Exhibition promotes handicrafts made by women.

ISLAMABAD -- First Lady Begum Samina Alvi on Friday inaugurated a two-day exhibition titled Embroidering Dreams which showcased exceptional handcrafted products made by women across Pakistan.

The exhibition has been organised by Behbud Crafts Association in collaboration with the Islamabad Serena Hotel.

Begum Alvi expressed her support for the wonderful work done by the Behbud Association. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by a wide cross-section of people, including members of the diplomatic community, corporate sector and civil society.

Behbud, an organisation run entirely by women volunteers, has over the years evolved into a premier brand for ethnic and sustainable fashion. Inaugurated in 1972, it is a non-profit that focuses on empowering women.

Abida Malik, president of the Behbud Association, said: 'We are very grateful to Serena Hotels for inviting us to hold this exhibition.

This endeavour is to promote the crafts of Pakistan and the more we sell, the more work these women get. As long as entities like Serena keep supporting us, these women will have growing livelihoods. These women stay at home and are skilled in these crafts and we believe if we do not support them, these crafts will die out.'

Ayur from Kazakhstan said: 'This is the first year we are in Pakistan. I am very interested in this culture and these traditions. They are beautiful and of course I have already bought some.'

'Kazakhstan is also a Muslim country and these clothes are appropriate for a Muslim country. We also promote traditional crafts in Kazakhstan. In fact, next week we will go to the Behbud Centre where these dresses are made because we are so interested,' she said, expressing her surprise at...