How village women from Pune's Hiware are breaking glass ceilings and becoming breadwinners

Indian Express

4 days ago

Monika Dalvi's transformation began with just Rs 50 worth of seeds and a determination that wouldn't take no for an answer. When her husband's agricultural ventures kept failing, she kept asking him to let her manage their farm, but his response was always a firm refusal.
'He finally gave me just 2,000 square feet of land, probably thinking I'd fail,' says Dalvi, a resident of Hiware village in Pune's Purandar taluka. What happened next surprised everyone, including her husband. Within three months, she had earned a profit of Rs 25,000 by cutting out middlemen and selling produce directly to consumers.
Today, her husband stays home to take care of their children while Dalvi single-handedly manages 2.5 acres of farmland. 'Women like us from rural areas have the potential to do wonders. We just need family support and proper mentorship,' she says.
Dalvi's story is one of 17 similar transformations in Hiware village, where young women have launched enterprises ranging from dairy collectives and tailoring units to beauty parlours and hardware workshops. Their journey from domestic confinement to entrepreneurial leadership offers insights into how targeted interventions can unlock rural women's economic potential.
Until recently, most women in Hiware couldn't leave their homes without their husbands' permission, let alone participate in gram sabhas. Despite many being 12th pass or graduates, they had little understanding of local governance. 'Not a single woman used to participate in a gram sabha meeting before,' says Dalvi.
But when Magic Bus India Foundation, an NGO, started its Young Women Fellowship Programme (YWFP) in Hiware in November 2023, the picture started changing. The NGO, which works with people from underserved communities, faced initial resistance from families who viewed women's roles as strictly domestic.
'Initially, family members opposed any kind of training for these women. But the women somehow managed to attend the sessions, and gradually, mindsets began shifting,' says Pravina Kukade, Deputy General Manager at Magic Bus Foundation, who conducted life skills training in the village.
The programme has helped 124 women across Pune and Raigad districts to become entrepreneurs in two years, with 94 per cent of the first cohort now financially independent. The average monthly income is Rs 9,500, with over half earning profits above Rs 4,000.
But the numbers tell only part of the story. Trupti Jagtap, who convinced her husband to let her start a furniture accessories workshop, now generates employment and actively participates in family decisions. 'Unlike before, when we couldn't even voice our suggestions, I now take part in making family decisions,' she says.
Nisha Chavre learned tailoring skills through the programme and has since taught over 15 women. Reshma Kudale took beauty parlour training and now provides services as far as Latur and Beed.
Moreover, these women have become agents of community development. In April this year, they successfully pressured the gram panchayat through gram sabha meetings to renovate a water tank that had been in disrepair for the last decade. One fellow has become the deputy sarpanch in Khopoli.
Community engagement in the area has increased, and women are now addressing issues ranging from water scarcity and garbage disposal to street lighting and school renovations. They have organised health camps, established resource centres, and even collectively funded nursery school renovations using their stipend money.
'The NGO provides entrepreneurship training, seed funding, connections to domain experts, and initially a monthly stipend, which helped instil confidence and make them financially independent,' explains Kukade.
'Through YWFP, we aim to address the Female Labour Force Participation Rate gap, a critical challenge in rural India where women's workforce participation remains low despite their potential,' said Swati Ranware, a trainer with Magic Bus NGO.