In 2023, Sabah Khan set up the Savitri Fatima Foundation for Inclusive Development, which is a space for women to gather and grow. The idea behind the organisation, as the name suggests, is to remind people of diversity, of friendship between two women, Savitri Phule and Fatima Sheikh, who belonged to different religions and did so much for the empowerment of women.
“I have been in the development sector for quite some time and have been working with women, and so I am well aware that women experience a lot of violence in their lives. So the conversation started around maybe having a counselling center, talking about financial independence and discussing other topics. But there's so much more to a woman's life than violence. So the goal was to celebrate moments of happiness,” Khan explains.
The founder-director realised that women are usually married off at a young age and as soon as they move into their marital home, they are not encouraged to call their friends to talk. “They are discouraged from even inviting them over and so a lot of marriages actually lead to the end of friendships for many women,” she shares.
So the idea was to create a women's space, which would also cultivate friendships, which would bring women together, create some kind of solidarity that they'd be able to stand up for each other. “This space is situated at Mumbra and is named Guftagu, where they can come and relax, sit, talk or just be. It’s a unique initiative.”
The female camaraderie led to conversations about financial independence and after a quick survey, Khan realised that almost all girls, regardless of their educational qualification, know tailoring. “So we got them to train a bit more and now they make products like laptop bags, travel pouches, crochet tea coasters, kurta and pant sets, shorts, skirts and more. These products are sold under the initiative Nisa,” shares Khan. She adds that a few days ago, at Nisa’s inaugural exhibition at a students’ festival, they sold goods worth Rs 18,000 in just two days!
The young foundation has benefitted hundreds of women by just giving them Guftagu, a judgement-free and expectation-free space, and empowering them financially through Nisa.
