In October 2023, the Uttar Pradesh government announced digital literacy and coding modules for all madrasas. By 2025, many Muslim women had landed IT jobs after completing coding courses, many working remotely. Success stories proliferated: Shadan Women's College partnering with tech firms, Kerala madrasas teaching Python, the SAFA Foundation placing graduates in freelance careers. These stories are real. But they obscure an uncomfortable truth: remote work is creating a two-tier system among Muslim women, benefiting an educated minority while leaving millions behind and potentially validating the very restrictions that keep Muslim women out of public life.

When we discuss the future of work, we usually jump to AI, green jobs, and digital skills. Those conversations matter, but they miss something basic: paid work runs on care work. Children, older adults, and people with disabilities still need daily support, no matter how advanced an economy becomes. In aging societies, care needs rise while family size shrinks. The central policy question is straightforward: who provides care, and what protections do they have?

Expert urges caution when turbulence is mistaken for transformation

For nearly four decades, leaders in government and business have relied on the concept of VUCA — Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity — to navigate a turbulent world. VUCA 1.0 captured the disruptive forces of globalisation, financial crises, geopolitical realignments, and technological change. Its prescription for leadership was fundamentally pragmatic and grounded in the physical world. Resilience required disciplined resource allocation, diversified supply chains, institutional credibility, and prudent risk management.