AKHORA-In what has become known as Punjab’s suicide belt, men may be the ones taking their lives in an instant, but women are increasingly at risk of suffering over the long term.
A blue and white wooden sign marks the "stitching room" in the Gurdwara in the small village of Bakhora. The walls of the room are aligned with hand-drawn posters illustrating steps to making a "ladies kameez," or tunic. Samples of colorful bags, belts, and toys are scattered all around. A quiet hum fills the room as some 20 women huddle over sewing machines, at work on long and short stitches – "neat, ’til perfect," explains the instructor.
Preeti, one of the chattiest students, holds a sniffling child under her shawl as she sews.
"Why not come here? One would just be gossiping at home otherwise, sitting, doing nothing," Preeti explains. And here, she laughs, "we all get to gossip together."
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