Poor women show their entrepreneurial skills in Ramazan

Rawalpindi
Although Rawalpindi women do enjoy private and government jobs, sit in higher positions in politics; however, the Rawalpindi markets tell stories of another kind of women who are mostly unlettered but show their business skills especially during the month of Ramazan. Most of them are plain-speaking down-to-earth kind. They sell a variety of items from women and children’s wear, vegetables, fruits to prepared food and varied crockery.
Talking to these women in markets is an unforgettable experience in itself.
Razia Bibi’s day begins early in the morning. She wakes up for ‘Sehri’, performs her household chores and then departs for Saddar. There she goes to Chota Bazaar where she sits on the roadside selling vegetables till two hour before ‘Iftar’ time. She then goes home to prepare her family’s meals for ‘Iftari’.
Karim Bibi’s life is not a comfortable one. She lives with Raziq, her husband -- jobless these days, along with two kids in Nasir Colony near Railway Line.
As in countless poor households she has shared the financial burden of running the family budget with her husband. Raziq looks after the kids when she goes to Chaklala Market, where she attends to her makeshift garments stall there to earn some money for the day.
Rather than waste time at home Nusrat prefers to go to Raja Bazaar at 10 every morning, and sits in front of a shop selling economical dresses worn by women. She exchanges gossip with her other women colleagues there, until 5 p.m. as she has to return to Pirwadhai where her family resides.
“I recall my brave neighbour Shagufta Begum 70, who every year during Ramazan used to set up a stall in Tench Bhatta Bazaar to eke out a living sitting side by side with well-off women running boutiques there. She was very gentle with customers. Whatever her earnings she was an example of woman-power at its peak,” says Arif Hussain living in that area.
“I love goat-rearing. I am very happy,” says Jannat Mai, beaming with satisfaction and proudly showing off her six goats as her three sons jump around excitedly. “I feel empowered and I have big dreams for the future,” she adds, caressing the silky skin of one of her goats nibbling at the grass in a vacant plot near Fazal Town market.
Fouzia, a widow, sells fruit items in a ‘chaabri’ in Kamal Abad along with her two kids. She is the only family’s bread winner. “With Ramazan blessings, selling fruits helps sustain my family. Otherwise, in difficult times we have scarce food and are forced to skip meals,” says she.
Raheela, who has got a bachelor degree, comes from her village to Rawalpindi every weekend and buys saleable foodstuff from the market near Lal Haveli for her village shop. This visit continues even in Ramazan. “I treat my work very seriously. I take pride in what I do, I don’t slip on quality. I have built my own sense of instinct and gut feel. Those who initially opposed me support me now. I am getting more than what my job in village school was giving me.”
Rozeena 44, who cooks ‘sripayay’ for ‘Iftari’ near Rawalpindi Sabzi Mandi says: “Women are an integral part of urban economy, offering easy access to a wide range of goods and services in public spaces. They run everything from schools to garments shops to beauty parlours, earthenware to items like mine.”