Kamini's struggle for her existence and self-respect

Initial Struggle:

Kamini W/o Nanakchand, age 30 years, is a resident of Khanpur Jat village of Alwar district in Rajasthan. Her life was full of struggles from the beginning. Both Kamini and her husband were educated till eighth grade, and faced many difficulties in life after marriage. She was burdened with responsibilities due to her husband being unemployed after marriage.

Along with the husband being unemployed, there was also domestic violence in their relationship. When her leg got fractured from the violence of her husband was the alarming time for her to take a strong stand for herself. After which took a stand for her survival and self-respect and with the help of Ibtada team she filed a domestic violence police case against her husband and family with the help of Women's Safety Centre. After the counselling done by the department, she got some relief and her life became normal. But her in-laws were always in support of their son, due to which Kamini had to face more difficulties in her in-laws'; house.

Struggles in starting her own business:

Kamini's situation became even more difficult when she had no one to help her and no way to meet the family's needs. She then started working in a beauty parlor in Alwar, which was 18 kilometres away from her home. Here she used to get Rs 20,000 per month for which she would do household work early in the morning, then go to the parlor and return home late at night. But even during her struggling days, her husband and in-laws did not support her. On the contrary, her husband would doubt her and would always stay with her whenever she went to work, which would make it more difficult for her to work in a women's beauty parlor. Kamini then thought of opening a small shop at home to support herself, for which she asked for some financial support from her husband and father-in-law, but due to them not giving the money, she started making small savings of her own. This was another big mental pressure for her, but Kamini did not give up.

Mental and Psychological Struggles:

The lack of financial resources, combined with domestic violence caused Kamini to internalize feelings of shame, failure, and worthlessness. Also, her husband’s constant suspicion and control only added to the psychological pressure, making her distrustful and anxious. Kamini often questioned her own worth, both as a wife and as a provider, especially in an environment that was not conducive to her emotional support or growth.

Turning Point- Joining self-help group:

Then one day, Kamini came to know from the neighbouring village Kairva Jat that self-help groups are being run by Ibtada NGO, in which women make their own small savings and for self-employment, they are also provided the facility of loan at low interest from the bank or the group. Knowing this, she immediately decided to go there and talked about joining the group. Then the women there told her that if she added more than 10 women in the village, her group could be started in their own village too. After this, Kamini formed two groups and started self-help group work in her village along with the team of Ibtada.

Loan support from SHG for her business:

In 2019, Kamini took a loan of Rs 25,000 from her Self-Help Group and then after some time her father-in-law also gave her Rs 30,000 for the expansion considering. Kamini started a cosmetic shop in her own small room. After this, she gradually expanded her business by taking more loans from the SHG. He took a total loan of more than Rs 4 lakh in at 6 different intervals and built a new shop outside her house for Rs 2.5 lakh. Besides, she also started tailoring along with cosmetics.

Way forwards:

By joining the Women Entrepreneur Program organized by Ibtada NGO, Kamini took training to become a skilled woman entrepreneur. In this, they were given information about financial literacy, record keeping of purchase and sale of goods and government schemes. Subsequently, she further expanded her business by taking loans from those schemes.

Current success and contribution to society:

Today, starting at Rs 25,000, Kamini's shop has stock worth over Rs 6 lakh. Her shop includes cosmetics, women's and children's clothing, toys, footwear, sewing machines etc. Apart from this, she also bought a washing machine, television, fan, cooler, fridge, 2 Android phones for the household needs, and invested Rs 2.5 lakh in building her new shop and got everyone in the house insured with LIC schemes.

Along with this, Kamini's financial understanding has improved, her self-confidence has increased, due to money in hand, her respect in the family and society has increased, and with an elevation of stature of woman in her house, the incidents of domestic violence on her stopped completely". Now she could go on her own to buy cosmetics and other stuff required for her shops, she has also learned to use a mobile phone, knows how to read English, and is also fully aware of government schemes, she felt she can speak in front of authorities as and when required. she also became an active member in the VRC/SHG/Federation. Income tax returns are also filed by her to get support in taking loans, she keeps records of all the transactions of her business, along with this she has given employment to 4 more poor women.  In which 3 work in sewing and one in clothes press.

Dreams of the future

Kamini ji's dream is to expend her business by taking a new plot and constructing a bigger shop and

also create employment opportunities for the people. Along with this, she dreams of opening a boutique and says, "Now I will make my shop so big that

there will be space to sit openly".

Her biggest wish is to make her daughter a doctor, so that her daughter does not faces the difficulties she faced in her life.  She also says that "She will be the job givers not the receiver”.

Kamini ji's story teaches us that despite struggles and difficulties, if our hard work and faith is strong, we can change our direction and make our life successful.