Munaki Devi has a rock protruding out of a hill for a ceiling. Her windows are holes in the old, worn out bedsheet that she hangs on the sides of where she sleeps and spends her days. Munaki, who barely made a living by producing illegal country liquor has turned into one of the most sought after grocery sellers in her village. And, she says, she owes it to the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Bihar's female labour participation rate is the worst in the country. According to a 2011 report, just 19.1 per cent women participate in the workforce as compared to a national average of 25.5 per cent.
Munaki has no family her parents passed away two years after she got married. After 15 years of marraige her husband left her for the city, she has no children and extreme poverty caste discrimination has forced her to live under a rock.
Munaki is among the approximately 85 lakh rural women who are part of self-help groups that set aside Rs 10 every week and have collectively saved close to Rs 420 crore. They have also availed loans in excess of Rs, 3,500 crore to set up small businesses ever since the scheme was launched in 2007.
Every election, political conversations and analysis of factors such as caste, money, unemployment and agrarian crisis impact the results. In all of these factors, women appear as a footnote.
Bihar's female labour participation rate is the worst in the country. According to the Census Report of 2011, just 19.1 per cent women participate in the workforce as compared to a national average of 25.5 percent.
