Stories
Mijwan: How a Small UP Village Became a Global Fashion Statement with Manish Malhotra
- •Mijwan, a village in Uttar Pradesh, is the ancestral home of poet Kaifi Azmi, who founded the Mijwan Welfare Society (MWS) to empower rural communities through education, employment, and self-reliance.
- •MWS focuses on creating opportunities for women and girls, particularly through training in chikankari, a traditional hand embroidery technique.
- •Manish Malhotra's association with Mijwan began in 2010, bringing the artisans' chikankari work into high fashion and showcasing it on couture garments, sarees, and lehengas.
- •The partnership provides skilled craftsmanship to Malhotra and paid employment and a global platform for Mijwan's artisans, fostering financial independence and skill development.
- •The collaboration has elevated chikankari from a rural handicraft to contemporary fashion, with Mijwan's work featured on runways in Mumbai and even Paris.
Key Questions Answered
Mijwan is a small village in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district and the ancestral home of Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi, who founded the Mijwan Welfare Society (MWS) to empower rural women through education and employment. Designer Manish Malhotra partnered with the initiative in 2010 to bring the local women's traditional chikankari embroidery into high-fashion couture.
The Mijwan Welfare Society was founded in 1993 by the celebrated Urdu poet and activist Kaifi Azmi to improve infrastructure, education, and economic opportunities in his native village. Following his passing in 2002, his daughter, actor and activist Shabana Azmi, took over as president to continue and expand his humanitarian work.
In addition to training women in traditional chikankari hand embroidery for economic independence, the Mijwan Welfare Society operates schools for girls, a computer training centre, and dedicated sewing and tailoring centres.
