The Sundarbans form one of the world’s largest mangrove forests, spanning 10,277 sq km in the India–Bangladesh delta.
Honey is highly prized here, often called liquid gold, and is crucial to the livelihood of local honey collectors.
To fetch it, men must navigate marshy waters filled with crocodiles, snakes, spiky mangrove roots, and always remain alert to the lurking threat of tigers.
When Mumbai native Neeti Goel (48) learnt that the result of the men venturing into the forest to collect honey is 3,000 tiger widows — the men are mauled to death — she wanted to help.
The losses have always felt personal to Neeti. Having worked closely with these widows, she has watched their existence become objectified following their husbands’ deaths.
Providing them with money and food would be a temporary antidote, and so, Neeti zeroed in on fish farming as a means of empowerment.
While bringing 3,000 women (the estimated number of tiger widows in the delta) wasn’t possible, Neeti decided to test the model with 100 women.
Through the next four months, she watched fascinated as the women dug ponds, learnt how to make oxygen pipes using bamboo, put these into the ponds, and became well-versed in overseeing the fish entrusted to their care.
In four months, the fish population had multiplied “phenomenally”. Today, these are delicacies prepared at the five-star hotels in the Sundarbans.
“They began to earn through fish farming and have developed self-respect. In some cases, their families even took them back home,” she says.
At the core of what she does is Neeti’s attempt at giving women back their agency. She’s always maintained, “Women don’t need to be empowered, they are already empowered. They just need opportunity.”