Digital Didi Changing Mindsets, Practices and Narratives
Beyond certified degrees, true engineering lies in the real time problem solving skills with a good understanding of the underlying technology and here is an example of a woman engineer working to connect the unconnected.
Many would struggle to picture a woman when they hear an ‘engineer’, let alone meet one in the villages of India. At DEF, it has become a norm to consider gender bias as an opportunity to transform not just the lives of the women from the community but also the entire rural population that’s connected with them. In most programs DEF ensures that the women take up the centre stage which has proved to be effective and perpetuating in terms of improving the lives of people from marginalised communities. Time and again women have powered through challenging situations and attended to their responsibilities using the multi-tasking skills. This has been critical in delivering the outcomes successfully and pushed to create changes in many villages across India.
Nisha Kumari is one such stakeholder who has shown keen interest in wireless networks and proudly identifies herself as a Wireless Woman Engineer (WWE). Although educated, Nisha used to spend most of her time staying at home in Bartoli village of Jharkhand. Inspired to learn the computer she joined the Wireless training program to learn how wireless works and how it can help the community. Once she attended the training, she started using a wireless network. She was intrigued about setting it up herself and how it could help her connect to the wider network. She has ever since been enthusiastic about learning further about wireless technology and helped to introduce it in her village so that her community members stay connected. She has also been encouraging everyone in her village to participate in the training. From just being married to a farmer, she is now set upon establishing her own wireless centre and providing better network and other digital services to the villagers.
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