This mother defied her community's expectations, gave wings to her daughters' entrepreneurial dreams

Sulochana Chaudhary's world revolved around her three daughters. Hailing from an orthodox Marwari family, protecting them from the omnipresent gender disparity was an everyday battle.

With the numerous schemes and programmes from the government and industry promoting education for the girl child and women's empowerment, stories of mothers like Sulochana set a precedence. Sulochana says,

 I took my daughter in my lap, kissed her and told her, 'You are going to be my third son. I will give you the best'.

And she did.

After the birth of three daughters, she was shamed for not having a son. With limited access to education and other support, she felt it's best if the family moves out of the village.

But despite moving away, Sulochana ensured every holiday the family visited their village. According to Sulochana, keeping her daughters rooted to their hometown was important and instilled the thought of the social-economic standards of the country and how the girls could be enablers.

True to her expectations, her daughters finished their higher studies in the US, and chose to join the family business, Jaipur Rugs. Today, Asha Chaudhury is the CEO of the company, Archana Choudhury heads operations in the US, and Kavita Chaudhury is the Head of Design.

"They took the business to heights which I might not have been able to do alone," says NK Chaudhary, the girls' father.

With an intent to reach out to remote rural areas and establish bonds with village communities, Jaipur Rugs has enabled women to start weaving. Many rural people today live with constant means of financial support that was introduced by Jaipur Rugs after a rigorous skill training and community mobilisation. The artisans are given training at their doorstep, and once the rugs are made, they are taken to different global markets.

We are employing more women and setting up doorstep opportunities for them so that they can recreate the magic of success at different levels, Chaudhary added.

(With inputs from IANS)

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