India's move to curb black money a 'disaster' for rural women, activists say

A woman checks her documents before depositing her old, high denomination banknotes outside a bank in Khoraj village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave

MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - India's move to withdraw high-value rupee bills from circulation to crack down on corruption and counterfeit currency has hurt rural women particularly hard, as most of them are outside the banking system, activists said.

The shock currency move cancelling 500- and 1,000-rupee ($14.6) notes from circulation overnight, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, aims to bring billions of dollars worth of unaccounted wealth, or "black money", into the mainstream economy and check corruption.