Meet Runa Rafique, the only Female Muslim 'Piggery' Entrepreneur from Assam

Guwahati, June 22, 2019:

At a time when Hindus and Muslims seem to be at loggerheads with each other amid rising communal tensions, a lady from Assam is making quite a name for herself by breaking all stereotypes. An Assamese Muslim lady, Runa Rafiquem is bucking the trends as she is the only female entrepreneur who is singularly running a 'piggery' business in the state.

Runa, who originally hails from Dibrugarh in Assam, did her higher education from Cotton College in Guwahati and Ramjas College in New Delhi.

Previously associated with 'Operation Smile' of the Assam Government as a Senior Manager, the entrepreneur had to think long and hard before she finally made the plunge into entrepreneurship. She had to make an immense sacrifice and give up her cushy job to make the foray into entrepreneurship.

"I knew that for an entrepreneurship to be successful in the Northeast, it has to be agriculture allied due to the nature of the market in Assam", she said while talking to Inside Northeast.

She has also said that it takes a lot of courage to begin an entrepreneurship. "I think it is the society which has given me the courage to start this business, despite its unconventional nature, as every person is a product of the society he/she is born into", she said.

Speaking about the importance of the piggery sector, she said that this sector needs to be properly explored and supported as the sector has immense economic potential to generate revenue for the State. Pitting the fears about 'Swine Flu' to rest, she also said that the disease does not affect humans, and an outbreak can be averted if timely action is taken to ensure that the outbreak of African Swine Flu does not take place.

She said that she was able to run this business despite the taboo surrounding pigs in the Muslim communilty only because she hails from Assam, which she says is one of the most secular states in India. "I was able to do this because I belong to Assam and am an indigenous Assamese, a daughter of this soil", she says.

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