To mark International Rural Women’s Day, You! takes a look at the stories of rural women who are working as sales agents in their villages to lead their families to prosperity…
In rural Pakistan, women are important partners at homes, in communities and in the fields where they work. Often, they are breadwinners who earn with their husbands and perform a range of tiresome roles that can be physically tiring – for instance, harvesting and farm work in the agricultural fields, dairy farming and animal care or play domestic worker roles at people’s homes.
It is unfortunate that despite sharing the burden and working so hard, these rural women very rarely are recognised for their contributions or share control of the income generated from their work. When it comes to true empowerment, they lag and struggle.
International Day of Rural Women, which is celebrated on October 15th each year, recognises the critical role and contribution of rural women. This is important because achieving gender equality and empowering women is not only the right thing to do but is a critical ingredient in the fight against extreme poverty, hunger, and malnutrition – problems that are highly prevalent in Pakistan’s context.
While the world is taking strides towards empowering rural women, doing so is even more important in a country like ours because 63 per cent of Pakistan’s population (over 145 million people) represents the rural sector. The rural sector contributes over 20 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and yet, it continuously struggles to get attention for their achievements or dedicated efforts towards development.
In the past two decades, Pakistan’s rural female labour participation has doubled. Given the rising cost of living and inflation, this is going to continue to rise as making ends meet on one income, especially in the rural sector where remuneration for labour is low, is becoming challenging by the year.
While the increase of their participation is a positive sign in enabling them to become independent, rural women face multiple challenges; including limited access to healthcare, education and credit that can help them seek financial independence. These challenges worsen with economic and climate change crisis that Pakistan continues to face and while charity and poverty eradication programs are run by the government, despite being limited, often help these women, even they are not enough.
For real development of these rural women and to enable them to lead their independent lives, it is very important for them to be earning themselves. However, it is a challenge to enable them to do so - given their tough circumstances. In the recent past, there have been multiple efforts that are reaching out to rural women and working towards upskilling them and the Nestlé BISP Rural Women Sales Program is one of them. It was envisioned to enable rural women to work independently and earn a livelihood for themselves and their families. The program is enabling the poorest of the poor women to become financially independent through employment.
Under this program, rural women are trained on fundamentals of sales, pricing and profit margin and are made aware regarding product nutritional benefits and method of preparation and use. After these trainings, they become retailers (who own and sell at shops) or sales agents (who sell to shops as micro distributors, engage in door-to-door selling and sell products from their homes).
Nestlé extended PKR 3.6 million as revolving credit to Akhuwat Foundation, (the largest interest-free microfinance program) to provide microloans to sales agents who, as a result, have opened their own shops in their villages. Till date, over 200 microloans have been given with an average of PKR 15,000 per beneficiary.
On paper, these may seem just numbers, but the impact of these efforts can only be seen when these rural women narrate their life stories. Not only do their stories show hope, courage, strength, and resilience, but they are also a testament to the impact of giving back to communities to create shared value for communities, where everyone benefits.
From a dependent spouse to a breadwinner:
Razia, a mother of two, hailing from Sheikhupura, would rely on her husband to sustain their family until he began finding it difficult to find work and earn money. Struggling to make ends meet and left with little or no choices, she decided to do something herself. “I had never worked earlier, and it was tough, but I made myself strong in the face of adversity,” recalls Razia, who opened a shop in her village after her husband lost his job.
“Our living conditions were deteriorating, and my children were not going to school. Then one day, representatives of the Rural Women Sales Program got in touch with me and after some discussions, facilitated me to get a loan from Akhuwat,” elucidates Razia.
Razia used this loan to set up a shop and keep affordable nutritious products. Soon, she began making reasonable sales and today her incremental income runs the house. She has put her children in school and is hoping for a better future for them. Razia believes that women must work alongside their husbands to improve their living conditions and is a testament to that belief herself.
Finding financial empowerment in the face of adversity:
Naseem is another beneficiary of this program from Mian Channu. She lost her son, who was an earning member of the family. Not only did she have to grieve the loss of a son, but this loss also came along with additional financial challenges.
To support her husband, Naseem opened a small grocery shop in her vicinity with limited products. During one of their visits to the village, the company’s team visited her and offered her a loan to procure healthy products that she could sell to the community.
This has resulted in an incremental income of PKR 6000 per month on average, which Naseem now contributes to the household. Not only has she gained financial empowerment in the face of adversity but has also become a symbol of hope for many other women in her community who hope to become strong financially as well.
A rural entrepreneur:
Razia Bibi sold grocery items in Renala Khurd. She had limited products and a minor turnover. Then, one day a company representative visited her village and told her about a range of products. “I told her I didn’t have enough capital to invest in the business, so they offered me a loan, which helped me stock products that weren’t available at most stores in our village,” narrates Razia Bibi.
Gradually, Razia expanded her product portfolio including healthy and nutritious products, after which, her revenue grew as well. She is now able to educate her children and feed them healthy food, which for her as a mother, are two of her greatest achievements.
Saima Bibi from Sheikhupura was always a helping hand to her husband until the day she met an accident and broke her leg. Her husband worked as a labourer on daily wage and would often not find work. Then, she found out about the rural women sales program and enrolled herself as a micro distributor, where she would go and sell products to people at their doorstep. These efforts have enabled Saima to support her husband again in running the house and pay her children’s school fee. “I’m grateful for this opportunity that enabled me to work and earn a livelihood for my family,” expresses Saima.
Overcoming challenges with will and determination:
Sonia and her family struggled to make ends meet financially but things took another negative turn when her son broke his leg. His treatment went on for six months, draining Sonia and her husband completely. This situation compelled Sonia to think about working herself and finding ways to financially contribute towards her family’s expenditure. That is when she met a representative who told her about the Nestlé BISP rural women sales program and enlightened her about the way to become a part of it. The company offered her a loan, stocked products with her, and Sonia began her journey as a micro entrepreneur in Pindi Bhattian. Gradually, people in her vicinity realised they don’t have to travel too far to get the products they need and began buying from Sonia. That’s how she contributes to her family and is leading them to prosperity.
A ray of hope after a calamity:
Last year’s floods caused immense loss in Sindh. Cities drowned and perhaps the rural areas suffered the most. Thousands of people were affected, many were killed, and communities were displaced as a result. The ones who survived, lost their livelihoods and hope to live. Amna Bibi, who hails from Larkana, was one of the survivors, who began wondering how to pick up the pieces of her life after this calamity and put them together. Her husband was unable to find work and her children suffered as a result. When Amna was at her absolute worst, she found out about the opportunity to become a rural sales agent for the BISP rural women sales program. She said yes to the opportunity, opened a small kiosk and began selling dairy and nutrition related products to people in her vicinity. Not only did Amna open a door of opportunity for herself that could lead her to financial empowerment and improve the living conditions of her family, but she also served a dire need for the community – nutritious dairy products close to them. For Amna, the greatest win is that she sent her children to school and gradually bought a sewing machine and a washing machine that she needed at home. In Amna’s own words, her worries have disappeared now and she’s thankful to the opportunity given by the company for enabling her to stand on her own feet and be financially empowered!
