Who says women can’t manage both home and work? A woman does not work for anyone’s approval, she works for herself. Her choices are not up for debate. Whether she works, when she works, or why she works is not a question of permission but of purpose.
In small towns like Ranchi, Jharkhand, a working woman is still seen as a challenge to tradition, a taboo that many hesitate to break. These women become a quiet force of change, proving that ambition and responsibility can go hand in hand.
Alibha Khalkho, just 19, is one of them. She grew up in Chikarkota Barkatoli, Ranchi, Jharkhand, a village where girls are expected to marry young, not carve their own paths. “Main tho 19 saal ki hoon, ab gaon mein abhi se hi bolta hain sab shaadi kar lo” (I am only 19, but in my village, people already tell me to get married), she says, a wry smile playing on her lips. “Par mujhe kuch karna hai, kuch banna hai.” (But I want to do something for myself, to become something.)
Her day begins before sunrise. She helps her mother with household chores before heading to her shift as a security guard at a local NGO. By evening, she is out on her scooty, delivering parcels for an e-commerce company. Every time she knocks on a door, a question stays, who will open it, who will be standing behind it? Will it be someone who looks at her with curiosity, suspicion, or something worse?
“Jab main package dene jaati hoon, sab shock ho kar dekhte hain, phir bolte hain, Acha, aap hain delivery woman?” (When I go to deliver a package, people look at me in shock, then say, Oh! you are the delivery woman?’)
It is not just a surprise, there is judgment in their eyes. A woman navigating the streets alone, stepping into unfamiliar spaces, riding a scooty with confidence, this is not what they expect. But with every delivery she makes, Alibha proves them wrong.
March is dedicated to celebrating Women’s Day. But the truth is, every day is Women’s Day. It is a daily struggle, a daily victory. Every package Alibha delivers is not just a job, it is a statement. Every door she knocks on is a declaration that women belong anywhere, everywhere. And one day, when another young girl in her village sees her riding through the streets, maybe she will think, If she can, so can I.
