In 2018, Ifrat Rashid completed her post-graduation in education from Kashmir University, becoming the first in her family to get a Master’s degree.
The 29-year-old from Ganderbal town was confident it would lead to a government job. But her applications for vacant government posts were rejected. With the August 2019 lockdown and two back-to-back lockdowns putting a deep freeze on recruitments in Jammu and Kashmir, Rashid grew increasingly frustrated.
In 2019, she enrolled in a tailoring course at a vocational training institute in Ganderbal district. “I wanted to earn, and I realised that waiting indefinitely for a government job wasn’t an option,” Rashid said. “I was worried about what people would think. I even avoided telling anyone about it.”
Nevertheless, stitching garments soon became a source of income for Rashid. But she did not give up on her ambition and enrolled into another postgraduate degree in science.
Four years later, Rashid did manage to find a job, not because of her two post-graduate degrees but her skills as a tailor. “A private training institute approached me to teach tailoring to young girls,” she said.
Rashid soon realised she was not alone. “When I joined the course, I was surprised to see highly qualified women doing the same,” she said. “Similarly, I have had students who are learning tailoring because they are struggling to find jobs. The highest-qualified student I have taught so far has two Master’s degrees.”
This story was originally published in scroll.in. Read the full story here.
