Starting off as just a little sister whose four brothers always told her what to do, she went on to become a subjugated wife, a responsible daughter-in-law and now a self-reliant widow. “In 1980, when I began working with Woman’s India Trust (WIT), I was just 20. My father expired and my family needed money. While my mother supported my decision to work, my brothers thought I was being impertinent and rebellious,” she says. Later on, married to a man who’d beat her and take away her earnings, she knew there was just one decision she made that she’d always be proud of. “I realised that if there is something that would free me from this suppression, it was my job at WIT. Here, I got the respect I deserved, and my mind remained busy.”

Today as WIT celebrates its 40th anniversary, Ansari can’t hide her pride. “I remember how it was when I joined the organisation as a mere worker, stitching small items. Within four years, I was a salesgirl at their Tardeo store. Then, in 1990, I was promoted to be a designer. Now, I teach new girls to in home-based enterprise. Looking back, I think I must have been good to have come so far.”

Like Ansari, WIT itself has come a long way.

Envisioned in 1968 by barrister Kamila Tyabji, the organisation's objective was to attempt to provide a livelihood for poor and unskilled women. “Back then, Tyabji would buy pieces of cloth and hand them out to these women to stitch saree petticoats,” explains Shyamala Nath, chief executive officer of WIT. Today, WIT generates business amounting to a few lakh rupees every year, all of which goes into empowering underprivileged women and their families.

“The old adage is true: Empower a woman and you empower an entire community. Women affiliated with us today are educating their children, sending them to colleges, building homes. Many are sole bread-winners for their families,” says Nath.

Today, about 450 to 500 women contribute to WIT's enterprise — manufacturing food products, upholstery and toys, besides participating in teaching programmes and official activities like accounting and book-keeping. “Our products are special. Our food preserves are made of fresh fruits naturally, our lifestyle products are all designed by us and we also manufacture wrapping papers, etc,” a WIT member adds.

Besides its store in Tardeo, WIT also has a girls’ hostel in Panvel. Here, young women participate in educational programmes and learn various income-generating skills. The organisation also teaches home-based artisans to hand design lifestyle products with block-printing, painting and hand-embossing.