Durga is 31 years old and lives and works in Delwara, a village in Rajasthan. She also plays the lead role in a Women on Wings movie that was filmed last week. The movie will be used on the website and in presentations in 2014.
Durga is a group leader at Sadhna, a co-op in Udaipur that employs 700 women in the production of handmade shawls, saris and pillows. Durga was forced into an arranged marriage when she was just 6 years old. She moved in with her husband and his family at age 15. One year later her daughter Anjali, now 16 herself, was born. Anjali is in high school now and is older than her mother was when she had her first child. Anjali wants to become a doctor or an accountant when she finishes high school and will only consider marriage when she can financially support herself.
A lot has changed in just one generation. Durga works, has her own income and can send her daughter to school. Anjali is learning a vocation and will only get married once she has finished her studies and worked for a few years. A job and an income gives women wings. A job and an income gives women who have little to nothing at all the opportunity to give their children an education. Working is empowering and builds confidence. It gives you a voice in the village, a say over your children’s education and the ability to become a role model for your daughters. Durga is one the reasons Women on Wings does what it does.
The movie was shot by LexDekkerVideos. In addition to filming Durga’s story, he also made a documentary about the collaboration between Jharcraft and Women on Wings in Jharkhand. Both movies will be released in early 2014.
