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Baloch women handicraft fair

KARACHI: A large variety of Balochi handicraft demonstrating the skills of Balochi women of different areas of Balochistan would be on display at an exhibition being held at a hotel here on Sunday from 1 p.m. onward.

The exhibition at the Marriot is being held under the aegis of Pak Anjuman-e-Khawateen (PAK), Balochistan, an NGO working for the promotion of the age-old skills of Balochi women besides organising health and education programmes in Balochistan.

Chairperson of PAK Balochistan, Begum Jamila Dawood said in an interview on Saturday that on display will be linens, quilted embroidered bed spread, embroidered tovays, Balochi dresses, trolley sets, table mats, travelling kits, hand-made daris, towels, hand made cotton dari-cushions etc.

She said it is for the first time that PAK is organising this sort of exhibition in Karachi, with the objective of marketing these handicraft so that the women of Balochistan could get a real price for the hard and fine work put in by them.

Begum Dawood said that these women never get a genuine price for their skills as what they produce are bought by shopkeepers at very low price and then sold in the market at hefty prices.

She said that she plans to establish a well equipped outlet in Karachi for the sale of Balochi handicraft besides exploring the avenues for their export to European and other countries where these are in great demand.

She said that display of Balochi male and female chappals at the exhibition would be of great interest. APP