Weaving dreams

Twins Sharmin and Shahana weaving traditional towels at Aruashakua of Kaliganj in Jhenidah. They support their family and pay for their education doing this. Photo: Star

Cotton towels, or gamchha as it is known in Bangla, are found aplenty in Aruashalua bazar of Kaliganj upazila, some 22 kilometres east of Jhenidah district town. These coarse traditional towels do not just help one dry off after a bath, they also tell stories of sheer hard work and commitment put up by poor weavers.
Two such weavers are a pair of 17-year-old twins who are tag-teaming their way in an effort to fulfil their dream of higher education. Sharmin Khatun and Shahana Khatun have been bearing their own educational expenses for over two years now in addition to contributing substantially to running a family of four.
Their perseverance paid off this year when they achieved GPA-5 in the Higher Secondary School Certificate exams from the Chaprail Abu Bakkar Biswas and Moksed Ali College. This rare feat was attained without any extra coaching except for English which they were taught for free by Ashaur Rahman, a teacher of the college.
“We want to become lawyers in the future to prove that women too can reach the pinnacle of success,” said Sharmin.
Financial hardship, however, has dented their enthusiasm for the coming admission tests at Jagannath University and Dhaka University. Although they can make both ends meet now by weaving, they have no means of paying the charges for their studies and accommodation in Dhaka.
Their father Intajul Islam lives in Dhaka and can do little to support them with a meagre monthly income of Tk 5,000. Their mother Lovely Begum had undergone uterus and appendix surgeries and requires about Tk 1,500 a month for medicine.
Weaving a towel that brings in a profit of Tk 60 takes the girls around three hours. After taking care of their household chores and studies, they can produce around 20 gamchhas or so a month, using the single handloom they have.
Even after toiling so hard, they are finding it impossible to collect the money necessary for continuing their studies in Dhaka.  
"We already spent Tk 1,560 to buy admission forms and another Tk 11,000 for our enrolment at the UCC coaching centre in Jessore. We cannot afford to spend anymore," said Sharmin adding that Shahana has already given up coaching lessons to save bus fares that amount to Tk 800 a month for each.
"If we don't get financial assistance, we won't even be able to sit the admission tests which will be held in about a week," added Sharmin.
Moshiur Rahman, principal of Chaprail Abu Bakkar Biswas and Moksed Ali College, said the twins have upheld his college's prestige.
"I have very high hopes for the girls who deserve all the support from us," he said, beaming with pride.
Intajul Islam, now, has pinned all his hope on the benevolence of the well-to-do people of the country.
 "I'd like to earnestly request the benevolent section of the society to extend their helping hands so that my daughters can continue their studies unhindered," he said.