This is Meghna, and she’s a weaver at Friendship Weaving Centre in Holokhana, Kurigram.

“I joined the weaving centre by Friendship as a trainee in 2010 at the Holokhana Weaving Centre. There, I received training on weaving, bobbing and dyeing. Depending on the deliverables, I receive an income that helps me cover my monthly expenses and sustain my family on my own. My own! That was unimaginable to me before I had joined. 

I had no standing in the community, and no one to speak FOR me. I was born the youngest of six children and as an adult I have had to face immense pressure from my husband as he demanded an insurmountable dowry, which would’ve broken me financially. Not to mention cripple my family.

However, if I did not have to work for my wage, I would have not gathered the confidence to stand up for myself. I would have surely resigned myself to a life of domestic servitude, unaware of my ability to take my destiny into my own hands. That I even could earn this life for myself.

I am proud to have been a part of this organization and am immensely happy to have you take home a piece of my work. Wear it well, the colours and patterns woven into that fabric are a celebration of the freedoms that I have achieved by being part of the Colours from the Char family. It represents my dignity, my voice, my rights and privileges as a woman, and a human being.”