Hazrat Bi is a 43-year old lady who came to Behrampada in Mumbai

when she was a young girl.

She married when she was 19 years of age. Her woes started when her in-laws started making
life hell for her. She gave birth to three daughters one of which died at a young age. Since then
she has suffered a series of agonising incidences. First, she lost her husband and her in-laws
mistreated her, forcing her to move to her mother’s place to receive shelter. Her elder
daughter died leaving her infant kids behind. These kids, her sole surviving daughter and Hazrat
Bi herself needed looking after. Hazrat Bi was determined to face life’s challenges head on. She
worked as a maid to contribute to the family’s income. Later she worked as a tailor, stitching
for people in the neighbourhood. In bargain, she gained steady clients and experience as a good
tailor. Subsequently, with her tailoring experience, she tied up with an NGO to make bags. She
not only learned to stand on her own feet but also helped 10 other women stand on theirs by
working with her in her bag-making business. Unfortunately, for Hazrat Bi, after the ill-
treatment by her in-laws and her travails thereafter fate struck a cruel blow in the year2013
again when she was diagnosed with cancer. With treatment consisting of surgery and
chemotherapy, she overcame cancer. Fortunately, her health improved and she is quite stable
now and has made the bold decision to continue her bag-making business. Without losing an
iota of courage and with steely determination, she singlehandedly runs the bag-making
business with her 10 women supporters, making a grand success of it.

Buoyed by the success of her bag-making business, she has set out on a goal of growing her
business to ensure that she and her supporters can aspire for a good life. She needs capital to
buy new printing machines for printing on bags. She also needs working capital to buy raw
materials. She wants to take a loan to help her grow her business.

While we empathise with Hazrat Bi’s state of affairs we also extol her courage, determination
and fortitude to face all the hardships fate threw at her. Not only does she look after herself
and her family, she has also shown the way to 10 of her friends to aspire for a good life. This act
of kindness on her part speaks volumes for her commitment to fellow human beings.