Women Stitching Second Chances: Usha Silai School Transforms Lives
Life throws impossible challenges, but a needle and thread can stitch broken dreams back together. Watch how Usha Silai School create safe havens for widows, survivors, and single mothers like Marifat from Srinagar, Jyoti from Ujjain, and Vimla from Rajasthan's Sikar
In Rajasthan's Neemki village, Sikar district, 35-year-old Vimla Devi collaborates with her husband Mewaram at their shared tailoring setup, adjusting a salwar kameez pattern on her Usha machine acquired after 2021's Reengus training. Widowed young with children Ankit and Monika, her shift from farm labor to monthly ?8,000-?10,000 income now covers private schooling, as she teaches locals and warns against child marriages that stole her own childhood.
Vimla beams with pride at a community gathering, certificate in hand, surrounded by women she's trained in fresh designs, her journey from 10-year-old bride to respected entrepreneur highlighted by Regional Manager Mohan Lal's insights on Usha's mindset-shifting residential program. Remarried and empowered since 2022, she and Mewaram divide tasks to sustain their business, proving nine days of skill-building can rewrite narratives of loss into legacies of dignity and village-wide uplift.
In Srinagar's Nowhatta, Marifat stands resilient in her boutique near Jamia Masjid, threading a needle with steady hands after her husband's sudden death in 2023 left her widowed with two young children. Through Usha Silai School's nine-day residential training via University of Kashmir's social work program, she transformed grief into grit-earning ?8,000-?15,000 monthly, stitching not just garments but her path to independence and self-respect.
Marifat shares a heartfelt moment with her 4.5-year-old daughter, who still believes her father sends money from afar, as they sit amid bolts of vibrant fabric in their home-turned-workspace. From double MA dreams deferred to embracing stitching over unstable jobs, Marifat's leap of faith in the Usha program rebuilt her confidence, allowing her to employ four women and vow to help 10-20 more rise from despair.
Near Ujjain in Kalukhedi village, Jyoti Khare, 37, operates her Usha Silai School from a modest corner of her home, demonstrating blouse stitching to eager trainees while wearing her mangalsutra as a shield against judgment. Married at 14 and divorced in 2012 after years of abuse, her 2023 nine-day training turned survival gigs-like e-rickshaw driving and cooking-into a stable enterprise training villagers and fulfilling her dream of city expansion.
Jyoti reflects during a village training session, her face lit with newfound purpose as she guides women on gown designs, echoing her escape from 14 years of locked doors and beatings. Now balancing household duties with earnings that fund her three children's education, she embodies Usha's gift of "gharelu kaam" that keeps her rooted at home yet soaring toward a recognized identity, free from wandering for odd jobs.
Do you want to be a part of the huge change that Usha Silai School is bringing about in the lives of millions of rural women? With just a simple click of a button, you can now contribute towards the opening of an Usha Silai School or support various other aspects of the school.
Kushalta Ke Kadam, an initiative by USHA Silai School and NDTV has entered its eighth season. The aim is to empower more women across rural India by teaching them sewing skills and helping them open new doors of opportunities for themselves. The initiative encourages rural women to become financially independent and entrepreneurs by taking up sewing and training others in their respective communities.
Since 2011, the USHA Silai School initiative has trained more than 12 lakh rural women through over 33,000 Silai schools, spanning over 20,751 villages across India.
The women earn Rs. 4,000 – 5,000 per month on an average, with the highest recorded monthly earning being Rs. 84,000 in a month. This earning works as a catalyst towards building their self-confidence, reducing gender inequities, and raising their stature within their families and in society at large.
Team NDTV | Wednesday January 07, 2026From Madhya Pradesh's stigma to Bihar's child marriages, Usha Silai School's NDTV-backed Kushalta Ke Kadam empowers women like Kalpana and Shabnam to stitch dignity and self-reliance
- Written by Team NDTV | Friday January 02, 2026
Usha Silai Schools give second chances to women like Srinagar's Marifat, who rebuilt after widowhood; Madhya Pradesh's Jyoti, escaping abuse to run her own center; and Rajasthan's Vimla, rising from child marriage to tailor and teacher. Through nine-day training, they gain sewing skills, confidence, and income proving one stitch mends lives and inspires communities.
- Team NDTV | Friday December 26, 2025
A new wave of corporate-community partnerships is equipping rural women with skills, income and confidence
- Written by Team NDTV | Friday December 12, 2025
USHAs Silai School Programme empowers women across India by turning sewing into independence. Women become trainers and leaders, transforming their lives and communities through skills, confidence, and income
- Written by Team NDTV | Thursday December 11, 2025
USHA Silai School is empowering women across India by turning sewing skills into leadership and income. Women like Lalita, Yashira, and Pushpakala have become mentors, reviving traditions and building stronger communities. Their stories show how one skill can weave a brighter future.
- Written by Team NDTV | Wednesday December 10, 2025
From homemaker to celebrated teacher, Lakhi Debnath transformed her life via Usha Silai School, funding her daughters' education and buying land through tailoring
