Soap queen on honoured on TV

'She works like a bee, lives like a queen and celebrates with glee' – so Somalatha describes herself. A soap maker who built a business that now employs her whole family, Somalatha has faced destitution twice.

At first, as a woman with a visual impairment, she did not have the money to buy a soap-making machine to start her own business. After saving for several years, Somalatha started making soap. She tried giving soap away to neighbours to promote it, but many turned it down because it came from a blind woman. Her fortunes improved when she found a steady market through the local cooperative society.

Poverty came to Somalatha and her family once again after her husband had a stroke and she spent all her money on his treatment. Thanks to a loan from a local microfinance program supporting people with disabilities, Somalatha was able to repair her machine and restart the business after he died.

Today business is good and Somalatha got a Quality Assurance Certificate from the government in recognition of her excellent product. She has even been able to afford a TV, useful when she was interviewed for a programme that highlighted her achievements as a role model for entrepreneurs with disabilities.

Having overcome poverty, negative attitudes and widowhood, Somalatha’s story illustrates how support for women with disabilities can help meet the third Millennium Development Goal: promote gender equality and empower women.