Mir Manal, a determined young girl from the conservative Wahibugh village of South Kashmir’s, has overcome significant challenges to realise her childhood dream of becoming a fashion designer.
As the first female designer from her village, Manal’s journey is one of resilience and breaking stereotypes.
In an interview with Rising Kashmir, Manal recounted her struggle to pursue fashion design in a community where the profession is often misunderstood. “The aged residents in my small village don’t have a clear understanding about fashion designing,” she said. She said that many in her area equate fashion design with tailoring or associate it with modelling and revealing outfits, leading to strong societal resistance.
She said that even her mother, an educated and recently retired government employee, initially held similar misconceptions.
A single parent raising two intelligent daughters, she hoped for Manal to become a doctor.
Despite her mother’s wishes, Manal’s passion for fashion remained undeterred.
When she first expressed her career ambitions, her mother firmly objected and insisted she prepare for the NEET medical entrance exam.
“I started preparing for NEET but didn’t appear in the examination, which disappointed my mother,” Manal recalled.
Her mother even considered sending her to a medical school in Bangladesh, but difficulties in obtaining a passport due to the lack of her parents’ separation documents thwarted those plans.
Ultimately, Manal’s unwavering determination led her mother to reconsider.
Manal enrolled at SSMD College of Fashion Design, where she flourished under the guidance of her Head of Department, InshaQazi.
Her talents quickly shone through, and she secured an internship as a fashion assistant in her first semester, which opened doors to opportunities in movies, advertisements, and photoshoots.
Manal’s mother, once a skeptic, gradually began to appreciate her daughter’s passion. This change in perspective culminated in a moment of pride when Manal and her teammates presented their innovative collection, “From Trash to Treasure,” at the Times Fashion Week in Gurgaon.
Their collection, crafted from everyday materials like garbage bags, paper plates, and balloons, garnered high praise and marked the first time a Kashmiri institute was represented at such a prestigious event.
The success catapulted Manal into the limelight, bringing pride to her small village in Pulwama.
“After the presentation, my mother revealed that she feels proud of me,” Manal shared, urging other girls to challenge societal taboos and pursue their dreams.
