Bypassing the glass ceiling

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from my family to neighbours—thought I was being extremely stupid. But then I just wanted to do it and I did it,” she says.

Today, 18 years later, she has 900 heads and is exporting beef to the UAE. She has also set up a factory, Rohi Rung Embroidery, where wives of her male employees are engaged in embroidery work. “We export to the UK and Brazil.” Ask her what was the biggest challenge that she faced with her livestock business and pat comes the reply, “Oh, the male workers thought I wouldn’t be able to manage it. So a lot of labour issues came up, but I always had a back up plan.” Apart from running her companies, Jahangir is also chairperson of the women’s wing of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, helping many other women like her to find their feet in the ground.

Others like Pramila Rijal of Nepal might have started off doing traditional work with a boutique called Images Fashion House on a small-scale, way back in 1986 when she was barely out of college, but today she is supporting a lot of young women to do their own business, thanks to a finance company, Savings and Credits, started by her and a few other women entrepreneurs.

The loan policies in Nepal, she says, are very rigid. It’s something that a lot of women find difficult to deal with when they want to start their own businesses. And that’s when Savings and Credits comes into the picture. “We try and support them financially and provide loans. We can extend a loan up to $3,00,000.” As president of the women’s wing of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Rijal also tries her best to support women entrepreneurs in whichever way she can.