Agents of change

As I meander through the plains of North India meeting poor women who are changing their own lives as well as the lives of those around them, I find myself questioning the western notions of women’s liberation and empowerment. These women don’t feel deprived because they lack access to latest consumables. They are content with their scant material possessions and are extremely happy as they now feel more secure than they have ever felt in the past. They are the financial managers of their household enterprises and undertake complex transactions - they secure finance, they invest and they are also responsible for "internal control". Some of them are so good, they can humble their more fortunate peers who had access to formal education. These women are a barometer of the way India is changing economically as well as socially; they are also the force that’s driving this change.