My interaction with the first family I trained strengthened my determination to empower women. It was shocking and sad to see the degree of control the men in their lives had on them. Call it patriarchy, dominance or authority these women are subjected to, they need to experience or be reminded of their own power.
The first family we trained consisted of a middle-aged mother along with two of her young daughters. From the moment they arrived at our workplace they all looked worried as if they were hiding something. Nevertheless, we continued on with the training session. I will admit I found it slightly difficult to seamlessly communicate with them as it was my first time sharing the project with someone unknown. However, their comforting nods and the Hands of Shakti team's presence made it much easier for me to connect with them. After a few go’s at trying to sew the cloth flowers the women slowly started perfecting them showing a great level of skill.
While they worked, one of the daughter's phones kept buzzing with her younger brother's calls demanding that they all come home at once. The brother had only let his sisters leave the house because of his mothers presence. These women have been physically and mentally trapped under the guise of the protection of family dignity and honour. The reality sadly is that their men are perversely controlling and choose to cut off their wings. These women have absolutely no financial independence, formal education and are continuously being robbed of their personal autonomy slowly being shafted into the endless tower of patriarchy. They revealed that they had come here by lying to their family members and stating they had gone to receive medical care. It is not just this family but most underprivileged women i have spoken to have similar stories.
I couldn’t help but realise how privileged I am that I get the opportunity to make my own decisions even at such a young age. This interaction reinforced why I started this project in the first place and will continue to help these women as long as I can. We handed them packets of cut cloth made from the waste cut-outs bought from our local tailor as we want to be sustainable instead of buying fresh material. This also enables us to help a local business as well. When we sent their payment for the intricate handmade flowers they had crafted we joyfully heard back about how they are very happy doing this and have the desire to continue with this work even though they have to hide and do it. I’m very excited to go forward with this project and help more women gain financial independence along with re-establishing a sense of autonomy over themselves.
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