The sun beats down on a building that is still under construction, its skeletal frame stretching toward the sky. A woman walks steadily, carrying a toddler on her back and a pan of bricks on her head. Sweat trickles down her body, but she does not stop— she cannot afford to.

Several miles away, in an air-conditioned office, another woman sits at a desk cluttered with business plans and loan applications. She scrolls through emails, her eyes skimming rejection after rejection. A bank officer had just told her, ‘Your business idea is great, but do you have a male partner to co-sign?’ She exhales, frustration evident, but she does not stop—she cannot afford to…read more