Empowering a woman to live a respectable life where she earns her own livelihood and makes independent decisions on her personal development is indeed a noble feat.
There are many orgainsations and individuals in the world who help women become independent not by doling out charity amounts but by helping them and by armoring them with the skills and venues that are needed to live a decent life.
One such entity is Matr Boomie, which means 'mother land' in Hindi and it is empowering thousands of women in India by providing them the means to earn their livelihood. These women in the rural parts of the country hand make gifts and accessories, which are then distributed.
The organization uses the social impact business model to uplift nearly 2,000 mostly female artisans throughout India funded through designs that have become chic in Western markets.
This is having a ripple effect on women's empowerment, especially throughout the Indian countryside where traditionally women have had to rely upon men for their most basic needs.
"When we go to a village, we look for women to work with as artisans," says Matr Boomie Co-founder Manish Gupta. "Suddenly, women are the sought after ones. That oftentimes shifts the whole community's respect towards women."
The organization helps women learn how to take the traditional arts they learned from their mothers and grandmothers and transform them into gifts and jewelry that can be sold internationally.
"When a woman does that, they become an entrepreneur. They can work with us or any other company," says Gupta. This is a very different model than nonprofits or NGOs. "The women work for themselves and become their own small business. It is the difference between long-term sustainability versus a handout."
Each product contains a tag with the inspiring story of the women who made the gift possible. Matr Boomie customers say that these inspiring messages are an essential part of their appeal - women reaching across continents to share beauty with each other.
According to the United Nations, rural women play a key role in supporting their households and communities in achieving food and nutrition security, generating income, and improving rural livelihoods and overall well-being.
Yet, every day, around the world, rural women and girls face persistent structural constraints that prevent them from fully enjoying their human rights and hamper their efforts to improve their lives as well as those of others around them.