This article has been published in partnership with S M Sehgal Foundation. 

For 26-year-old Anchal of Hussaini village, leaving home for a meeting was once difficult to imagine.

Her days revolved around household chores, livestock, farm work and caring for her children. In her community, women had few opportunities to attend meetings outside their homes or speak to people from the village.

So when she decided to join the Hussaini Mustard Oil Enterprise in Chhata block of Mathura in 2023, the first hurdle was at home.

“They felt that the women of the house should not go out and work,” she recalls.

It was not an easy argument to make. Anchal had a household to run and three children to care for, two of whom have disabilities and need regular treatment. But staying at home had begun to weigh on her.

“I was confined at home, and getting stressed. I wanted to do something of my own,” she says.

Nearly three years later, Anchal is part of the team running the mustard oil unit in her village. She earns around Rs 5,000-6,000 a month and contributes towards her children’s treatment.

But to get there, she first had to find a way to step outside a life that had largely been defined for her.

The first hurdle was at home

Anchal had completed her bachelor of arts after studying up to Class 12 in her village. Yet her education had not translated into work outside the home.

“I didn’t want to be confined to the house. I was waiting for a chance to step out and work,” she says.

“I didn’t want to be confined to the house. I was waiting for a chance to step out and work,” she says.

Her family did not agree immediately. She had to convince them that she could work while continuing to care for her children and manage the household. She began waking early to finish her chores before leaving for the unit.

Anchal joined the enterprise in November 2023. Her mother-in-law takes care of the children while she is away, and Anchal returns early whenever they need her.

Joining the enterprise changed more than her daily routine. She had also been uncomfortable speaking to anyone outside her immediate circle.

“Earlier, we couldn’t speak freely with anyone outside our community. We hardly had any contact with outsiders,” she says.

That changed once she began working at the unit, alongside women she had never had any reason to speak with before.

‘I was just looking for a chance to work’

Preeti, now 32, arrived at the enterprise from a different starting point.

Originally from Haryana, she moved to Hussaini after marriage. She had completed her bachelor of arts and taught children at schools in her village for around three years. Her father had also taught her tailoring and encouraged her to become self-reliant.

After marriage, however, her days became centred on the household, cattle and fields.

“I was always looking for a chance to work somewhere,” she says.

The opportunity came through the Shri Ji self-help group, which is linked to the National Rural Livelihoods Mission.

When S M Sehgal Foundation began discussing a mustard oil unit in Hussaini around January-February 2023, Preeti became involved. But like Anchal, she first had to convince her family.

Her in-laws worried about women working outside the home, what people........

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