“Yes I think women can drive. That day on the road I saw a women drive a car.”
The reality is, women themselves are not aware of their capabilities. Such is our discriminatory patriarchal cultural upbringing. Questioning self-ability was one of the biggest hurdles we had to address as we suggested various models for engagement to setup a livelihood for women as home painters. Besides one who was already creating women entrepreneurs in this space, and two more who attempt to encourage women in home painting, all other stakeholders from paint giants to training institutes and aggregators, welcomed this idea of women participation in home painting. But had no committed intent or plan of action.
Recognising these gaps and contingencies, based on in-depth insights gained about the decision making process across stakeholders, we had proposed three possible ecosystem engagement models for Azad. Covid had come in the way of their progress, and we home to see the impact soon in the near future. Women are culturally conditioned to not entrust their own abilities. In many circumstances they are 'not allowed' by the patriarchs and the matriarchs, driven by regressive beliefs. Therefore to nudge the economic preferences of these very capable but suppressed women, this project suggested evidenced engagement models to break these reinforced cognitive walls.
