India: Women entrepreneur Kamala Linggi- A true story of empowerment and resilience

Arunachal Pradesh, India: Kamala Linggi- a women entrepreneur from Arunachal Pradesh has become a source of inspiration for the young generation. Her journey of struggle in life shows the correct meaning of empowerment and resilience which needs to be told.

Arunachal Pradesh is widely known for its rich culture, landscapes, and diverse heritage, however, discrimination and marginalization against women also prevail in the state. Hence, the story of Kamala Linggi showed the true strength of the women who loved to be something in their life.

Born in the village of Siluk in the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, Kamala Linggi faced several struggles in her life such as gender biasedness, discrimination and were denied to have access to basic rights such as education and healthcare. Her family has also not supported her while she expressed her desire to pursue higher education.

She received her Bachelor’s degree in Education and Master’s degree in Social Work from Rajiv Gandhi University and them she was aware of the social and economic issues faced by women in her state. Her journey to her carrier was started with her own entrepreneurial venture as she started a small scale-handloom and handicraft business named “Ngunu Ziro” in the town of Ziro in 2012. While providing employment opportunities to women in the region, the business venture of Kamala Linggi helped them to preserve the traditional handicrafts of the Apatani tribe.

Apa outlined that Linggi’s business venture provided jobs to over 200 women, many of whom were previously unemployed or underemployed. Along with the financial independence, these women also gained new skills and self-confidence to do something in their life.

Besides this, Kamala Linggi has also played significance role in the advocacy work for women’s rights and joined with several orgnaizations to promote gender equality and raise awareness against domestic violence and child marriage.

Further, Kamala also received several awards, recognitions and accolades. In 2019, she was awarded the Nari Shakti Purashkar by the President of India and she also get the opportunity to speak at various national and international forums on women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship. Her determination, hard work, will power and aim paved the path of development and growth for Kamala Linggi. She impacted several lives in Arunachal Pradesh with her work and voiced for the social awareness for women in different fields.