Blue Area is Islamabad’s most elite area. Its tall, shiny buildings and sprawling mansions speak of its inhabitant’s opulence.
On one of its pavements, however, sits a highly skillful woman who spends her day sewing footballs with her hands, which she then puts up for sale.
Abida Parveen says hard times forced her to take up this task. She is a mother of four, and her husband is unable to earn bread for the family due to his illness.
Her day’s labour provides her with Rs. 400-500, barely enough to put food on the dinner table. The family is also under a debt of Rs. 800,000.
But she doesn’t beg from anyone; it’s she and her needles which ensure the family doesn’t sleep hungry.
A poster next to her narrates her heartwrenching story to the people who pass by. Her only wish is that someone gets her a small house and pays-off her debts which would remove a massive burden off her.
