Exploring Empowerment: The Travelling Sisterhood

When Paulomi Bhatt realised most women don't make as many excursions as they want to, she started a Dubai-based travel consultancy - for women, by women

Anyone who has ever travelled will agree that it is a character-building experience. It opens your eyes to new cultures, cuisines, clothing and people. It also allows you to experience, first hand, some of the best - and worst - things our planet has to offer. And in the end, it leaves you worldlier and more confident than ever before. Then again, travelling is also a privilege. It takes time, money and, more importantly, a support system that is willing to accompany you to the far-reaches of the globe or one that will be happy to encourage you to go on your own. For whatever reasons, many find themselves unable to travel to his or her heart's content. And it intrigued Paulomi Bhatt when she noticed that a lot of women especially had that complaint.
"It started out innocently, while chatting with women at parties," the Dubai resident explains. "The topic turns to travelling, and there's this instant look of envy that flashes across everyone's face. That's when I began to realise that a lot of women really want to travel, but many don't get the opportunity to do so. Of course, they go for business trips and family holidays, but I was increasingly finding that a lot of the women had never actually been on a holiday with someone who wasn't family. They'd tell me that they wouldn't even know where to begin."
Which is why she decided to take matters into her own hands and create The World at Her Feet, a travel consultancy that helps like-minded women explore locales without having to worry about the hassles of holidaying alone. Formed in 2013, the response so far has been amazing, says Paulami, and although she claims they haven't yet ticked off all the places on their bucket list, they've been to over 20 countries since they began - from Bali and Georgia to China and Iceland.
Much of that success can be attributed to Paulomi herself, who is an avid traveller and its key driving force. Having grown up in London, Japan and India, she discovered her passion for travel at a young age, although the opportunity to explore on her own never quite presented itself - until she started working. "As part of Oberoi Hotel's sales and marketing team, I had to go to all these different locales for work," she explains. "I realised that reading about a destination or seeing a movie or flipping through a magazine could never capture the essence of a place... Travelling is such a learning experience. It is about being responsible for yourself - telling yourself to get your act together and onto that plane! It also gives you a load of confidence. If you are already a confident person, it gives you an extra edge. And if not, it really gets you going."

So how exactly does travel act as an effective confidence-booster? "I had this one woman take a trip with us once, and it was the first time she was travelling by herself. When it was over, her husband actually called and thanked us saying that she was like a new person! When you are travelling by yourself, you cannot follow someone around. You are thrown out of your comfort zone and forced to make your own decisions. But when you find that you are able to do it. there's nothing quite like it. It's a kind of independence," she adds. "We respect and value women who know what they want to do, and are able to take off and just do their own thing. That's a true mark of being empowered."

Empowering women is, indeed, one of the main goals of the organisation. And while being empowered can be defined in many different ways, for Paulomi, the word takes on this tone: "It's not just about having authority," she explains. "Empowerment, to me, is about being able to empower another person. I'm still learning new things - it's a continuous process. But if I can share my experiences in a way that can help other women get up and have their own experiences - that would be amazing. Just helping someone achieve their dreams, whatever they may be."
One of the reasons for the success of The World At Her Feet, according to Paulomi, is the fact that it allows women to be independent, while providing them with a 'safety-net' of having other 'like-minded' women looking out for them. It also helps that once all their travel arrangements are made, itineraries are provided to their families, so that everyone is assured of a safe journey. Yet, she  says the biggest contributing factor to their success is the women themselves.
"There was this one time in Bali, one of the elderly women tripped and she had to have stitches then and there. The next morning itself, she was on her feet, jovial as ever, asking me what the plan for the day was. Some of the women that I meet during these travels are so incredibly inspiring. We have ladies of all nationalities, everyone so unique, and they are all bringing to the table this sense of adventure. There's no bickering or fighting - all of them just want to make the most of their holidays. Getting to travel is great, but I don't think The World at Her Feet would be what it is today if weren't for such women."
Empowering women through travel is not an easy task, but Paulomi is taking it in her stride. So what advice does she have for those women who want to explore the world but have never given themselves the chance? "Look at the horizon, and don't be daunted by it," she says. "Climb a step towards it every single day, and don't let anything or anyone stop you from reaching that horizon."
Solid advice that needn't apply to travelling alone. C'est la view and c'est la vie.
janice@khaleejtimes.com

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