by Bilal Bahadur
Observed across the world as International Women’s Day, March 8th is a day to celebrate the spirit of women. The theme of this year’s Women’s Day is – “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world.”
With an aim to celebrate the achievements of women in various fields and acknowledge their increasing influence in every sphere of life, the idea is to highlight their role and express respect towards the fairer sex.
Kashmir is no exception to these celebrations. Though in this part of the world, women have been the victims of the conflict, as well, they have been silently working and emerged as role models and some of them have taken the lead roles in the social, political, and economical arena.
Educational fields apart, there are skilled women associated with different crafts who toil hard enough to earn their living, run their hearth, and break the traditional gender roles.
The time taken to complete the work on the shawl or other pieces of cloth takes time and depends on various factors, like the type of work, design, density, and size.
The sad part of the story, however, remains that while their work sustains the brand name of Kashmir, the hefty sum goes somewhere else. They are left in the lurch to make their ends meet.
Part of the informal and unorganised sector, they seek support from the government to streamline the process.
Interestingly, as the world celebrated the day of women, Kashmir had a coincidence. As results of class 12th were out, the top ten slots in all the streams were taken by the girls, a feat encouraged and appreciated by all.
