She bears and cares. Lending weight to this oft-heard saying on Women’s Day, comes facts and figures from 22 sub-registrar offices in Ahmedabad district. Believe it or not, but in Ahmedabad, women far outnumber men in showing large-heartedness to give up their share in ancestral or paternal property. Women accounted for 70% of the 9,326 people who relinquished their property rights over the past six years.
According to data from 22 sub-registrar offices in Ahmedabad district, 9,326 documents to relinquish property were registered between 2017 and 2022. In most cases, women gave up the right to property after marriage.
Throwing light on the matter, advocate Dipak Patel shared having officiated four such cases in the past month. For Prakash Shah, president, Ahmedabad Title Clear Association: “Women seeking share in the paternal property after their marriage is very rare.” Lending another angle to the matter, Jayaben Rathod of NGO Utthan added that society does not approve of women seeking a fair share in paternal property. “There have been cases where women are forced to forfeit their right to land and property,” she adds.
On the other hand, women entrepreneurs in Ahmedabad still have to battle internal shackles before sweating it out in the competitive world. Entrepreneurs Anushree and Ananya Maloo, both in their 20s, were faced with much opposition and questioning when they shared their new business idea — a “liquid powder” for men that absorbs sweat from the private parts.
“We were hounded at being obscene and also asked about who would want to marry such women. Our family aggressively suggested not to put out our names and profiles on any website,” recounts Ananya, pointing out that most of the feminine hygiene care brands have men at the helm of affairs. The journey of the cousins, which began in 2020, is now a flourishing business with agents firmly established in the South Asian and Gulf countries.
Sharing other success stories at Cradle, the incubation centre for start-ups in the state, director Satya Ranjan Acharya apprised of nine women-led startups which have raised Rs 1.84 crore so far.
These include the Nikita Tiwari-led tech innovation startup that raised Rs 11.2 lakh, the Menka Gurnani-led lifescience startup that raised Rs 16.2 lakh, and Namrata Diwakerled natural fibre venture that raised Rs 25 lakh. Another startup, which provides on-the-spot soil testing to farmers, was recently featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 too. “The segments where we see a lot of women’s participation include lifestyle, design, food and supplements, etc. However, in the past couple of years, we have also seen technical ventures doing well,” he said, adding that one of the reasons behind the development is improved government aid. “Now, there is better awareness and confidence, too,” Acharya added. “Some reports indicate that one in five funded startups is led by women. This was much lower a few years ago. Efforts like herSTART and allied initiatives, which were inaugurated by the President of India have truly paid off,” added Rahul Bhagchandani, director, GUSEC.
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