Breaking Barriers: Ashwini’s journey as Maharashtra’s trailblazing female welder amasses over 100k Instagram followers

Ashwini grew up in a small village in Maharashtra’s Akola district, where her father worked as a welder and her mother as a farmer to support their family of six. From a young age, she saw firsthand the dedication and perseverance her parents put into making ends meet despite financial hardships.

As the eldest of four siblings, one of Ashwini’s daily tasks was taking her father’s lunch to his workplace. Each visit opened her eyes to the world of welding—a space entirely dominated by men. Curious, she asked her father why there were no women welders. His response was simple: “It’s not a job for women.” This response sparked something in Ashwini and in the coming years, inspired her to pursue a career path she knew not many women had followed.

Determined to break gender barriers, she enrolled in a welding course at the Industrial Training Institute (ITI). As the only girl in a class full of boys, Ashwini recalls it being a tough start. Many people discouraged her, saying the course was “not meant for girls”. But her parents were her pillars of support, encouraging her to follow her passion and ignore the negativity. With their unwavering belief in her, Ashwini pushed through the difficulties and successfully completed the course.

After her ITI training, Ashwini furthered her skills by completing the CSTI course and even took up an apprenticeship with the Indian Railways, gaining a certificate for best performance during her time there. Despite her qualifications, however, she struggled to find a job being the one of few woman in a male-dominated profession.

In 2022, a breakthrough came when one of Ashwini’s friends, a welding trainer at Pratham, informed her about a job opening at their Skilling Centre in Ahmednagar. With a sense of hope, Ashwini applied and was offered the position of welding trainer. It was a turning point in her life.

Since then, she has trained over 600 students, including 25 girls, who are now challenging gender stereotypes and by pursuing their own careers in welding. Ashwini takes immense pride in sharing her knowledge of welding with her students and helping them learn a trade that can transform their lives.

Her journey then took another step forward when Pratham encouraged its staff to post videos on Instagram, to showcase the work they were doing. Ashwini took this advice and began sharing her story on social media, as her alter ego, “It’s Welder Girl”, and ending up amassing over 100,000 followers in the process!

Looking ahead, Ashwini dreams of continuing her work as a welding trainer and gaining widespread recognition as “Welder Girl”—a symbol of empowerment and resilience. She said: “When people hear that I am a welder they are surprised because they have never seen a female welder. But welding is my passion and I will continue to do this in the future!”

Ashwini’s journey is a testament to courage, determination, and the power of support in overcoming barriers to achieve your dreams. One of her students, Shamal Bobade expressed heartfelt gratitude to Ashwini as she was integral to her having the confidence to start the welding course in the first place, saying: “Ashwini ma’am has been extremely supportive and helped convince my family to let me study to become a welder too!”.

Another student, Rajashri Harimkar gushed, “just as welding is used to join two pieces of metal, we feel that we can weld together the broken pieces of our life and improve it.” And we know if anyone can do it – Ashwini will!

Find out more about about Ashwini’s journey here.