Stories
‘More than my food business, it’s about uplifting my community’
A training programme prompted her to start her own ragi-based food business. After a successful start, she has expanded the business and now trains other women in her village for better livelihood.
From tribal roots to a fashion icon: Jharkhand model redefines beauty standards
Anjel Mareena Tirkey from Jharkhand has broken the societal norms of her conservative Oraon tribal community to realise her dream of pursuing a career in the modelling and entertainment industry.
Meet the woman who walks many a mile to deliver mail
Working at a post office where her late husband had held the same job, Alaka Mahato, a mother of three, walks every day to a few villages in Bengal to deliver mail, happy to carry on his legacy.
From child bride to award winner, Rajasthan farmer breaks barriers
Married off as a teen, Sagar Kunwar of Pali in Rajasthan has evolved over the years to become the chairperson of an all-woman producer company, winning awards for spearheading organic farming.
Manipur’s Naga entrepreneur champions indigenous farming practices
From using local berries in chocolates to rewilding and revitalising tribal forests, this confectioner is championing indigenous food systems in Manipur.
She quit a cushy job to revive tribal foods
To ensure tribal foods from vanishing and to let non-tribes enjoy the goodness of the same, Aruna Tirkey quit a comfortable consultancy job, to run a restaurant exclusively for tribal foods.
She wields a kalarippayattu sword, clad in a six-yard saree
Octogenarian Meenakshi Amma wields a shield and a sword with ease, practising Kerala’s traditional martial art wearing a saree. Defying age and stereotypes, she inspires youth, especially women, to take up the art, as it instils courage and strength.
Farmers turn to organic farming thanks to this ‘agri-friend’
Observing the rampant use of farm chemicals and resultant asthma among villagers, Geeta Rani Satpathy becomes a krishi mitra, and with an indirect approach convinces farmers to give up chemicals and practise organic cultivation.
Acid attack survivor: I don’t want to hide my face
Kavita Bisht from Karnal village of Uttarakhand has overcome disfigurement and despair to become the state’s brand ambassador for women empowerment.
Gujarat’s mountain girl
Mountain girl Surabhi Chavda conquered numerous peaks yet found Everest daunting. Developing snow blindness halted her summit bid, yet this setback bestowed profound life lessons on humility, shaping her resilient spirit.
“I’m proof that women can be wildlife conservationists”
With a love for animals, Aaliya Mir of Srinagar chose to be a wildlife conservationist. To her, every animal rescued from harm is worth the challenges, long hours and time away from her family.
She sold her family’s car to start a farmer producer company
Working as a supervisor to support her family, Reshamdevi Mallick faced many hurdles – some due to the choice of her life partner – but gained enough confidence to sell her family’s car and start a farmer producer company.
Jharkhand homemaker champions clean cooking
A homemaker who lacked the confidence to speak to strangers now advocates use of cleaner fuels for cooking. She also helps women earn more so they can buy cooking cylinders and stop using chulhas.
Anusha’s full toss from Andhra village to Team India
21-year-old B Anusha, who hails from a small village in Andhra Pradesh, has etched her name in cricket's glory. She has moved from farm to fame, defying the odds and earning a spot in Team India.
This transwoman empowers children through education
Raised by a single mother, Smiley Thabu, a 31-year-old transwoman, strives to give children and youth from marginalised communities near Chennai a boost in life by giving supplementary lessons and skill development programmes.
A widow becomes sarpanch at 80, busting ageism myths
Widowed young, Fatah Begum became a labourer to feed and educate her eight children. With a firm belief in women’s contribution to nation-building, she became a sarpanch at 80, busting myths about gender and age.
I came out as the first Van Gujjar transwoman
Shunned by her forest-dwelling community, Tina had to leave home when she was a teen because of her gender identity. At 20, she teaches Van Gujjar women – who stood up for her and accepted her – their dying art.
Saraswathi’s journey from orphanage student to leader
To get her educated, Saraswathi’s parents enrolled her in an orphanage. From getting married as a teen to leaving her abusive husband, she trudged through her hardships and now runs an orphanage where she nurtures young girls.
A woman’s fight against corruption in Odisha
While trying to earn through her SHG, so as to care for her widowed ill mother and abandoned niece and nephew, Minati Panda came face to face with corruption. Since then she has been working towards eradicating corruption.
‘Bajra is most known millet across India’
About 65 percent of Indians have consumed millet at some point in their lives and in any form, reveals a recent survey report by DIU, a collaboration involving TRI and Sambodhi Research and Communications.