Ruwaida’s Dream Realized: From Fleeting Thought to Master Tailor

On cold winter day, fourteen-year-old Ruwaida was at home with her mother, who was sewing on the machine by the heater. Ruwaida was playing with the wheel of the machine and wondered secretly to herself, "Will I tailor with this machine when I am older?"

Little did young Ruwaida know that, many years later, her fleeting thought would become a dream come true. Not only that, but she would also become one of the most talented tailors in her community in Mosul.

Ruwaida remembers, "My hobby was sewing. My mom had a sewing machine and she was tailoring small items for the house. She wouldn’t even allow me to sit at the machine in case I damaged it. The moment she went out of the house, I would run to use the machine. But in those days, we didn’t know much about tailoring because we were confined to our home. We didn’t go out. My dad had a difficult temperament and didn’t allow girls to go out. That was our life.” Ruwaida tailored her first piece by helping her mother with pillows and doll dresses.

During those adolescent years, Ruwaida studied Islamic studies for three years at a university. During this time, tailoring courses were also offered at the university. However, Ruwaida could not attend the tailoring courses because she was only allowed to go out of her home twice a week, and that time was dedicated to her Islamic studies course. Ruwaida said, “But I would see the girls attending the tailoring course, and I would observe them from afar and get ideas from them. But no one was encouraging me or teaching me. My mom was not a professional tailor, and we didn’t have anyone in the family or among friends who was a tailor.”

At the age of fifteen, Ruwaida married. She soon became pregnant and had children. Ruwaida’s husband, Omar, had a temperament more difficult and conservative than even Ruwaida’s father. Omar would not allow Ruwaida to go out often, and Ruwaida could only see her parents every six months. However, as Ruwaida grew older, Omar’s support for her grew, and he gave her the freedom to go out. She then started to take a tailoring course. The course she took was not very informative, but Ruwaida continued practicing tailoring. Then, her father gifted her a new sewing machine, and from there, Ruwaida continued practicing at home.

Omar was also supportive of Ruwaida’s hobby. Ruwaida said, “My husband told me we don’t need you to tailor, but since it is your hobby, learn it. His financial situation was good even though we lived in a rented house.”

In those days, Omar was working as a vehicle paint technician in Erbil, but when the conflict of 2014 started, Omar couldn’t leave his family on their own in Mosul in the midst of conflict, so Omar left his job in Erbil. Since the family didn’t have the financial means to leave Mosul, they remained there despite the violence. Omar subsequently opened a new space for himself in Mosul to continue his work. However, during the conflict, his space was bombarded during air force attacks. Ruwaida and Omar completely lost their sources of income. During that time, they moved out of apartments nine times because they did not have the money to pay the rent.

During the conflict, Ruwaida and her family suffered immensely. Ruwaida remembers bitterly, “Life was very difficult during the conflict of 2014. Those were such difficult days. I would have my kids sleep early so that they wouldn’t ask for dinner. We were so negatively impacted.”

Eventually, Ruwaida started to work as a tailor.  “We didn’t even have a table. And I wrote on a plate on the door that I am a tailor even though I didn’t know the job well and had never learned it properly. Thanks to God, I started to work, and during the conflict, I was tailoring all the time. After the conflict, I continued tailoring and became a good tailor.”

Gradually, after the conflict, Ruwaida started to get more clients and Omar began to work again. Their situation improved slowly over time.

Earlier this year, the World Vision Iraq team, through the Safe Return Project, an Australian Aid Initiative implemented by World Vision Iraq on behalf of the Australian Government, visited Ruwaida’s home and learned about Ruwaida’s family, her financial situation, and her old small machine she has been using. Ruwaida said, “When they visited me at home, they felt sorry to see me tailor on my small machine.”

Ruwaida was eventually selected to participate in the Safe Return Project. Through the project, Ruwaida took business and tailoring training. Ruwaida noticed her tailoring skills improved and that the business training helped her gain a better understanding of how to run, manage, and market a tailoring business. Not only that, but through a grant she received, Ruwaida was able to buy more advanced tailoring machines, accessories, and equipment.

Today, Ruwaida has designated a room within her apartment as her atelier. She also employs eight tailors and trains around ten women on tailoring every month. These days, she tailors between one to three pieces a day. Nowadays, she also receives bulk orders for Islamic robes, hospital items, and school aprons.

With the expansion of her business, Ruwaida has become financially more secure and is able to provide for her family. However, Ruwaida’s two young children both require continuous medical support.

Ruwaida said, “Before the grant, I was in a very bad situation. In a week, I was making two or three pieces. I now have an atelier within my apartment. It is a very tight space. My children’s medical treatments are expensive. My son has asthma and suffers from obesity. His obesity is caused by the asthma medical treatments. I buy him pills to lose weight, treatment for his asthma, and I buy special dietary food for him. Also, my younger son has dairy intolerance and diabetes. His milk costs me 35,000 IQD (26.7 USD). Every week, I have to buy him treatment for diabetes, and it is a small glass bottle that costs 25,000 IQD (19.10 USD). It is difficult but before, I was borrowing money to buy these treatments for my children, while now I can buy them myself. It became normal.”

She continued, “Before, I was a small tailor. But with this project, I got to know a whole new world. I learned how to deal with people, clients, and merchants. I did not know anything like this before. I even got to know and make friendships with others at the training center.”

Ruwaida feels a sense of pride that she is not only fulfilling her childhood dream and providing for her family but also making a space for other women to learn, network, and support one another. The women who work with her are widows, orphans, and vulnerable individuals. Ruwaida admits she still does not have enough machines to accommodate all these women, and there is still more to do to help them. “I still need more help. My dream is to help any widowed, divorced, or vulnerable woman who comes to me. I get a lot of attacks from other tailors because of the low training cost I offer.”

She continued, “I wish to stand by people in need. It makes me content when I help them.”

As a consequence of the conflict of 2014, business owners in Ninewa have been struggling to run, improve, and expand their businesses due to a lack of access to finances, resources, and skills.

Therefore, the Safe Return project, an Australian Aid initiative implemented by World Vision Iraq on behalf of the Australian Government, was launched in Ninewa to help boost micro, small, and medium enterprises in the area. Through the Safe Return project, we have empowered 120 female and male business owners working in tailoring, confectionery, and dairy businesses in Mosul and Hamdaniyah through business and vocational training and grants.