India's Rural Women Make It To East India Fashion Show, Exhibiting Their Sewing Skills
Kushalta Ke Kadam, an initiative by NDTV and Usha, has entered its eighth season with the aim to empower women from rural India, by fostering them with sewing and stitching skills through Usha Silai School. NDTV-Usha focuses on reaching out to women in villages near border areas and remote regions.
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Durgarani, a native of Pakyong district, East Sikkim, is one of the beneficiaries of the Usha Silai School. She entered the world of sewing by a straightforward experiment in which she watched instructional YouTube videos to learn how to sew. Her name was then proposed by the village panchayat for a nine-day stitching training programme organised by Usha Silai School.
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The training programme not only increased the confidence of Durgarani, Lalita Rai and other women, but it also led to the opportunity to take part in the East India Fashion Week in Guwahati, Assam in April 2023. The fashion week was curated by the Northeast India Fashion and Design Council. Usha's sponsorship of East India Fashion Week helped expand the programme's impact in the Northeast region.
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Mary Rupa Tete, Vice President, Usha Silai School Services, said that the idea behind the collaboration was for women to gain the understanding of what fashion is, what design and quality is all about and work closely with the best designers of the country.
