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| Purnima Rani |
In her village, Purbashib Bari Madhyapara near Ulipur, woman could not go (and, in most cases, still don’t) to the market to buy their own clothes. Instead, fearing social stigma if they visited the stalls themselves, they relied on their husbands to shop for them. Purnima knew there was a gap in the local market for making cheap women’s clothes for her neighbours and was confident of earning a good income.
She also made that choice because her husband, Monoranjan, was a tailor; it turned out to be a wise one, because between them they can earn over 3,000 (USD 44.11) Tk per month. Purnima charges 50 Tk for a three-piece outfit (blouse, skirt and scarf) which costs 300 Tk in the city, and as she is a woman, has no problems meeting her clients and her clients’ tastes. Making one-a-day on average, leaving her enough time to look after the house and the children, means that Purnima puts the same amount into the household budget as her husband.
A happy couple, they planned this together, with Purnima taking loans from RDRS to buy a second sewing machine to expand the business and set Monoranjan up as self-employed. “In most cases,” Purnima explains, “I cut the cloth and we both sew. Monoranjan also goes out looking for orders around the villages. We have enough orders and earn enough money.” Monoranjan also looks after the acre of land they bought with RDRS loan to provide their annual rice needs and a little bit more for selling at the local market.
While Monoranjan is doing the job he was brought up to do, Purnima the tailor is the one who has changed her life, and society, around by becoming self-employed. For their children, this has meant they have had the opportunities to go into secondary education – though their parents never even attended primary school. Within her village, Purnima is also held up as a role model for local girls, and even inspired three of her friends to follow her into tailoring.
Despite her success, Purnima does not think of herself or the family as self-reliant. “I want to be self-reliant,” she says, but is prepared to take her time, believing that “slow and steady wins the race”. At present paying back an 8,000 (USD 117.64) Tk micro-credit loan, she and Monoranjan want to gain more experience and confidence before they take out a larger, more ambitious micro-enterprise loan. Having once been very poor, Purnima wants to ensure that, whatever comes next for the family, she can always earn enough money to survive. “I do dream of a good future”, Purnima says, “but I prefer to wait and see, to use the opportunities only if I can. My training years ago changed my life, and I don’t want to lose what I’ve gained.”
By RDRS , DanChurchAid partner in Bangladesh