“The situation of women is improving very slowly. A lot more remains to be done. Take business, for instance. Women are in it hardly since the last few years. Even today there are very few women entrepreneurs. This, I feel, is due to the limited scope available to them and because there are not enough training programmes available either to train or re-skill them. I also think there is a lack of associations and networking to encourage them,” says Leckrani Soobagra, Chairperson and Managing Director, Bonny Air Travel, and member of Association Mauricienne des Femmes Chef d'Enterprises (AMFCE).

She further adds: “The main objective of our association is to create networking to help each of them. We consolidate our relationship with the authorities and institutions. For instance, if someone needs  information about SEHDA, we  invite one of its repesentatives to our monthly meeting to talk on the facilities given by them. Our mission is to help those women who want to start new businesses.”

Leckrani admits Government wants to improve the status of women, but the efforts aren't enough. Take the Empowerment programme, she says. Hardly a few women have benefited from it. The criteria to empower women are not  clear and, if there's any, it's not working properly.

“During my presidency of AMFCE, we targeted one group of women in Quatre Bornes. They wanted to start a restaurant there. We applied to with the empowerment programme for capital;  it didn’t work. We could not get the loan. There was no clear reason for its refusal. Until now, we are not clear who can apply? What is the procedure?

“I started my own business in 1987 though I was already in the travelling business since 1973. I was working with Air Mauritius and later on I joined the Rogers group. During my period at Rogers, I got the opportunity to follow different courses, especially in the air lines. That’s how I got the knowledge for my business. I wanted to be an independent business woman, I started the travelling business alone. In your own business you are not as independent as you think. In your own business you have to put in more effort to run your business successfully.

“Capital and time  are very important in the business. One must know how to run the business and choose proper direction of one's interest. Those days it was not easy to start a business,  especially for a woman. When I started, I didn’t want to venture  out too  much employing many people and not being able to pay them. I preferred to do all the work alone for a few months. Later on, when I saw it was working, I employed one person,” she adds.

Leckrani feels it's easier to start a business these days. Loans are available; there are people around to guide and counsel; and above all, there are courses where one can go to hone one's skills. In the past, when she started  business, it was rather difficult because there was no proper guidance. One had to manage by oneself.

“At that time it was very difficult to get the IATA licence; some people had to wait for years to get it. In my case it was different; I got my IATA licence within one year.

According to Leckrani, every woman should do something. The professional woman knows she has to work twice as hard to make it fruitful and to combine various roles. A woman is really successful when she emerges out of her work and her family without putting her dignity at stake.