FOR the women of Taluka Johi, in District Dadu, a new activity is helping them earn money and learn new skills.
An embroidery centre has been established there that helps the women of the area, and its adjoining localities, polish their rillie making skills. Of course, this isn’t the only thing they are making; there are also ladies clothes, bed sheets and other clothes that reflect the Sindhi culture, especially that of the Baroch and Baloch tribes in Johi city.
From this centre hundreds of women are learning embroidery work that is indeed a challenge for the women of the area and for the administration of the vocational centre that is training the women in this low literary area. But after all, people here have been living according to their own tribal system for centuries. However, the biggest challenge is to the women of Baroch tribes whose men are really particular in allowing their women appear in front of men from other communities.
The major population of the Baroch tribes, living in remote areas of the Sindh, comprises of women. The females of the tribe work as farmers and cultivate the fields while their men waste their time in hotels and other places, lounging around and while away their time. But not the women. They are busy honing their crafts at the centre.
After doing beautiful embroidery work, with hand as well as with the help of machines, the rillies, ladies clothes and bed sheets are sold to traders in the various cities of the country, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore and as far north as Peshawar. This helps them earn good money.
The vocational centre (Embroidery Centre) was established by Sadia Atta, Chairman of Child Development Organization (CDO). She has been working in different parts of Taluka Johi since 1997. Her centre has been helping not only women, but also girls as young as 10 learn the art. Ladies belonging to villages of the Kachho belt, are learning embroidery and are supporting their families.
Also, as part of their activities, the centre regularly holds an exhibition in which local as well as foreign traders come to purchase the embroidery work that is made here. They also sell the goods in their own areas at local rates. Seminars are also arranged every month at the centre. In fact, the centre itself employs senior, old trained women who train new students (girls).
According to the coordinator of the centre, Nazir Ahmed Soomro, in just three months the centre has been able to provide complete training to the women of the lower class. One batch, that of November 2003 to January 2004, churned out 260 girls. The trained workers then sell the clothes, thus helping each worker earn five to ten thousand rupees a month.
Sadia Atta says that this centre was opened to provide embroidery facilities to the poor and lower class women of the area. She stresses that this organization was established to help jobless women so that they could support their families. Since it’s establishment hundreds of women have been trained. Let’s hope it continues to do so for time to come.
FOR the women of Taluka Johi, in District Dadu, a new activity is helping them earn money and learn new skills.
