But Puriben has travelled as far afield as Delhi and Barcelona, and has even kick-started her village's journey's towards social progress.
In Puriben's Vauva village in the Banaskantha district, ostracism was the punishment for those who ventured even a few kilometres out of their homes to find work and better life.
But Puriben has travelled as far afield as Delhi and Barcelona, and has even kick-started her village's journey's towards social progress. The Self-Employed Women's Association (Sewa) has been the engine for this social mobility.
Puriben is a crafts master with Sewa, and is the catalyst for a revolution that has enabled many villagers to send their children out of the district for higher education! "There was a time when women were not allowed to take up work," Puriben told DNA. "But we used to embroider cloth pieces stolen from mothers' collection. One day, Sewa's Reemaben [Nanavaty] came to our village to conduct a survey on water. And she was amazed by our embroidery."
Puriben said that Nanavaty was willing to give the Vauva women work and sell their creations in bigger markets. "At the time, we used to sell embroidered pieces at throwaway prices," Puriben said.
She said that one day, Nanavaty asked her to come to Radhanpur, the Banaskantha district's headquarters. "The village elders were furious that we went to Radhanpur," Puriben said. "The panchayat declared that women could not leave Vauva and if anyone raised a concern, he or she would be fined Rs10,000 and socially boycotted."
The situation was salvaged for Puriben and other women when Sewa decided to get work to their homes. And it was the women's commitment to work that caused a dramatic change in the attitude of the patriarchal village.
It so happened that during a celebration at the village, the women refused to cook rotis for a mass feast. They had started working for Sewa and did not want to miss the deadline.
"We explained that embroidery generated money for households and our panchayat allowed us to leave village for work," Puriben said. Today, Puriben's daughter, Hetal, pursues higher studies outside Banaskantha.
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