Why do you think women’s economic empowerment has been a top-notch matter for centuries? Well, not only does it eradicate poverty but also helps create gender equality. Moreover, economic empowerment in women is also necessary for inclusive economic growth.
Women make half the workforce! Thus they contribute to economies – may it be small scale or cottage industries or start-ups and bigger entrepreneurship projects. And if you have missed out on this big thing, then we are here to remind you: women also contribute by doing household chores that count under unpaid labour.
Now the sad fact is that despite contributing as much as men, women are still affected by poverty, discrimination, and exploitation. You will often find women setting in for insecure, low-wage jobs; well of course the majority of them, with a little portion constituting senior positions. Sadly, this limits their participation in shaping the economy as it should be.
Frankly, this is the bigger picture and we cannot alter it all. But we do provide solutions and support economic empowerment in women.
How do we try?
We have always believed that social and economic empowerment go hand in hand. With this belief, AWAG had created AWAG-EKTA INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY with just a handful of women. The primary goal was to provide employment to women staying in our shelter home and teach them skills so that they can be independent and financially self-sufficient.
What started as a small scale notion took greater shapes when community women reached out to us in search of jobs. We had Dalits and Muslim women working together and supporting one another in all ways. Even during difficult times such as communal riots, they seemed to be standing for one another.
Over years, we had different organizations visiting AWAG-EKTA and taking interest in grooming the skills of these women. We had a chance to work with some of the most reputed companies across the country such as FabIndia and we also started exporting the goods.
Our shop, EK AWAG was another milestone that’s worth mentioning. The shop was inaugurated with just one purpose – to showcase the skills of the women working with us and inspire them to do better and realize their goals.
Today, AWAG-EKTA takes pride in having some of the finest craftspeople in the form of stitchers, cutters, and people doing hand-embroidery work. And most importantly, the organization is happy to help change the lives of hundreds of women and help them live with dignity.
