Twenty-eight-year-old Putari Devi from Sakhuania in Parsa is a housewife who has been illiterate her entire life. She would spend most of her days doing household chores, and if there was nothing to do, she would just idle her time away.

But lately, she has got a purpose, something to do instead of whiling her time away, thanks to a three-month tailoring training.

“Now I have a professional skill. If there’s nothing to do, I just sew clothes,” Putari Devi said

Putari Devi has not just acquired a new skill but also a means to make a living. She, along with Kabita Chaudhary—a fellow tailoring trainee from her village, plan to open a tailor shop soon.

“I am confident that I can earn for myself by utilising my newly learned skill,” Chaudhary said.

Besides Putari Devi and Chaudhary, 40 other women—mostly from the Tharu community—have benefitted from the training, which is currently ongoing in the village. The training was conducted by the Surya Institute of Technology, Birgunj, in coordination with Jira Bhawani Rural Municipality.

“Most of the women from the Tharu community are illiterate and unemployed,” said Prakash Tharu, chief of finance at the institute, “The training was conducted in an attempt to make them independent. We are humbled by such an enthusiastic participation.”

The training is currently in its final leg. The participants say that they can make garments for women such as blouse, petticoat, gown and kurta suruwal.

“Once the training is over, we plan to provide employment opportunities to the trainees. We are currently in talks with garment industries around Birgunj,” Tharu said.