Set in the quiet village of Bairampur in the North 24 Parganas of Bengal, prejudices are multifold. Married to a laborer, Manisha Bala resided with her husband and two children “ trying to make ends meet,” recalling how purposeless she felt being a housewife. “This village likes poverty, but frowns at female members going out to earn” iterates the 38 year-old Manisha who tried her best to find out ways to support her husband.
In her quest to bring home an income, Manisha crossed paths with community volunteers, who “mobilized on the quick benefits of earning digitally from the comforts of home”, notes Manisha. Next followed a digital training program led by Anudip Foundation. What made the family happy was to see this house-wife learning concepts of “new media , social selling, search engine marketing, mobile marketing which even made my neighbors inquisitive.”
Using her smart-phone, which erstwhile was a device maneuvered only in her leisure, has now become her compass to reach opportunities that once seemed beyond their reach. The 38-year-old ventured into the world of “ecommerce, skillfully starting her own business on social media platforms”, carving a path towards financial stability. Additionally, digital training helped her to embrace the flickering flame of “The Atal Pension Yojana (APY)” to avail the benefits of government schemes”. Today Manisha Bala stands as a proud entrepreneur in her village who not only secured her own financial future but also became a guiding constellation for those like her lost in the labyrinth of prejudice against the unjust boxes into which a society has forced them.
The ones who labeled her “misfit”, today call Manisha, “ Miss Fit” for choosing to ignore the absurdity of things and leading by example of a “ housewife in her mid 30’s turning to an entrepreneur from a remote Indian village.”
