As biz takes a hit, the pandemic is pushing women out of jobs in UP

Even before the pandemic, women's participation in India's workforce was low due to social and cultural reason

Vidya Kaushal, 22, trained for six months as a beauty entrepreneur before she set up her own salon, ‘She’, in her hometown of Jagdishpur in central Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi district. Kaushal, who graduated last year, could have become a teacher as her family wanted, but chose instead to become an independent entrepreneur.

It cost her Rs 50,000 to set up the salon, which she rented at Rs 5,000 a month. Jagdishpur, once an industrial hub nurtured by the Gandhi family, has seen factories shut and employment dry up over the last decade, but Kaushal’s