Women's Day special: Meet women entrepreneurs who succeeded against all odds

Editor’s note: When Firstpost decided to celebrate Women’s Day, instead of serenading the famous and the well-known in India Inc, we turned the spotlight on women who run businesses with no wherewithal to do so — except their fierce determination and a will to succeed. The stories are inspiring and need to be told, be it of Bohri women from Bhendi Bazaar who had to change homes after the area they were familiar with went in for redevelopment, and decided to turn micro entrepreneurs, to women in Kashmir who in spite of — or because of — the tough times that militancy posed to their lives, went on to run businesses that hinged solely on their expertise. Some like Haji Baji gave up a cushy job in Mumbai and turned homeward to Kashmir to set up a school in an area where there were no schools for two generations of people. From Assam come stories of women entrepreneurs who have come from poverty and gone on to win national awards, no less for their enterprises. Part 1: How a passion for creativity drove these micro entrepreneurs to chart their own path Part 2: 'Harbingers of hope' — let's salute these five angels of change in Kashmir Part 3: These two women entrepreneurs from the North East may have missed out on a college education — but not opportunities