Page 17 - NIS English 01-15 March 2022

Cover Story
Women Power

ARIFA

BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO

KASHMIR'S 'NAMDA'

HANDICRAFT

ill now, women in Kashmir have lived a life behind the SIDBI OR MUDRA LOAN GIVING FLIGHT TO
Tscene but Arifa's face now shows the emergence of WOMEN ASPIRATIONS
a new Kashmir where young women are creating new Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
success stories. Her inspirational journey begins from the helps MSMEs business loans. Apart from this, under the
narrow streets of Srinagar. Arifa Jaan did a course in craft Pradhan Mantri Mudra Loan Yojana, Rs 50,000 to Rs10
lakhs can be taken up. Further details can be obtained
management 7 years ago. After which she embarked on from https://sidbi.in/en and https://www.mudra.org.in.
a mission to bring back the art of making Namda carpet
to life which was becoming endangered. Namda is a Beti Bachao,
carpet made of wool. After graduating in commerce from Distance Education
Kashmir University, she did a two-year craft management As against per 100 males, the Beti Padhao
program. But she did not have enough resources to fulfill ratio of women is 130 in Ph.D, 15%
her ambition. She examined the new trends in the market. 109 in MPhil, 122 in post-
She created new designs and displayed handmade Namda graduation, 104 in diploma, and
376 in Integrated courses.
at the exhibition held in New Delhi. It was a turning point increase in the
for her. After this, she persuaded weavers to create many Jandhan number of girls
having education
new designs. Earlier they used to get Rs 175 for the day's More than of 10 years or
work, but Arifa hiked the weavers' wages to Rs 450. She 55% more, from 2015
also managed to carve out a market for her product in the till now after
US. Today there is a demand for Namda made by her in of Jan Dhan bank accounts the start of the
foreign countries also. belong to women. scheme.

New India Samachar March 1-15, 2022 15