Harbinger of change
As cliché as it sounds, “change is constant”. There are few people who are able to bring change at the grass-root level, and 45 year-old Sangeeta Kunwar is one such women. Hailing from Rolakheda village of Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan, Sangeeta earned recognition in her village for the contribution she made. Not only has she broken several stereotypes but also paved way for new opportunities by challenging social taboos that were holding back women from her village.
Sangeeta’s village is dominated by the Rajput community- wherein women are still forced to adhere to strict patriarchal norms. Married at an early age, she couldn’t pursue her education beyond 8th standard. She also lost her husband early with whom she has a daughter. The hardships of life did not demotivate Sangeeta.
She joined the Second Chance Education Programme in September 2019. Her active participation and involvement not only helped to mobilise 30 women of the village but also assisted in connecting those women to the Rural Self Employment Training Institute based in Chittorgarh where these women received ten day training on a variety of skills. Now these women are trained in how to commercially produce candles.
As part of the programme, a 5 day training session was organised to address the issue of gender inequality. Sangeeta not only attended the training but also played a key role in spreading awareness at the village level. She is now leading tasks in 6 villages and delivering training to the women of these villages for which she is earning a steady income.
