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Stitching together brave stories of survival

KASHMIRI WOMEN
Last Updated 15 June 2012, 13:18 IST

From helping their families tide over the tough, violent times of the 1990s to securing a suitable career for themselves, Kashmiri women’s foray into the tailoring and apparel sector have transformed them from voiceless “homemakers” to confident “moneymakers”.

It all started during the years of the late 1980s and ‘90s. Those were the dark days of civil unrest and regular ‘bandhs’ (curfews) and ‘hartals’ (strikes), which made it difficult for the men, especially those living in and around Srinagar, to step out of their homes and seek regular work. Under this shadow of violence and unemployment, women like Tehmeeda Bano, now in her mid-forties, decided to break norms — social customs had prohibited them from taking on any kind of remunerative work outside the home — to ensure their family’s survival.

Recalls Bano, a housewife who started her own dressmaking enterprise in the 1990s, “In those days, there would be more ‘hartals’ than working days in a week. In the wake of a huge threat to the lives of our men, women like me had to take a decision and do something to save our families from monetary ruin. Dressmaking was the natural livelihood option, as it could be done from home.”

So, even as guns boomed in the streets below, this mother of three daughters and a son, would quietly work along with a couple of tailors she managed to rope in, to produce functional, good quality salwar-kameezes and other made-to-order clothes.

Transformation

The violence that raged on with the passing of the years accelerated a much-needed professional shift in the tailoring business: This once all-male profession slowly passed into the very capable hands of local women.

In the process, something interesting happened — a sector that once had only low-scale jobs for men, was turned into one that supported profitable businesses. It was, incidentally, the only sector that flourished in those turbulent times and continues to do so even now.

In fact, with peace returning to the Valley, families that had started their own small ventures back then, are doing very well for themselves. Even Bano’s initiative, which started off as a small-time community shop, became a full-fledged enterprise. She has been able to do this as several of her friends, who had little or no knowledge of tailoring, wanted to collaborate with her to open their own small boutiques in various localities within Srinagar.


Today, Bano works with three such off-shoot centres on a profit sharing basis. As for her own shop, she now has a group of five women tailors and one male ‘masterji’ (professional tailor) — who takes care of the embroidery and design — catering to at least 50 to 60 customers on a monthly basis. Of course, during the wedding season, the work increases exponentially. Besides this, there is also a group of young women who come to her shop to brush up on their stitching skills.

Profitable business

Srinagar resident Arifa Jabeen is another success story. This businesswoman and busy mother owns Libaas Boutique, one of the most popular clothing stores in the Kashmiri capital.

She employs more than 100 women, who look after the stitching, designing and manufacturing aspects of her business. And, with a turnover of more than Rs 50 lakh per annum, Jabeen has emerged the success story within the family.

Nothing captures this better than the fact that her husband has now joined her business and is playing a supporting role in it. Reveals Jabeen, “My husband got a premature retirement from the government department where he was working as an engineer.

His salary was equivalent to the profits we make in our business right now and so he decided to join me instead. Fortunately, he does not have any ego hassles and helps me wherever he can.”

Like Bano, Jabeen would not have made it big in life had it not been for a small, but prudent, decision she took in 1994 when she was a newlywed and her husband was jobless. She recalls, “Financially, we were doing badly.

So I convinced my in-laws and husband to let me start a small business with a couple of my female friends. They agreed and we established our own small shop in one of Srinagar’s suburbs. I had no knowledge of designing or stitching then and learned this craft from a ‘masterji’ who hailed from Bihar. I also roped in some talented young girls into my business.”

For both Bano and Jabeen the initial challenges were many. Unlike today, when it’s not difficult to get loans to the tune of Rs 2.5 lakh from the Jammu and Kashmir Women Development Corporation — till date the Corporation has funded around 132 women-led businesses under two of its schemes, the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) and Empowering Skilled Young Women (ESW) — these women had no such institutional support.

They had to dip into their meagre personal savings or borrow at a high interest rate. Their early customers were friends and relatives and it’s through word-of-mouth publicity that their work caught on.

Nowadays, Jabeen’s Libaas boutiques cater to a wide spectrum of people, women and men, young, middle-aged and even the elderly. In keeping with the demands of the market, she produces everything from uniforms to party wear to casual outfits.

While the cloth is sourced from bigger centres like Delhi, Mumbai and even Dubai and Pakistan, the outfits made are still very much traditional — Kashmiris prefer to don their local styles and so it’s the salwar-kameez for women and khan suits for men.

Talking about her store’s speciality Jabeen points out, “Our basic Kashmiri embroideries like tilla, aari, zardosi and moti work, popularly known as ‘kashidakari’, on salwar suits and shawls are a must-have. Every Kashmiri woman wants some outfits like these to be a part of her wardrobe. They are also very popular with the tourist crowd. Of course, the prices vary depending on the amount and style of work and also whether it is handcrafted or machine made.”

Interestingly, Jabeen is a strong supporter of Kashmiri women artisans and feels that it is these women who have put Kashmir’s rich clothing heritage on the world map today. “Usually, it is the women in Kashmir who specialise in doing fine embroidery work. Therefore, the great reputation that Kashmiri fabric and embroidery has earned today has to be attributed to the women of the region,” she asserts.

Of course, Bano and Jabeen, are inspirations for others. Bano has motivated her daughters to value financial independence and they are keen to join her and take their mother’s venture to newer heights.

The two who are still in college intend to enrol for high-end tailoring and stitching courses. Says Mabruka, one of Bano’s girls, “Although most of my friends want to pursue engineering, medicine and other such professional courses, my interest lies in the apparel business. For me, my mother is the biggest influence in my life and she constantly amazes me with her attitude and spirit.”

Jabeen has a long list of admirers as well, many of whom are her employees. She has handpicked each one.

Since not many of them are literate or very skilled, they are happy to take home a regular salary of anywhere between Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 a month. She sums it up this way, “Tailoring in Kashmir has become an all-woman business because it is the women who sustain this profession here. Despite the odds, thanks to their deft needlework and an inherent flair for fashion, women have successfully been able to not just eke out a living for themselves but support their families and communities as a whole.”

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(Published 15 June 2012, 13:18 IST)

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