Sewing turns source of livelihood for distressed women*****

RANGPUR, May 10 (BSS): Handloom sewing has turned into a reliable profession for the distressed women, unemployed and physically challenged young girls in northern Bangladesh as an effective means of overcoming poverty. Side by side with earning livelihoods, thousands of the distressed women and young girls have achieved their economic self-reliance by adopting handloom sewing as a profession in recent years everywhere in northern Bangladesh. Officials, experts and the beneficiary women said the fast- expanding sewing has been proved to be a very effective profession in combating poverty and achieving economic well-being in both rural and urban areas. The successful women have factually turned the sewing and readymade handloom garments at homes, smaller enterprises and cottage industries into a prospective sector in the region in alleviating poverty and achieving self-reliance. Noticing their success, different government departments, organizations and NGOs have been providing assistances, trainings and helps to the women in expanding the sector and creating marketing facilities and exporting their products. Experts said that the distressed women and unemployed young girls are showing more interests in sewing profession and bringing laudable success in empowering women at the grassroots levels along with achieving self-reliance. The produced garments like blouse, petticoat, semiz, kamiz, salwar, scurf, caps, hats, maxi, baby wears, shirts, pants, fotua, caps and other readymade wears for men, women, babies, and girls have huge demands throughout the year everywhere. Dozens of the successful women have launched their small- scale cottage enterprises after attaining self-reliance, providing training and jobs to the other unemployed women and girls of their areas accelerating faster growth of the sector. Housewife Kohinoor Begum of remote village Boalmari under Roumari Upazila told that she sews baby clothes and her husband sells those in the bazars and hats of the area to earn good amount every month as net profit. Former leprosy patient Hosne Ara (26), a child marriage victim and cheated by her husband in village Khorkhoria Vorottopara under Chilmari Upazila in Kurigram, have now achieved self- reliance by sewing. Housewives Kohinoor and Shyamoli, widow Nirmola Rani and young girls Lal Banu, and Parveen of different northern districts narrated their stories of achieving self-reliance by sewing clothes in recent years. Like many others, unemployed young girls Bimola, Asma and Runa Parveen have achieved self-reliance and are now sending their younger brothers and sisters to the schools after winning against poverty and hunger by adopting sewing profession.