An interesting factor was that the festival was organized as part of the ‘Madr-e-Millat Fatima Jinnah Year’ and there was a visible presence of woman artisans at almost all the stalls.
Malookan Bheel, Tehmina Rafiq, Rasheeda Bibi, Surriya, Ghulam Sakina, Mithi Bibi, Zainab Bibi, Huma, Bibi Nijaat, Farida Bibi and Uzaira Rashid are just a few names among the women artisans present at different stalls in provincial pavilions in the festival.
Dr Shamim Zaidi, the director of Lok Virsa, told Dawn that the Khushali Bank sponsored around 11 woman artisans from Multan, that’s why their stalls appeared more organized as compared to others.
Kishwar Naheed, the renowned poetess and women rights activists, stamped her rebellious mark in the field of handloom as she trained girls to weave traditional ‘khaddar’ on ‘khaddi’.
The step is in stark violation of the ancient myth in which women are not allowed to sit on ‘khadi’ and weave cloth because it was believed that if a woman touches the ‘khadi’ it results in misfortune.
“Women in Punjab and Sindh are engaged in cloth weaving and pottery since the times untold. But, they are supposed only to do the basic things like preparing thread, dyeing, preparing spindles, washing these items for the men to prepare cloth on ‘khadi’. Similarly, in pottery the women are required to clean the fine soil and prepare the clay but are not allowed to sit on the potter’s wheel to prepare the pottery,” Yassir Noman, the Programme Executive in Lok Virsa said.
“Kishwar Naheed has broken this myth. She has not only trained her girls (the girls working for her NGO ‘Hawwa Crafts’) to handle ‘khaddi’ but she has made them sit on these ‘khadis’ openly in violation of the age-old traditions,” Dr Shamim Zaidi said.
As a result Zainab Bibi on ‘khadi’ and Huma with her block printing were present at ‘Hawwa Crafts’ stall whether men liked it or not.
Dr Shamim Zaidi said the women artisans from Multan included those engaged in traditional ‘gota kinari’ work used in bridal dresses. Similarly, there are some ladies who are striving to keep the traditional ‘kacha tanka’, and ‘beads and sequin’ embroidery alive in face of the growing cultural changes the society is going through.
In the Punjab pavilion, the presence of artisans like Wajid Ali, who excels in traditional Multani blue tile work, Mohammad Rashid, the man known for his expertise in bone carving, Hameed Khan, the ‘dari’ maker, and Khalid is a big attraction. The stall offering traditional camel skin items was also an attraction for the visitors.
Meanwhile, in the Sindh pavilion Mithi Bibi displaying the traditional Sindhi embroidery, Abdul Hye with his block printing, Mohammad Bukhsh and Aziz Soomro with their lacquer work, Raees Abdullah Abro with his ‘susi’ khaddi, Gino with his traditional Tharparkar embroidery, Gopal Das with his ‘tie & dye’ work, Meva Khan with his pottery and Jani Soomro, the fine arts graduate with his glazed pottery had a great deal to offer to the visitors to the mela.
With the festival approaching its end, the performers, especially the singers, seemed to have become tired. Fortunately, none of the big performers, particularly singers, faced any problem which may hinder their performances.
Sunday is the last day of the festival and Ms Nelofar Bakhtiar, the adviser to the prime minister, is likely to be the chief guest at the closing ceremony.