PESHAWAR: Undeterred by cultural restrictions and lack of market access, young businesswomen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are running online business and holding private exhibitions to woo local women customers.

From traditional businesses like bridal dresses, embroidered clothes, block-printed cloth and quilt bed sheets businesses, the young women are using social websites and their own web pages to run online businesses of interior décor products, carved mirror frames, herbal oils, bags and jewellery as well as makeup products. And all such products are on sale in private exhibitions held at the residences in posh localities of Peshawar.

A peep into one such exhibition held by Maryam at the residence of a local businesswoman was a unique opportunity to see women exhibiting their products and interacting with women buyers.

Web pages help young women to boost their business

“I organised this exhibition at a residential locality than a commercial area with very little expenditure. Respecting the cultural sensitivity here, women are interacting as sellers and buyers,” said Maryam. She said that such exhibitions supported local businesses, women artisans and encouraged women to exhibit their talent.

Chin Mushtaq, who had offered her residence as venue for the exhibition and offered lunch to the participants with soft Rabab playing in the background, is also a senior businesswoman. “I have been running a bed sheets business for the last 20 years. It is a great hobby as well as talent,” she said.

Zill-i-Human, who has also been running a boutique and a workshop of block-printing cloth for the last 18 years, said she just started with Rs3,000 investment and then her business was booming.

Young women like Fatima, who started carving mirror frames and embellishing it with shiny stones, said that she was then running an online business and took orders online.

Malaika Orakzai represented a Dubai-based company, selling artificial eyelashes. She said that she was happy to be part of an online business and with growing awareness among women about makeup products her business was doing well in the province.

Women without going through the hassle of visiting a shop could order products online and pay cash on delivery.

Nabeela, who is also working with government’s small and medium enterprise development authority, runs bridal line of her own. As a participant, she also found the exhibition useful as it was an opportunity to interact with other businesswomen of the province.

Different products made by women artisans or businesses run by women were exhibited. From bridal dresses to artificial jewellery, makeup products, hair oils, pickles, bags and carved and embellished mirror frames, the home-based exhibition displayed the talent of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa women and attracted local women buyers.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2018