TACOMA, Washington — Haryana is located in the northern region of India with about 28.8 million people living in the state. There is a great disparage between literacy rates in the state, with women literacy rates at 65.94% and men at 84.06%. Additionally, the caste system still has an impact on the population of Haryana, especially in rural areas. Viewing these effects and the support women needed in rural areas, the nonprofit Sewing New Futures strove to provide women in Haryana with a better quality of life.
Inequalities in Haryana, India
The people of the Perna caste are generally located in northern India, particularly Haryana. Young women are usually sold into marriage at 14 to 15 years of old for 50,000 to 300,000 rupees by their families and are expected to have children within a year of their marriage. Moreover, within a year of being married, women are expected to produce income by the men of the household, and this form of income typically comes from prostitution. Women are told that the money that is procured from prostitution is a way to pay back the dowry that was used to buy them for their families.
Many of these women are stuck in an endless cycle of being sold from one person to another, because of the caste system’s impact in the area. Young girls from these households are usually taken to bigger cities, such as New Delhi, to be prostituted, and the rest of their days are spent being a housewife and expected to find additional income while taking care of the children. As a result of these expectations, children aren’t able to stay in school to receive the education needed to bring their families out of poverty. However, with women and children-focused initiatives, such as Sewing New Futures, women in Haryana are able to build a better life for themselves and their families.
Sewing New Futures
Over the last couple of years, many nonprofit organizations have found that providing vocational training to impoverished communities can lead to long-term success for families. One of the many nonprofits that provide sewing education to women in the Perna caste is Sewing New Futures. Kristin Braddock has brought an immense amount of positive attention to the nonprofit organization that is focused on giving women the tools to become empowered and independent from their caste status. Sewing New Futures is built upon the promise to provide vocational training, be a safe place for the women and their children and be an educational sanctuary.
Kristin Braddock’s journey began in Manhattan, where she left her corporate job to become a volunteer at Apne Aap Women Worldwide in New Delhi that focuses on providing education to girls that have been sold into prostitution. From there she made her way to Haryana, India, meeting with social workers Priyanka Roy and Monika Nadav who helped start Sewing New Futures in 2014. The idea to help the women in the Perna community was realized when young girls approached Braddock to assist them in selling their hand sewed kurtas (traditional Indian shirts) in the area for money.
The three women knew that many families were being taken advantage of by foreigners for their traditional sewing crafts and never receiving commission for the items sold. Braddock made it her mission to create a nonprofit and social enterprise for the local Haryana women forced into prostitution. Through the efforts of this nonprofit, women in Haryana are “sewing new futures” in this safe environment created for those labeled as the Perna caste, a space where they can get professional training while gaining an income to deter the need to prostitute for their households. Women are given a starting salary while they obtain an education in sewing, appliquè and textile production. Their products are also sold on the organization’s online store as additional income. Sewing New Future also partners with local healthcare providers to give the girls information on HIV, reproduction health, dental exams, eye exams and personal hygiene.
A Sanctuary for Women and Children
One of the more important aspects of this nonprofit organization is that they provide sanctuary for women to bring their children with them, giving the kids a chance to continue their education while being kept out of harmful situations. Many of the women involved in the program have stated how they seek solutions that will help uplift their daughters and sons out of this cycle of prostitution.
The Sewing New Futures team has more than 40 success stories and continue to improve their programs to provide women in Haryana with the empowering tools they need to follow their dreams.
Braddock understood that sewing wasn’t the only way to provide a way out of prostitution for these women. Many in the community needed an escape from their households to become independent. Braddock shared with her fellow volunteers how one of their trainees saved up the money made from sewing at the organization to become a certified dance instructor. The young girl used to use the top floor of Sewing New Futures’ buildings to follow her passion for dance. Now, the once-trainee has a studio where she teaches dance to housewives and children. The Sewing New Futures’ building was a sanctuary for this young girl, and women in Haryana are “sewing new futures” for themselves through financial independence with the help of this nonprofit organization.
—Sumeet Waraich
Photo: Flickr