Abstract:

Awakening documents the social and economic empowerment of women in Afghanistan and India whose roles have traditionally been restricted by their cultures. Awakened to new possibilities through education and access to micro-loans, these women are redefining their roles in society. In Bihar, India's poorest state, Sister Mary Lobo organizes village women into groups where they learn to save small sums and invest their capital as a group. In Afghanistan, the nation's first woman-led micro-finance institution believes the nation's long-term success is dependent on women's economic freedom.