Telangana’s rural women redefine ambition, drive change and prosperity

Women self-help groups seem to be rewriting the rules of rural enterprise. From running kirana shops and small canteens to managing fuel stations and leasing buses to the State-run road transport corporation, they are scaling ambitious heights under the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty. With solar power units on the horizon, these women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are now earning profits, respect and breaking deep-rooted patriarchal barriers, writes P. Laxma Reddy