habnum, 40, has become the talk of the town since she began repairing tyres in a small shop in front of her home in Sehrish Nagar, Qasimabad. The resilient resident of Hyderabad city has been running her shop for one year now. She works there from dawn till dusk every day of the week.

She learnt the skill from her husband, who became bedbound due to illness and could no longer work. Locals call her Shabu Dada. In the Sindhi language, Dada means elder; the name Shabu Dada was given by neighbourhood children out of respect.

It has not been an easy year for Shabnum. She faced great resistance from her relatives, and many questioned her decision to run a tyre repair shop. Many suggested that she should stay at home. Others did not trust that a woman could fix punctured tyres. She refused to pay attention to the naysayers and continued to work and improve her skills. Today, she earns around Rs 800 a day and is the first woman in Hyderabad to have such a business.

Shabnum says, “It was a tough time for us when my husband became sick. He had experience repairing tyres, but the illness made it difficult for him to pay attention to his work, so he taught me all he knew. Equipped with the skill, I started managing the shop and began taking care of my family. I even bought some cycles for children that we rent to the neighbourhood kids. Fortunately, the children found it exciting to see me run this little business. They found it entertaining.”

Recalling earlier times, she says, “Our society does not encourage women to work for money. Hardworking women are not given enough credit or encouragement. My relatives discouraged me from taking on a laborious job like this, but my husband asked me to ignore people’s comments. His support made me feel confident. With savings from the tyre repair work, I have set up a small indoor gaming business.”

Most children and youngsters come to Shabu Dada to get their cycles repaired. She has two sons whose bicycles she rented to children in her neighbourhood back in the day. Since then, she has bought a couple more and even repaired some of the old ones she got from a junkyard to expand her business.

Last year was tough on Shabnum. Her husband, at 50 years of age, suffered several asthma attacks and did not recover, leaving her a widow at 40. After his demise, while Shabnum was observing iddat, two of the bicycles were stolen.

“I had hoped that one day my husband would recover from his illness. I was optimistic about his early recovery, but last year when he was having trouble breathing, we had him hospitalised for further treatment. His death has left me alone. I am now trying to make ends meet without his support. My children are having a hard time. With everything we do, it is still not enough to provide good education to our children. My elder son does odd jobs to support the household. There is rent to pay and the ever-rising inflation is breaking our backs. Basic expenses have become a constant dread,” she says.

“Ours is a weird society. We must appreciate good work by women. In our society, most people realise that women are oppressed, but even then we don’t try to uplift them,” says Dr Shamim Mari, an assistant director of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). “We don’t offer our help and support to the women trying to be self-sufficient despite the hardships. There are many programmes and projects for women’s empowerment in our country, but the question is of their implementation. A small business entrepreneur must be registered with the Sindh government. The government should train them in risk management. These women can learn modern professional modes. Many believe that a woman who stays at home is better than those working outside their homes. The society discourages working women. We should support these working women.”

Family problems and social compulsions compel many women to take on hard jobs, and they step out of their homes to support their families. Shabnum is still seeking help from the government and non-government organisations for some economic support. She is not listed in the Benazir Income Support Programme.

The writer is completing her MPhil from Istanbul Okan University, Turkey