In the narrow, bustling lanes of Haji Ghulam Zakarya Goth, two sisters are quietly dismantling a glass ceiling with needles, thread, and craft glue. Naila, 19, and Areej, 17, belong to a sprawling family of eight siblings whose roots stretch back to the agrarian heartlands of Sargodha and Toba Tek Singh. Their journey to Karachi began nearly two decades ago when their father, then a soldier, was posted to the city.
Life for the Nonari Jutt family has recently become a precarious balancing act. After their father left his military service prematurely—forfeiting the benefits that usually offer a safety net—the family’s financial stability began to fray. Today, they navigate the staggering costs of urban survival: a 120-square-yard home that demands 16,000 rupees in rent, matched by another 15,000 rupees for electricity and an equal amount for the gas cylinders required to keep the kitchen running.
For Naila and Areej, the pressure wasn’t just financial; it was cultural. Despite their desire to learn, both sisters were forced to drop out of school after the eighth grade, stifled by an extended family that viewed girls’ education with deep skepticism.
“The environment and the courses were a revelation,” Areej recalls, after a friend told her about the Amna Shamima Foundation (ASF). Within two days, the sisters visited the center, finding a sanctuary where the staff treated them with a level of respect and gentleness they hadn’t experienced in traditional academic settings.
Today, the hum of the sewing machine and the shimmer of handmade bangles have replaced the silence of their stalled education:
Naila, the fifth of the eight siblings, has mastered the art of stitching. She now crafts clothes for her sisters and has turned her skill into a micro-enterprise, earning an income from acquaintances.
Areej, the seventh sibling, has found her niche in Arts and Crafts. She designs intricate bangles, and together, the sisters capitalize on festive seasons to bolster the family’s modest income.
While they believe their Goth has improved significantly over the years, their ambitions remain high. Areej, an enthusiast for personal grooming, and Naila are now advocating for the foundation to expand into fashion design and professional makeup courses.
For these two sisters, the Foundation has provided more than just vocational training; it has restored the confidence that their circumstances once threatened to strip away. In a world that told them to stop at the eighth grade, they are proving that an argument for a better life can be sewn, one stitch at a time.