Crafting a safer society for women, Basha Bangladesh

When you pick up a throw made by Basha, you will notice a signature in the bottom corner of the cloth.? Each piece is unique and is signed by the woman who made it.?

And of course every woman who works here has a story.?

Basha was set up in 2011 in Dhaka, Bangladesh as a fresh start, a safe environment for women and children at risk, and survivors of human trafficking.?

The organisation works to give women a sustainable livelihood, making traditional textiles, and offers a life of dignity to those who have lived through trauma or who are vulnerable. Every woman here has a different story “ but her circumstances have put her at high risk of harm or resulted in exploitation and abuse.” according to Robin Seyfert, Basha’s founder.?

Robin explains,

“Conservative estimates show that around 160,000 women in Bangladesh are working as commercial sex workers, and for most, this is not their choice. The reality is that this number is just a small sample of the number of women that are being exploited. Even more devastating, is that an estimated 29,000 underage girls are trapped in commercial sexual exploitation, robbing them of their childhood and causing a lifetime of trauma.”

Women who are trafficked or vulnerable to trafficking often try forget past troubles, and are keen to build better lives for themselves and their children; but the transition to a different life is difficult, “Both the complexity of poverty, and the many layers of trauma, need addressing first.”

When she set up Basha, Robin had already been working in Bangladesh for an NGO focused on reproductive health training for women coming out of prostitution. Being engaged on the ground helped her see how she could? attempt to break the cycle of poverty and victimisation of women who were at risk, “It takes a smart intervention to break the cycle of trafficking for good.”?

Basha approaches the problem in several carefully designed steps. Their charitable organisation Friends of Basha responds to the unique needs of groups of vulnerable women in Bangladesh, working to ensure women are safe, well and healthy - offering them access to medical and psychological care before they move into the workforce. Only then women can choose to take up a job at Basha Boutique, creating exquisite and unique hand made textiles which are sold across the globe.? Basha Boutique has grown from 13 women in one small Dhaka flat to more than 150 full-time production workers in 5 textile centres throughout Bangladesh ( the figures do change, at the moment there are 110 women).?

From the 110 women currently working at Basha, there are 140 children being cared for at our daycare centres, as well as daily tutoring, the schools offer support and nutritious food to the kids of women in the programmes. “We have 6 trainees graduating this month, 10 who just started, and 10-12 who will start in March. Basha Boutique, the company, pays the wages, benefits and the daycare expenses. While Friends of Basha pays for the training programme, daycare for children of trainees, food for the children each day.”?

In the Bengali language basha means ‘house’ and asha means ‘hope’.

“ Basha is the house of hope we’re building in Bangladesh.”

?The scope of the project is ambitious, bold and brave; I ask Robin what element of running Basha is most demanding for her on a day to day basis;? I’m glad I did, as her response did shift the way I see the project and the products Basha makes “It’s always a challenge to encourage people to produce. We employ and train trauma victims. These women aren’t necessarily craftspeople when they come to us. They arrive with their own very real problems, and finding that balance is difficult.”?

To think of the whole process, the healing, the training that has gone before they’ve even begun working on the textiles, makes the end product, and the success of this scheme even more remarkable. For Robin, this is possibly the? best bit about her job “ I continue to be astounded by how transformative a dignified job is, it is something everyone deserves, and it’s an amazing opportunity for a woman to develop.”

“We are creating a society where girls and women are empowered, valued, accepted, and have confidence to contribute to their family, community, and nation.”

Basha products use a traditional kantha stitch to sew together recycled and locally sourced new cloth. This is an ancient embroidery technique that has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations in the Bengal region of Bangladesh and India. The recycled cloth comes from worn saris, and these textiles are layered up and sewn together to make beautiful colourful covers, or the recycled material is used as the inner layers of a “new” kantha quilt, finished with plain unused cotton.?

It is labour intensive, a cushion cover will take 6-7 hours to make, while a large double bedspread will take around 37 hours.? The kantha method is an important part of the region's heritage, and in buying these pieces not only are you supporting the artisans who have created the textiles, but also you are also protecting a rich cultural ancestry.?

To see these beautiful products, and artisan stories, have a look at our website. If you'd like more information on Basha or Friends of Basha, do get in touch.

https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/longform/a40923/bangladesh-husband-sold-me-to-a-brothel/?

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/06/living-hell-of-bangladesh-brothels-sex-trafficking?

https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/

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