Faith in Fashion
Being someone who has been passionate about fashion designing and community work, I have always thought of running a business where I would have the liberty to couple them both. According to Pakistan@100: Shaping the Future report, Pakistani economy cannot flourish until every member of the society is being given opportunities to rightly use their skills and talents. In this report, the World Bank identifies that inclusive growth is fundamental in the journey of Pakistan towards an upper-middle income country by 2047.
Pakistan has only 1% of women entrepreneurs due to the challenges that limit their access to finance and markets. On the other hand, the underprivileged females work as housemaids or caretakers, the salaries for which are hardly enough to make both ends meet. Moreover, I think practice of a skill is therapeutic; if you have a talent or even if you learn a skill, the work you pursue according to that skill/talent does not feel alienating, rather it is empowering. I really think that in order to change the mindset of people in Pakistan and to curtail the class difference, it is necessary to target the root cause of poverty. The purpose of my business is to fill the gap in the participation of minority groups for the economic growth of the country by providing a platform to earn money respectfully.
I want to develop a Pakistan-based apparel brand that sells high-end quality western and eastern clothes made by the most neglected communities in our society. I want to train and hire people from transgender/intersex community, victims of sexual abuse, unemployed women and marginalized women, so that they can earn their livelihood respectfully in a society that has often failed them. We have limitless talent, even in the valleys of Kailash, and it is the lack of platforms and opportunities that do not allow these women to contribute to the growth of the country.
Furthermore, I want to adopt sustainable packaging for the products such as jute bags, tote bags or reusable cardboard boxes for storage purposes. This would allow me to completely cut down plastic usage and reduce land wastage to some extent.
I got into touch with two NGOs that I work with and their response to my idea was encouraging as one of them is launching a program in which they are distributing sewing machines to unemployed women. I have even reached out to a seamstress who got the stitching training some years ago, but due to her financial situation she has been working as a housemaid. I will be meeting her next week and give her some clothes to stitch so that I can determine how well can she do the job. It is also important to me that my products are high quality, with perfect seams and brilliance in neatness.
I am also passionate about this project because I feel that it is important to develop strong South-Asian brands, that are acclaimed not just nationally but internationally as well. In the thirst for power and world dominance, organized penetration by international brands is being done, where in the name of free market and free trade, these companies are being strengthened and made richer in domestic environment. In this way, the financial stability our own country is being sabotaged and trends are being largely controlled by foreign strongholds, which is termed as economic colonialism. I am a staunch believer that our economy will bloom if we start supporting domestic brands and depend less on international brands.
I’m really glad that I got the chance to research and work more on my passion due to this experience. It allowed me to explore deeper, and to take practical steps towards my goal. I learnt that I have good connections and that I can use that to the greater advantage. It gave me a push to not be afraid, process the actual problem and look for the solution.
