Spreading fragrance of empowerment

VARANASI: A victim of child marriage and domestic violence by her in-laws, Vimla, fought against all odds and struggled to become an entrepreneur by making incense sticks.
A native of Dhodaipur village of Badagaon block, Vimla is now the president of a self-help group supported by government under National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). As many as 12 women of her village work under her vision and are engaged in making 'agarbatti' (incense sticks).
"Our group is just four year old. We started supplying incense sticks in local market and now we are capturing markets of several cities and villages in Bihar, West Bengal, Delhi and Punjab. We set up our stalls during special fairs and festivals and earn good amount of money to support our families," said Vimla, who was present during the five-day divisional Saras Mela organised by the state government at Town Hall.
Interestingly, the self-help group manufactures over 1 lakh incense sticks every year and is earning good profit. The women in her group are able to save up to Rs 50,000. "Initially some women in the group felt reluctant to carry on the work and left the group due to family and other responsibilities. But we did not lose confidence and continued our work. The women in our group are supporting their entire family individually without any hassle and without getting dependent on anybody else. Now, my husband, who was daily wager in Jaipur, has come back and is supporting me in my work," she shared.
According to assistant development officer, Industrial Service Business (ISB), Harvansh Rai, the help group led by Vimla is one of its kind. The women are working very hard to support their families and have captured a good market in such a short period of time.
"Married at a young age of 13, I completed my studies up to class 12 without the consent of my in-laws. Initially they were not aware that I was enrolled in a school and when they realised the fact, they started beating me up whenever they found me studying in home. I used to hide in corner of the house and study overnight to give my exams. Later on, I completed graduation from Sampurnanand Sanskrit University (SSU)," she shared.
Apart from training women about manufacturing and marketing techniques to sell incense sticks, Vimla has also educated over 150 women of her village. "Representatives of government officials arrived in our village to form groups for educating women. I was selected for the teaching task and trained 17 teachers. Along with my children, I distributed books, pencils and notebook in each and every house of the village. It was a difficult task as people who did not support educating women started questioning my intentions. Some social organisations also came to rescue and the education programme resulted good results. Now the women in our village know how to read and write. They can perform basic calculations and are aware about health and hygiene."