Joida's power women

Society

Whether or not women have managed to break into senior-level management in the corporate world, the women of Uttara Kannada’s Joida certainly have. Eighty per cent of shops in the town are run entirely by women. A great example of women power coming from a small town with a ‘backward’ tag, reports Rajesh Shrivana

It’s a taluk centre, but not exactly a big town. It doesn’t even have a Town Panchayat. What strikes you as you step into Joida in Uttara Kannada district is the fact that most shops here don’t have a name board. Not that there is need for any. Every one in this small town knows which shop belongs to whom. The shops go by the names of their owners. There is Gangakka’s paan shop, there’s Sushma Ram Mirashi’s fancy store, there’s Maya’s ladies tailoring shop, Maktumbi’s bangle store, Veena Savarkar’s bajji centre, etc. Run your eyes through that list again, and you will realise that most shops are being managed by women of the town. There are as many as 35 to 40 shops in the town, and a whopping 80 per cent of these shops are wholly managed by women. 

The town is the State’s second biggest taluk centre. At a time when there is much debate on whether women have managed to break into senior-level management in the corporate world, the women of Joida have set a great example. They have successfully been managing businesses all on their own. A lesson in women power. 

Paan shop owners, hoteliers, et al

Take 48-year-old Ganga Panduranga Naik, for instance. This woman has been managing a paan shop entirely on her own. One fine day, when her husband disappeared, the burden of shouldering the family’s responsibility landed on Gangakka. She was left with no choice but to work. She observed how a beeda is prepared in a paan shop, learnt a few tricks of the trade and finally started her own shop. Now, all you have to do is step into her shop anytime between 8 am and 10 pm, and you can taste her masala paan, her teen sau and ‘120’ varieties. 

Then, there is the story of Amba Bhavan, a fast food centre in the town, famous for its buns. This centre is run by a mother-in-law-daughter-in-law duo. Thirty-six-year-old Rajashree and her 75-year-old mother-in-law Saraswathi Anantha Patnekar run the place. Between the two, they share all responsibilities including cooking and handling the finances.

Sushma Ram Mirashi who has studied till SSLC is a former Gram Panchayat president. Today, she runs her own stationery and gift shop. She travels to bigger towns such as Belgaum and Hubli to source stocks of stationery for her shop. 

Sixty-seven-year-old Philomena who has studied till her fourth standard is the owner of a footwear shop. She has been running the shop from the last 22 years. She has now started a new shop which is managed by her son. The town has only these two footwear shops. 

Fifty-year-old Fairoz, who has studied till Standard VII, has been running a chicken shop from the last 17 years. “Business picks up during the summer vacations, on Sundays, during Ramzan, etc. During the rainy season, sale of fish picks up and my business is affected at such times,” she explains. 

The Dongre mill is also run by a woman. Thirty-three-year-old Sujatha Nithin Dongre runs the shop after finishing her household chores and sending off the children to school.

Sujatha explains that the wedding season is the busiest time for her and adds that she often offers loans to others. “People in the town are very trustworthy, and they all come to my flour mill,” she points out.

Maktumbi, who is 70 years old, has been running a bangle shop from the last 30 years. Hers was the first bangle store in the whole of Joida. She runs her shop in a rented building. 

The shop is open from 8 am to 8 pm on all days of the year, she points out. However, she adds that the number of people who buy glass bangles has dropped in recent times, as most youngsters prefer designer accessories.

Forty-four-year-old Anuradha V Kamrekar who has studied up to the ninth standard has been running a readymade garments shop from the last 15 years. “My husband helps in sourcing clothes, but I manage the rest.

“There was a time when fashion trends changed every six months. That is no longer the case; it now changes with each passing day,” she points out. 

The list of women who run businesses in Joida is indeed a large one. There is Nirmala Dabagar who runs a shop called Dabagar Merchants, there’s 65-year-old Gausubi who runs a kirana store, there’s Parveen, who also runs a kirana store, there’s BA graduate Maya who runs a tailoring shop, there’s Pallavi Pandit Naik and Lakshmi V Naik who run hotels…the list is indeed long.

Safety for women

“In Joida, women find themselves safe and secure. They can fearlessly run their businesses,” points out Syed Hussain, husband of Parveen, who runs a kirana store. This is reassuring at a time when women are often not safe even in big cities such as Bangalore or Delhi. Joida is a special town. Though it is considered ‘backward’ when compared to other towns and villages, this small town is untouched by ‘development’ in the conventional sense.

People here lead simple lives and adhere to values that no longer hold much importance in the more ‘developed’ towns. What’s more, Joida’s women have set an example for the rest of the country to follow.

Role model

This is the success story of Neetha Chitragar. She lost her husband at the age of 20. Today, ten years later, Neeta manages the Manjunatha Rotti Khanavali, and fends for her two children. This independent and strong-willed woman is grateful for schemes such as the Sri Dharmasthala Rural Development Scheme and encouragement from other self-help groups. Today, she is building a house and has even managed to save a neat sum in the bank. Neeta’s biggest dream is to provide good education for her children and improve her hotel.