She empower women using art has a medium

Here is a woman who is serving society using art has a medium. The main objective of this 49-year-old Women Nishhat Afza is to create platform for downtrodden women and to improve their economic and social standards.

Being a resident of NR Mohalla, she is giving training for poor people and physically challenged children at free of cost. Interestingly, without the help of financial aid or loans from any government or private bodies she has set up 'Ayman Educational and Social Trust (a vocational training center for creative art and design) in 1989, to impart training in art courses like traditional art, painting, fashion designing, pottery and ceramic works.

After the completion of training, she has employed most of the women in her Center 'Curiosity' for manufacturing various handmade handicrafts which are marketed at various gift shops across city.

So far, she has imparted training for about 1,500 women and for about 10,000 children in various organisations like Odanadi, RUDSET, NGO's, Samajas, Ladies Associations, and much more. She also conducts summer camps in various art works, personality development, moral science, calligraphy, drawing and painting. She even teachers children how to use waste materials and create artifacts out of it.

Being a mulch-talented women, she creates numerous number of handmade artifacts. She creates artificial bonsai trees, pottery, ceramic works on pottery, dry flower arrangements, traditional tanjore and modern art paintings, tye and dye boutique art works, candle making, vegetable arrangements, magnetic fridge holders and much more and has used the same for the upliftment of women.

She has bagged about 30 awards for her service, which include State and National awards. She will be receiving Bharat Vikas Ratan Award next month in Delhi. Apart this she has been honoured with Karnataka Bhushan Award and has won four times Dasara awards for exhibiting her creatives work during world famous exhibition. She has the honour of judging various competitions and has participated in various national and international conferences.

Hailing from middle class family, she is serving society from her childhood. She says, during her school days she has taken part in various service programmes conducted by Rotaract Clubs and it has motivated her lot for social services.

She says service to mankind is service to nation and god. Expressing happiness for her journey with Ayman group from past 23 years, she says, 'When I started art classes, women from all walks of life used to come for classes and share their problems. I felt women suffering mainly as they are economically weaker and thought of making them to built self confidence. Later, started imparting free education for women, children and physically handicapped to built confidence in them to leave independently. I want to continue my service for women and children for ever.'

'In the money generated through selling gift items, only some extent is used for personal and remaining amount is used to educate poor children and various other service activities,' she says.