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Culture October 11, 2018
Supporting females is supporting everyone.
India reigns in both population density and poverty. Recent estimates put India as the second most impoverished country in the world. Its poor have lower access to basic resources and rely on unstable wages to sustain their families. This is especially difficult for female workers, whose meager income can support six or more individuals.
UNLEASHED‘s short film “Connecting Thread: Unleashing India” tells the stories of these women and how they support their families one bead at a time.
“Connecting Thread: Unleashing India” is a poignant look into the struggles of female beading artisans. The film starts with interviews of various embroidery workers about their lifestyles. One of these workers is Gudia Khan, who uses her embroidery to support her mother.
After the interviews, the film shifts focus to Gudia Khan seeing her beadwork on Amazon India Fashion Week. Different shots capture Gudia’s wonder as she leaves Bareilly and experiences new situations. A particularly touching scene occurs when Gudia and UNLEASHED models greet a roaring crowd.
According to their official website, UNLEASHED is “a nonprofit organization founded by Kara Ross that celebrates and supports female artisans and entrepreneurs around the world.” The nonprofit wants to bring artisan clothing into mainstream fashion as a means of raising awareness of these inspiring female leaders.
UNLEASHED transforms these artisans into empowered entrepreneurs by offering them micro-financing loans through Kiva, selling their products online with Novica and promoting their stories. Their focus right now is raising awareness through their “Connecting Thread” series and helping them sell to international customers. They’d like to create a sustainable system in which women support and nurture other women’s art and craftsmanship.
In a 2011 Huffington Post interview, Nike Foundation’s founding president and CEO Maria Eitel explains why society benefits when women benefit.
According to Eitel, girls who finish secondary school in Nigeria can add billions of dollars to the economy over their lifetimes. Furthermore, when girls have financial stability and support, “they stop engaging in transactional sex, thereby reducing their risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, along with pregnancy.”
In “Connecting Thread: Unleashing India,” all three featured artisans use embroidery as a way to support their families. While Khan pays for her mother’s medicine, the beadwork of Nazama Begam and Fulwano Noor Bano pays for their children’s education. Begam, in particular, has high hopes for her daughters’ futures. One of them wants to be a doctor or a lawyer.
With this information, it’s clear to the audience that we support families and future careers when we support women. This also checks out with Eitel. She claims that upon receiving a loan, a majority of girls in Bangladesh empowerment programs invested in their family’s businesses.
Furthermore, 70 percent of girls in these programs took loans with a 98 percent recovery rate. In a partnership with Kiva, UNLEASHED also is currently “lending” to 90+ female business entrepreneurs with a 98 percent recovery rate.
So when we empower girls, the economy grows, STD transmission rates plummet and families are supported. In other words, female empowerment leads to societal empowerment.
UNLEASHED’s “Connecting Thread” series cements the importance of female empowerment. As seen in the film, many women have to provide for their families’ finances, education and futures. If we support them, they can support others. All they lack are opportunities and resources.
If you’re interested in reading about other inspirational women, check out this article about two female writers making waves!
