The Dawoodi Bohra community of Vancouver hosted a virtual conference on Sunday 13 March to mark International Women’s Day. On this day, the Bohras remember with affection, devotion and respect one of the greatest women in Islam, Moulatona Khadija bint Khuwaylid (A.S), a remarkable businesswoman who, it was said, could trade dust for gold. At Sunday’s conference, three female Bohra entrepreneurs provided inspiring advice to an audience of local women and girls about the challenges they had to overcome to succeed in their chosen businesses.
Mubaraka Doctor is an Early Childhood Educator and has been working with children for 18 years. In her spare time, she enjoys making crafts. Mubaraka spoke about how she turned her passion for arts and craft into a successful business, creating felt and foam stories for children that teachers and parents purchase and use to create more engagement. Mubaraka captivated everyone with an amusing and engaging story on penguins and colours directed for a young audience to show how it promotes learning in little children.
Tahani Nezar is a new entrepreneur with a passion for crafts and beautiful items. She loves to work with her hands and began her creative journey with cooking. Tahani shared that she started with crafting for friends and family and has turned into a business for almost a year. She shared pictures of her beautiful and breathtaking work.
Husaina Leila, IMA Certified Makeup Artist from London School of Makeup, is an established makeup artist with a close-knit family of Instagram followers and a growing clientele expanding across India, Middle East and now North America. With over five years of experience in the field, she started her business in 2017 and has not looked back since. She is constantly learning and upgrading her skills with the fast-paced times and her expertise is evidently visible in her work. Husaina provided a useful information session on using simple everyday and natural items such as a potato as part of a daily skincare routine.
Husaina commented on wearing her rida in her professional role, saying, “I did face situations where my expertise was questioned with just one glance at my attire but I did not conform to society’s ideas of how I should look. I believe my rida is my identity and acts as a perfect ‘thinking cap’ for me while I’m at work. For me, it’s all about how you feel. If you exude confidence, the people around you will automatically feel the same.”
With a focus on hard work and education, many Dawoodi Bohras run successful businesses, creating jobs, generating wealth, and contributing to the growth and development of the nation. Women in the Bohra community play an equal role in pursuing an education and have thriving careers in industries such as IT, healthcare and business.
The Vancouver Bohras’ International Women’s Day event followed last month’s virtual conference to mark the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The fun and informative 30-minute session raised awareness among girls and young women looking to explore opportunities in IT and science, technology, trades, engineering, and mathematics.