Tasleema Begum wakes before the sun rises over Srinagar’s hills. She ties her dupatta, steps into the morning chill, and walks to her strawberry fields. There’s no time for a full breakfast — strawberries must be picked before the sun gets too strong. Each morning begins like this: with hands deep in red fruit and a mind already balancing chores, market runs, and home.

Fifteen years ago, Gassu was a village of paddy fields and tight routines. Then the water dried up, and the fields stopped listening. One crop disappeared. Another arrived.

And with it, everything changed — especially for the women.

The shift wasn’t accidental. As water scarcity deepened, Gassu’s paddy fields became harder to sustain. Many farmers turned to strawberries, a more resource-efficient crop, and in doing so, found a way to adapt to climate change.

Today, over 60 percent of Gassu’s people grow strawberries, and nearly half of them are women. Women who once spent their days behind closed doors now manage fields, earn money, and make decisions. For many, it began not with confidence — but with necessity.

Together, women form the backbone of the village’s economy. Women often work in groups, starting just after morning prayers and continuing till midday. Their presence in the fields is now a daily rhythm — as familiar as the sunrise.

‘I never thought the fields were for me’

In 2007, when farmers in Gassu first began growing strawberries, Tasleema didn’t pay much attention. It was her husband who believed in the crop. She helped him occasionally, but didn’t see it as her own work.

“It has been more than a decade now,” she tells The Better India, standing in the field she once ignored.........

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