Queen’s Brigade is on a Mission to Empower Every Woman

Posted by

International Women’s Day this year was celebrated with much fanfare, especially after Covid-fears had ensured muted celebrations last year. Organisations and individuals both, celebrated women through talks, award ceremonies and other creative mediums. The members of Queen’s Brigade – an organisation consisting of women who interact with each other for business and social purposes – decided to do something unique to celebrate the ladies who reside in Swami Vivekananda Marg Basti in Chanakyapuri.

Founder of Queen’s Brigade, Heena Sodhi Khera, has worked closely with artist and social activist Rouble Nagi over the past few months, in a concerted effort to uplift the lives of the slum-dwellers of that basti. Under the program Misaal India, Rouble and Heena conduct educational and recreational classes for the children on a regular basis. Their mission has always been to teach or impart a skill, instead of handing out freebies, in order for the recipients of these life teachings, to stand on their own feet.

Queen’s Brigade Members at Swami Vivekananda Marg Basti in Chanakyapuri

It can be said that every day is a day to celebrate women, to encourage and support them in the pursuit of their dreams. However, the 8th of March is a global institution that one must commemorate appropriately. Hence, this year, the members of Queen’s Brigade chose to celebrate it by adding value to the life of underprivileged women.

Life is full of struggles for all women, but for those that live in slums, life is challenging on a daily basis. With the pandemic, even their labour-dependent sources of income have decreased or disappeared completely. These women are creative, intelligent, willing to learn, and most of all, are looking for gainful means of employment. A few members from Queen’s Brigade visited the basti on Women’s Day to teach them a new skill – the art of block-printing on cloth and paper.

Heena Sodhi Khera of Queen’s Brigade and Ritu Gupta, with a creative and confident woman from the basti

Block printing as an art can be used to decorate envelopes for gifting, and make beautiful patterns on fabrics that can be used for suits, dresses, bedsheets and cushion covers. It can be used as a decorative skill to enhance one’s own home or for the purposes of business to sell their creations. Ritu Gupta, Textile Designer, life coach and NLP practitioner was the teacher for the event. Heena and I were there to offer our support and help.

A group of 60 odd enthusiastic ladies, dressed in their Sunday best, lined up on the footpath outside the basti for the hour-long event on Monday, March 8. They were judiciously divided into groups of 6 each, with each group receiving the materials required to learn block printing first on paper, and then on cloth. Ritu taught the method and shared invaluable tips that only an expert would be aware of, with patience and skill. Heena supervised and happily guided the participants in their task, while I photographed and documented the event. It was a real pleasure watching the women excitedly collaborate with each other to create beautiful designs – the true display of their talent and abilities. The hour ended with group photographs, hugs and requests for us to return soon. It was Women’s Day well-spent!

If you would like to join Queen’s Brigade and be part of our social outreach programs or networking opportunities, please get in touch with us at connect@queensbrigade.com

______________________________________________________________________

*This is a sponsored post but views and opinions expressed are honest and my own.

**Copyright in pictures and content belongs to nooranandchawla.com and cannot be republished or repurposed without express permission of the author. As I am a copyright lawyer by profession, infringement of any kind will invite strict legal action.

44 comments

  1. I think this was a wonderful initiative by the Queen’s Brigade to reach out to the women in the slums and interact with them. Definitely a really worthwhile gesture to celebrate women empowerment on Women’s Day.

  2. This is such a noble initiative and I am glad you have covered it well in your blog. Such things need to be shared and spread the joy of giving. I am glad to kno2 about Queens Brigade.

  3. It’s such a good initiative. I am sure some of these women will become masters of block print. We have so.much access to things that we don’t see this side often.

  4. This is a very nice move by Queen’s Brigade. They went to the slums to teach the women the art of block printing, that’s wonderful.

  5. Wow this is a best way to celebrate women’s day. queen’s brigade has done such an amazing job to support slum women and I am glad that you were a part of it.

  6. This is such a great initiative and I am so glad you have covered this and shared with us. The Queen’s brigade is really doing a great job.

  7. This seems like an interesting opportunity to learn a new skill for basti ladies. Queen brigade seems to be helping them be independent as well.

  8. Queen Brigade the name itself sounds so powerful and empowering. Nothing can be better way to celebrate women’s day than to empower and encourage the women from Basti.

  9. Empowering women to learn something and earn a living is the best way to help them gain financial freedom. This is a great initiative and will benefit many deserving families.

  10. Glad to kknow about Queens Brigade and the work they r doing towards women empowerment. my best wishes to them .

  11. Ultimate way to commemorate Women’s day by Queen’s Brigade Team. Well said Noor, women living in slums are indeed facing the next level of challenges on the daily basis. Making them learn about block painting, will definitely going to help them in future too.

  12. Its so nice to know about the wonderful done by Queens Brigade and you all supporting them. Its one of the happiest thing to see women supporting others and raising the tribe together.

  13. This is an apt way to celebrate women’s day. To empower them and make them independent and Queens Brigade has just done that. Kudos to all the women who were out to empower other women. The world really needs this.

  14. Such a noble deed. I believe women empowerment truly happens when other women support each other and share knowledge and skills to life each other. This can help the people in the Basti to start something of their own after learning block printing skill.

  15. I have been a fan of block printing since last 2 years. The handmade art is always appreciable and wonderful to include in our lives. Good to know about them.

  16. When the society pushes the slum dwellers aside, Queens brigade did something that would make the society hang their head in shame for their actions..great work

  17. A wonderful initiative. i truly believe that each of us can create an impact by helping those around us, and this brigade has shown us how it can be done, in style 🙂

  18. This is so interesting. Would love to know more about queens brigade. Not sure however, if there is a geographical limitation to being part of this?

Leave a Reply