Odisha help improve gender parity

Broadcasting programs on gender inequality and against stigmas suffered by women in Odisha, community radio stations have effected a positive change in rural communities where girls are still the ignored population

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Today’s Meerabai quenches thirst in Rajasthan villages

Stepping into an all-male preserve, mechanic Meerabai Meena of Padoona village in Udaipur district traverses hilly terrain every day, repairing hand pumps to ensure safe drinking water for residents in five villages

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Women in Pakur use education to achieve development goals

With a strong belief that education would lead the community to achieve sustainable development goals, a night school in Ilami panchayat in Jharkhand educates and empowers women

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Jharkhand kitchen gardens add nutrition to food basket

Kitchen gardens tended by women in Gumla district boost rural diets by providing a rich variety of local cereals, pulses and vegetables, cut expenditure on purchases while improving their nutritional status

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Women of Lalganj mobilize community to bring doctors to their doorsteps

Increased healthcare expenses and lack of access to hospitals prompt a women’s collective in eastern Uttar Pradesh to run a biweekly village clinic on family subscriptions

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Women in Gir stand up for dignity of widows

Women of self-help groups in the Gir region of Gujarat are going beyond microfinance and income-generation activities to fight against social taboos attached to widows and help them lead a better life

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Maharashtra seed mother pioneers conservation of native varieties

Linking failing health to hybrid seeds, Rahibai Soma Popere of Kombhalne village in Maharashtra conserves hundreds of native varieties and encourages other farmers to grow traditional crops

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Plight of migrant workers needs attention in Himachal Pradesh

Migrant workers, who contribute significantly to infrastructure development in the developed mountain state, need to be provided with better working and living conditions through friendly government policies

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Women take initiative to build toilets in rural Bihar

Women self-help groups in the villages of Jehanabad have become the harbingers of social change by convincing people about the usefulness of building toilets at homes and ending open defecation

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Assam flood fury leaves high houses on river islands untouched

A simple innovation of building houses on a raised and reinforced earthen platform has spared many village homes on the easily flooded islands on the Brahmaputra and its tributaries