Maripur’s beacon of light: Sabiha Shah and her 'Ladies Dhaba'

KARACHI: Most Dhabas are an exclusive domain for men who sip the rich sugary doodh patti as they chat away their day with their friends. However, a dhaba in a rundown Karachi locality has provided women with a place where they can relax in after a long day.

Housing almost 200,000-250,000 people, Maripur — a melting pot of communities living together regardless of race or religion — extends from near Kemari in the south of Karachi to Mubarak Village and Hawksbay.

Most of the households in Maripur are based on a joint family system, which means that the husband’s parents and siblings and their spouses all live together. Jobs and businesses are mostly men’s domain, and work is primarily related to sea, fishing, and transportation.

What many people from neighbouring areas remain oblivious to, however, is the underlying and generally accepted rule that Maripur's women cannot leave the confines of their homes alone. This unspoken diktat commands them to only go out if accompanied by men — be it their children, brothers, fathers or husbands — or by elderly women of the household.

In such an environment, a beacon of light emerged six months ago. Sabiha Shah set up a ‘Ladies Dhaba’ to encourage local women to gather, socialise, learn and bond in a secure environment. The meeting place — called Community Peace & Harmony Center — was funded by the Women Development Foundation Pakistan in a bid to instil confidence in women and offer them classes on craftsmanship and other such skills.

Health workers, and teachers, among many others — who manage to go out for work — congregate in late afternoon and evenings to de-stress themselves. The 'dhaba' provides them with tea and food, alongside carrom and board games such as ludo.

While training sessions include stitching and cosmetology, the dhaba also emphasises on social development and acts as a community centre for women. Awareness workshops have been conducted in the past, as well as puppet shows, film screenings, and courses on recycling and business skills for women who want to add to the family income but cannot go out.

“There’s a helping partner behind every successful man,” Shah believes. She explained that most men start poor, and grow steadily over time. But a household gains significantly if there is a collaboration between the husband and wife, which, thus, becomes a more feasible path to choose.

At first, numerous men were hesitant to let their wives, sisters, and daughters spend time at such a place since it is out of their comfort zone. But Shah worked tirelessly. She even met some of these men to describe what her project is and how it will be beneficial for their families.

She only managed to convince some of them, though.

On the other hand, many of the women themselves were unsure if they could participate in these activities. They complained of permission and security issues in addition to doubts about strange men (or na-mehram) being present there.

“Our message is peace. Peace promotes harmony and amicable behaviour in the households. If the women are happy, their families will be happy.”

Shah strives hard to make sure that women’s privacy is not disturbed, and they are comfortable enough to be themselves and learn wholeheartedly.

Among its ongoing projects, the Community Peace & Harmony Center looks forward to having picnickers on their way to the beach stop by at their dhaba. For this, it sends interns on outreach programmes to various adjoining localities for promotion.

With only one other similar dhaba in Baldia Town and a handful of employees and interns – who are paid a stipend of Rs. 5,000 – Shah hopes to open such congregating places in every locality of the sprawling Karachi city. She has already received calls from a lot of people asking her to replicate her model elsewhere too, but she is waiting for investment.