Shahar Bano

Written by Utkarsh Rajawat

Shahar Bano is a 40-year-old woman who was forced to leave her in-laws home after her husband died. She has three children. She is now living with her brother’s family with no financial support. Her children are studying in a government primary school. While Shahar Bano was struggling with her daily life with the financial crisis, the Digital Empowerment Foundation came forward to help her and supported her to open a Kirana store in her house in the village of Sadullapur. Now she is running her shop professionally and increasing the quantity of her inventory as well. Elarlier Shahar Bano was supported by her brother’s family but after a few years everyone started ignoring and avoiding her as they felt her and her children as an extra burden on them. This was a very difficult time for Bano.

Shahar lost her husband while her children were still very young; she herself was illiterate so she couldn’t find a way to support her family. For the last six years she has somehow survived with the reluctant help of her brother’s family. She has been trying to find ways of becoming financially independent so that she doesn’t burden her brother any longer but she was unable to. She used to work in fields as a daily wage labourer to feed her children and herself. But now with this general store she doesn’t need to do that anymore. She has found a regular source of income and is earning a livelihood with dignity.

Shahar’s shop is located in a room of her brother’s house which was given to her by her father. Her shop is a general store which contains all kinds of essential items which are consumed and used by community members in villages. The products include bath and detergent items, sugar, salt, daal, Namkeen, biscuits, sabji masala, bread etc.. A fixed capital of Rs 7000 was invested to set up and start Bano’s shop. Shahar Bano has now reached a stage where she is able to buy more things and keep them in her shop. Every month she earns about 3,000 rupees now. She is very happy to be running a successful enterprise now, though she still wants some more support so that she can buy some furniture to store the items in her shop in an organised way.