Weaving dreams into reality

The story of Ruma Devi’s transformation from a village girl into a social worker, change-maker, entrepreneur, leader and icon of women’s empowerment is a lesson in courage, determination and sense of purpose for not just womanhood but all.

- Joseph Rozario

AS ONE OF THE MOST BACKWARD regions of the country, the Barmer district of Rajasthan conjures desert landscapes, hardships and rural communities for whom life is a continuous struggle. Few dare to dream of a better life here. Add to this the disadvantage of being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated society, and the prospect of breaking free and overcoming challenges to usher sweeping change seems well near impossible. Yet this is what Ruma Devi has incredibly achieved.

Early struggles

Ruma Devi’s life actually has been a series of struggles, which she has resolutely overcome. Having lost her mother at the age of five, she was raised by her paternal uncle, after her father remarried. If education offered any hope of a better future, this too came to a premature end, after she dropped out of school in Standard VIII, thereafter devoting her time to household chores, which included fetching water in a bullock cart from a well almost 10 km away.

A role model

Married off at 17 into a financially unstable family, life continued to be a struggle for Ruma Devi, until she refused to accept the limited resources at home as her destiny. Having learnt embroidery from her grandmother after her mother’s death, she expressed her desire to support the family financially, and armed with her needle and a lot of determination, she stepped out to usher change. “I managed to convince 10 women from my village and started a self-help group in 2006. With a contribution of `100 each, we then bought essentials like cloth, threads and plastic wrappers and started making cushion covers and bags,” she says.