Aneesa is 27 years old and single. She grew up with 5 brothers and 4 sisters. She lives in the city of Peshawar, in a joint family system. Living with her brothers, their wives and children can be very difficult to handle — there is no privacy and plenty of chores. Two of her brothers work as vendors in a fruit shop and two others in a bakery. Because their income is not sufficient to run the whole family, the female members are also earning money by doing embroidery. Unfortunately, Aneesa and her sisters-in-law couldn’t continue their studies. However, Aneesa is literate, allowing her to keep records of embroidery work in the Zardozi office.
For Aneesa, selling her craft is the only way she can earn some income to support her extended family. She says the more people that buy Zardozi bags, the more work she will get. This source of income enables Annesa to buy medicines for her parents, as well as groceries. The income from working for Zardozi has strengthened Aneesa’s family relationships, since she is able to contribute to her family’s wellbeing.
Masooda Wahab is 39 years old, married and has 7 children – 4 daughters and 3 sons. 10 years ago, Masooda’s husband lost his sight during an operation. Because he is blind and in poor health, and he is unable to work. Masooda works in the Zardozi office, doing embroidery and supervising other embroiders while her children work in a carpet factory after school. They work part time so they can help their mother run the house and pay for their school fees, uniforms and books.
Masooda says that by getting orders through Zardozi she and others like her benefit by an increase in salaries that help her run her household. She thinks without this job life would be really difficult. Masooda shares that she likes the working atmosphere because it allows her to forget her troubles.
Zarghoona is 25 years old and single. She grew up with a mother and father, 6 sisters and 1 brother. Because rent is very high and they can’t afford to live in the city, Zarghoona and her family live in a old house, small and in poor shape. There are no schools close enough to their home for Zarghoona’s sisters to attend.
Zarghoona belongs to a very poor family. Her father is jobless due to his bad heath and old age. Her brother works as a vendor in a shop but doesn’t earn very much money. Thanks to the Zardozi office, Zarghoona is able to earn enough of an income to run the household.
Take a look at three beautiful gift sets available in our store that include embroidered products made by these women of Zardozi.
