HUZAIFA BAZAZ A PERFECT ROLE MODEL FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF KASHMIR

With innovative and powerful methods, Kashmiri women are successful in almost every field. The women of the valley showed an interest in financial independence and came up with unique ideas for starting their own business. The story of two young women, Huzaifa Bazaz and Arifa Jan, gave us the opportunity to recognize and appreciate the contributions of Kashmiri women in various fields. Huzaifa Bazaz, a young entrepreneur with an MBA from Srinagar says, her web-based adventure “Style Hub by Huzaifa Bazaz” isn’t simply a business, rather it is a feeling for her. Her online business was an idea, not just a business. She started a business with two of her friends while studying Bachelor of Business Administration.

“The idea for an online cosmetics website came to me in my 12th standard, when I was a member of a beauty company that used to sell cosmetics and other beauty products. They offered members to sell their products to customers. I really liked the idea. It crossed my mind when I took it to social media. It’s a start. I used it as a point of contact and got good reactions from people,” Huzaifa said. Initially, when she started her online business in 2015, the business had some shortcomings and she decided to share it with her friends. “When there was a problem at work, I explained the situation to my friend Mehak Bilal, who is now my partner, and she supported me. Initially, my idea was to just sell the beauty products I was working on, but when my partner Muneeb Jeelani found out about this, he suggested to add more products, including cosmetics. The online store was designed to help young people. “We got good reactions from young people because of our work,” says Huzaifa.

Huzaifa said, “This is the main reason why we chose social media as a platform for our business, especially for boys and girls. We deliver 10-15 products a day. We are a team of three. If we can expand, our business will be huge.”

Also, businessman Arifa Jan has worked to bring back the old rules. Namda – carpet made of wool. Normal Namda has disappeared from Kashmir due to lack of skilled people and insufficient equipment. Jan is a business graduate continuing her education at the Craft Development Institute(CDI). “After joining the CDI, I learned a more about the craft. I learned how much our handicrafts have declined,” she said. In 2020, Arifa was awarded the Nari Shakhti Purskar, which was presented to her by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. In 2018, she was elected as the Head of the Women’s Branch of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and received a state award. In addition to educating more than a 100 women, she is also working to increase the wages of those doing business from Rs 100 to Rs 450.