At 70, Chambal’s iron lady mines success

GWALIOR: Call her the iron lady of Chambal. More than a decade ago, she broke the glass ceiling in the bandit dust bowl of Madhya Pradesh and mined profits. Kunwari Ayodhya Singh, 70, battled odds of feudal society, took on dacoits head-on to successfully run iron ore mines in Chambal. This succeeded in a profession where women rarely tread.
She faced several life threats from brigands in ravines, but was undeterred.Talking to TOI, Ayodhya Singh said, “I would visit mine sites with my geologist husband Jai Singh for research and slowly my interest developed. My husband owns two mines and I began picking up the iron ore business.”
In 1996, she lost her husband and with nobody to handle the mining business, she decided to pursue her husband’s dreams. “I realized women entrepreneurs in India face challenges of cultural bias and lack of safety. Also, there are pressures of balancing work, home and family,” she said.
Despite hurdles, she decided to run mines and began touring mine sites. “When I was struggling to re-establish the business, dacoits laid siege to our Santo mines in 1998. They assaulted my workers, delivered life threats and sent threat letters to me, demanding 5 lakh every month to run mines,” she said.
She continued to receive threatening calls and letters, but did not succumb to the bandits. “I motivated my workers and also realized how hard it was for women in India to run business. Seeing my perseverance, villagers and my team supported me. And I managed to succeed,” said Singh.