I'm Divia Aria on the BBC World Service.

I'm meeting women across India who are taking on jobs traditionally done by men, exploring the challenges they face and the

difference they are making in the world of work. rural Rajasthan is hot and dry surrounded by mountains and harsh scrubland.

A lack of rain here means fewer crops. Jobs are scarce and many

villages have no electricity. In the small village of Tylonia, the Barefoot College is training women to create their

own electricity from one of Rajasthan's greatest resources, the sun.

The barefoot college is almost like a big open yard, a big open

workshop where a lot of women are working with welding machines, lots of metal

lying around, big panels with reflectors. These are solar panels I'm told and they're

reflecting light onto these small metal boxes which work as solar cookers.

My name is Sahinaj Bano, my working solar cooker engineer.

Six women, solar cooker engineer. Six women, solar cooker working. Welding,

cutting, setting, marketing, all working women. No men.

Apart from solar cookers, the women are also taught to make solar lamps, phone chargers, and

repair solar panels.

I'm inside the solar workshop at the Barefoot College now. It's about 20 women sitting on a long

table. They're soldering elements into small circuit boards and it's an interesting mix of women. The age range is from 30 years all the way up to 55

years and all the students here are called solar mamas so basically mothers getting

solar energy into their villages.

So interesting, they're saying that they're completely illiterate.

She's explaining like what the circuit board does as if she's a science graduate.

I'm going to say that color coat we're not

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