LAHORE – For 48-year-old Zohra Batool, a resident of Pakpattan, and mother of seven, possessing skills for creating decoration items and the dream of making it big some day, was certainly not enough. Her life had become extremely stressful and it was difficult to go through the grind everyday, knowing that there was no one else to help her out and that if she stopped work, her family would starve.
With her husband unemployed because of a chronic illness, Zohra was left all alone in supporting her entire family. But with expenses spent on medication and everyday expenditures, it was impossible to even think of starting a business where she could earn some money in the medium-term. Soaring inflation and rising prices of commodities left the family with very little each day. Motivation only came from her children.
For Zohra Batool her children were the most important and to get up every day in order to provide for them was the only thing that kept her going. Pushed by her love and desire to give them the best she could, Zohra set out to find ways in which she could help secure her children’s future. “There was no choice and I had to do it for my children,” she says. “Often I felt like giving up but then I saw my children and my mind would once again begin to work in order to find ways to get more money into the house,” Batool says.
Being a woman of substance and much more courage than they come with, Zohra did not lack the spirit needed for this. She had the drive and skills. What she needed now was money. So she decided to join work with a neighbour who produced hand-made decoration pieces to sell, and eventually landed up as a ‘business partner’. This she continued for the next seven years, striving to make as many pieces as possible.
But as these seven years passed by, Zohra’s dream of having her own business all to herself, did not end. Instead, she had now strongly begun to visualise having her own business but the disadvantage of being too uncomfortably close to the poverty line became her hindrance. “I began to understand perfectly that nothing was needed except money,” she said. “I needed finances and capital and the only way I could get this was through a bank of some kind,” Batool says.
After much thought and discussion with relatives and friends, Zohra decided that the best way to utilise her skills was by applying for a microfinance loan. “My friends suggested I take a loan from the Khushhali Bank, which is a microfinance bank,” she says. “They told me that this bank had many branches everywhere and that I could access it in even the rural area I was in. This was all they needed to tell me for me to simply jump up at the opportunity,” Batool says.
Zohra Batool contacted the bank and applied for a loan, giving the bank details of what her current position was. Once the loan facility was received, Zohra instantly got to work. The passage towards a better and more financially secure life had begun. “My business went well from the very beginning,” she says.
“As everyone knows, Pakpattan is situated near the famous shrine of Farid Ganj Shakar and there are always a large number of people who come visit it from all over the country. Because of this, there is also a tremendous demand of decoration pieces which are related to this shrine. So of course, my business was a blast from the very beginning,” Batool says.
While this was going on, Zohra also started supplying these decorated items to local markets, sales points and various religious institutions resulting in even more increased sales and enhanced revenues. She also involved her two sons to sell the products and establish more market contacts.
“I still sometimes sit by myself, at the end of the day, and I try to look back and imagine what kind of life I used to have,” says Zohra. “I only got a small loan of Rs 15,000 and today, my monthly sales are ever-increasing. Where I used to have Rs 10,000 in the beginning, within two years, I am now making about Rs 60,000 monthly,” she says.
With success of the business came prominence too. Zohra says it earned a lot of respect from her family and relatives as she learnt how to run a good business while also taking care of her family. A tough life to lead, but Zohra enjoys every moment of it, because now she does not feel dependant upon anyone, except her ownself, and the dream she had is now hers.
While she began her journey from hardship and hunger she has now become a source of pride for herself and family. With the increase in income she has managed to send her son to college, renovate her house and save money for her daughter’s marriage. But Zohra does not arrogantly bask in glory of making money.
Instead she has taken to educating and training other female members of the community, so that if ever they are in a position of difficulty, they are able to support themselves and their family. Constant community appreciation of her work re-affirms her faith in her business.
“For many in my community, I have become the source of inspiration for hard work and a way out of poverty,” she says proudly.
Zohra Batool – Punjab’s microfinance wonder woman
