Who is Nasreen?
Nasreen is a 23 year old business woman who has built a fair trade sewing collective based out of Kathmandu, Nepal, called Local Women’s Handicrafts, employing women from broken homes, abusive situations, extreme poverty and women with special needs.
She is currently refusing her forced marriage. The marriage would most certainly put an end to Local Women’s Handicrafts and the jobs of the 20-plus women of this collective. By refusing this marriage Nasreen is now in danger and has been physically assaulted.
Nasreen was born in the rural Bihar region in a village called Rajura. Bihar is known as the most corrupt state in India.
At an early age, Nasreen felt the pressure of society and her family to have an arranged marriage. 57% of women in Nepal are married before the age of 18 (UNICEF). She watched her older sister enter a forced marriage and knew she would be next.
Nasreen has since made it her life’s work to fight for women’s rights in Nepal. She explains, “People do not view education as important. Dowry is important. With girls and marriage it is like selling and buying. The more money the better. They are a commodity.” Women are treated as possessions and have no rights.
At the age of 11 years old Nasreen met a westerner whom she befriended and he started teaching her English. Over the next 12 years he introduced her to computers and the internet, along with mathematics, philosophy, religion and the arts.
With her new knowledge Nasreen was empowered and continued to build Local Women’s Handicrafts. The collective focuses on empowering and educating women with the intent to change the social and cultural norms in Nepal. It is comprised of women who are challenged by physical disability, come from abusive homes, are fleeing extreme poverty, or just looking to educate themselves to move forward in their lives.
Save Local Women’s Handicrafts campaign
Save Local Women’s Handicraft campaign is an effort to help Nasreen and the 20-plus women of her collective. The campaign aims to raise 25k to support the building of the new Local Women’s Handicrafts center.
Nasreen is currently in hiding to protect herself from forced marriage. This act puts her at great risk. The building project will be a sustainable, self-sufficient solution for all the women involved, but it is also a safe place for Nasreen to begin a new life of independence for herself.
When you contribute to this campaign your donations and intentions will echo into the history of women’s rights in Nepal. Nasreen is the first woman of her village to stand up and deny a forced marriage; it has already caused extreme upset to the social status of her family there. Her stance on this marriage and what she has achieved so far with LWH is nothing short of revolutionary in her society.
With the help of Traveling with a Purpose, Nasreen has already purchased land outside of Kathmandu, Nepal. Roger Ramsaur & River Jensen of Offerings Wholesale, LLC will be traveling to Nepal in June and July 2014 to oversee the building project in addition to offering Nasreen and all of the women of LWH any needed further support.
Who/What is Offerings?
We are a small, tight knit business that from an inside glance more resembles a family collective or a close group of friends working for one another in collaboration, love and support. We are 15 years of experience born from humble beginnings and a commitment of service to everyone along the way. From the outside Offerings is exactly that, an offering. We offer hand made, hand selected gifts from global fair trade, cottage industry communities and families around the world. We offer ourselves to the service of all whom we encounter, and in so doing, we ourselves become offerings.
