Keeping Crafts Alive
eShe|February 2021
Author and social entrepreneur Mehr F Husain is chronicling and reviving the Subcontinent’s artisanal heritage
Manasvi Jerath
Keeping Crafts Alive

Journalist Mehr F Husain’s life took a turn towards heritage conservation – and especially the crafts and textiles that are indigenous to the Subcontinent – when she began research for a book. “Why can’t India and Pakistan come together over these ancient fabrics and craft that have stood the test of time?” asks the Lahore-based author and founder of a social enterprise that makes trendy accessories using traditional crafts and fabrics. Indeed, her new book Pakistan: A Fashionable History is a case in point: it includes a foreword by Indian couturier Tarun Tahiliani.

Besides working in prestigious Pakistani publications for 13 years, Mehr’s work was featured and quoted across borders, even in an FPA Award-nominated article in The Economist’s 1843 magazine. After founding Pakistan’s first weekly humour blog whilst living in Saudi Arabia, Mehr decided to branch out into the world of books. Since then, she has had two short stories published, one of which is now part of the English curriculum in Pakistan schools.

Raised in England and Saudi Arabia, Mehr also had a stint in standup comedy, tackling issues related to desi motherhood. “I feel South Asian women have been suppressed for far too long when it comes to the ‘holy’ topic of childbearing and being a ‘maa’,” smiles the mother of two boys.

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