An artisan with a completed doll embroidered in traditional Afghan designs
An Afghan woman making a ragdoll outfit using traditional embroidery techniques for SilaiWali, a social enterprise in New Delhi that upcycles waste fabric and seeks to empower refugee women working there. All photos: Taniya Dutta / The National
Bishwadeep Moitra, a former journalist and graphic designer, and his wife Iris Strill, a French product designer, founded SilaiWali in India's capital in 2018
Zolaikha Kakar was a student when she fled Kabul in 2019 with her five sisters and mother. She works as a trainer at SilaiWali
Afghan refugee women at work at Silaiwali
The dolls are sold at concept stores and museum and art gallery shops in Europe, the US, South Korea, Japan and Australia
Silaiwali says each doll's creation supports sustainable livelihoods for their artisan makers
An Afghan artisan at work for Silaiwali
Most of the women working at SilaiWali belong to the persecuted Hazara community
SilaiWali has employed more than 200 Afghan refugee women since 2018
An artisan with a completed doll embroidered in traditional Afghan designs
An Afghan woman making a ragdoll outfit using traditional embroidery techniques for SilaiWali, a social enterprise in New Delhi that upcycles waste fabric and seeks to empower refugee women working there. All photos: Taniya Dutta / The National
Bishwadeep Moitra, a former journalist and graphic designer, and his wife Iris Strill, a French product designer, founded SilaiWali in India's capital in 2018
Zolaikha Kakar was a student when she fled Kabul in 2019 with her five sisters and mother. She works as a trainer at SilaiWali
Afghan refugee women at work at Silaiwali
The dolls are sold at concept stores and museum and art gallery shops in Europe, the US, South Korea, Japan and Australia
Silaiwali says each doll's creation supports sustainable livelihoods for their artisan makers
An Afghan artisan at work for Silaiwali
Most of the women working at SilaiWali belong to the persecuted Hazara community
SilaiWali has employed more than 200 Afghan refugee women since 2018
An artisan with a completed doll embroidered in traditional Afghan designs