Sisters’ Stories: Zahra and Shatha launch a joint events business

Zahra and Shatha are two women who have recently been able to start an events business together, thanks to our livelihoods project with SEZ.

Previously, the two women had struggled to find good employment opportunities, and they told us: “It is really hard and challenging to graduate from university and not find any jobs to contribute to the community and play an effective role in bringing change.”

But after taking part in small business training and receiving funding through the project, the pair have set up an events company in Rojbayan village, which is located between Bashiqa and Bartella. The enterprise sees them cover local wedding and engagement parties, birthdays and graduation ceremonies, providing clients with professional video and photo footage.  They also have a section in their shop which is dedicated to stationery items.

As well as learning how to run a business and promote it on social media, they developed the skills needed to be more confident, solve problems and make key decisions, while they also received mental health support to ensure they can juggle their daily lives with the demands of work.

They can both now support their families financially, and as Zahra says: “It feels wonderful when we have money in our own pockets to spend as we want, and no longer have to ask for it from others.”

Shatha adds: “We are now more aware of our rights and responsibilities as females; we know what we need to present to our community.”

Although in the beginning they encountered some negative responses towards them as female business owners, community members have now fully accepted the idea, and many even prefer women to attend and cover their events as it was previously such a male-dominated industry.

In future, Zahra and Shatha also hope to bring other groups of women together, so they can share the knowledge and expertise they have both gained through the project.

As always, we just love seeing women thrive and grow through their own initiatives and ideas…