By Shreya Batra

Neeta is working as Chalo Saathi, an influencer agent at Chalo Network. Neeta lives in Khaniyadana block, Madhya Pradesh, with her husband and two children. On this International Women's Day, we asked Neeta about how she sees herself and her journey. Continue Reading to find her story...

Most women in our country are confined to the private sphere of the household and family, and community members control their mobility. Many must seek permission from elders and male members of the household to use smartphones, step out for work, and other everyday participation in the public sphere.

Like most women, Neeta faced barriers as well – she was expected to stay in and take care of her children. In 2016, Neeta joined a Self-Help Group (SHG), which was the first time she was allowed to step outside her house. Since it was a women’s SHG, it was easier to negotiate with her family. She started participating in public matters through the SHG, where women would discuss their savings, health and children’s education, among other things.

Chalo Network onboarded Neeta as an agent in July 2021 and has been supporting her with training, marketing, and better customer interactions to deliver services in the best manner possible. Such support systems for agents, especially female agents, is often missing in the financial ecosystem. Chalo Network aims to minimise these roadblocks for agents and help them better target migrant households within their geographies. Her work entails doing documentation updates, providing cash-in cash-out services, and doing vaccination registration for people in her village, focusing on migrant households. 

Khaniyadhana is a migrant-sending block from Shivpuri district and has a high concentration of migrant households with at least one family member in major Indian cities like Delhi-NCR.  

With most men migrating out of the village, many households are headed by left-behind women or elderly family members. Earlier, people in Neeta’s village had to travel to another village to get financial and other identity-related services, exhausting their time, money, and effort. Naturally, women were left out of this system due to restrictions on their movement and cultural barriers that limit interactions with male agents. Spending Rs 50 on travel was an added barrier for many to update their documentation.

Through Chalo Network, Neeta fills a huge gap by giving these services in the village itself- sometimes in the village ground, sometimes at her own house and sometimes visiting women-headed households to provide services at their doorstep. Initially, she was told, "ye mardo ka kaam hai, tum zyada din Nahi Kar paoge" (This is a man’s work, and you won’t be able to sustain it here). But she was determined to work more, learn more, step outside of the house, earn for the household and invest in her children's education. She started providing financial and documentation services daily, and gradually people started recognising her. They would ask, "Neeta Ji, ap humara bhi aadhar card update kara dengi kya?" (Neeta, would you also update our Aadhar card?) And she would happily say "Yes". Neeta now has a fully functional CSC Kendra, which is a testimony to her grit, determination, and firm belief that she can make a difference through her work.

By providing essential services that people in the community needed, Neeta won hearts and built essential networks and connections. Her female customers feel very comfortable availing her help and are getting services like Aadhaar correction, Pan Update and e-Shram registration. She enjoys this newfound recognition and feels a sense of identity. She also makes money and invests in her children's education. Neeta wants to grow at Chalo and wishes to provide more and more services to her customers.

She has made a tremendous journey from the private sphere of the family to building her reputation as a 'credible agent' by giving financial services. Neeta #breaksthebias every day by working in a field which is still considered a man's job in many parts of the country. 

Neeta's journey has inspired us. Did it inspire you? Let us know at communications@indiamigrationnow.org