Sopore, Apr 29: A young BBM student from North Kashmir’s Sopore has launched an online clothing brand ‘GenerationM’ targeting young Muslim women seeking a blend of modernity and modesty, saying there is no need to wait for Western companies to make products for Kashmir’s youth.
Ayat Aziz, who founded the venture during her undergraduate research, said the brand recently unveiled a calligraphy collection designed to reflect the wearer’s identity.
“We display our identity in all these collections. It should be of quality and at the same time affordable,” Ayat told Kashmir Convener at a clothing exhibition in Sopore.
Asked why she chose entrepreneurship over the traditional government job route preferred by most youngsters in the region, she described her journey as “quite accidental”.
“I did my undergraduate thesis on the same topic. When I did my research, my interest developed. I felt that it should not only be related to research — we should expand it further. Why should we wait for a Western company to come and make products for us?” she said.
Despite initial reluctance from her family, Ayat said she took a “leap of faith”. “Alhamdulillah, overall they have given me a lot of support,” she added.
Ayat, who has studied in Bengaluru and Pune and done an exchange programme in Spain, said women entrepreneurs in Kashmir need allyship, not competition.
“We often see that when there are two women, they don’t support each other. There are already so many systemic challenges for women. If there are initiatives where communities will be built and collaborations happen, we can move forward,” she said.
GenerationM currently operates with a small freelance team comprising only women, including the logo designer, design team and the architect for their upcoming store.
“Soon we are transitioning into an office space. We try to make sure that everything we do would be mostly done by women, so that we stick to the roots and the values that we stand for,” she said.
Observing that Muslim women are often termed ‘oppressed’ in media, Ayat described her venture as a form of passive resistance.
“Muslim women are often termed ‘oppressed’ in media. When we do things like this, we prove in a subtle way that we are not less than anyone. In a way, it’s a very passive resistance,” she said.
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