After her father and older brother flee the capital, Sidiqi becomes the only breadwinner for her five younger siblings. She teaches herself and her younger sisters how to sew and begins to make women’s clothing for local dressmakers. At great risk, and in secret, she builds up a successful business, starts a tailoring school in her home, and eventually employs almost one hundred friends and neighbours in the enterprise.
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana became a New York Times bestseller in the USA, and Sidiqi became the Afghan President’s Deputy Chief of Staff.
Source: LEMMON, Gayle Tzemach (2011). The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, New York: HarperCollins Publisher.
Digital sources:
- www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/one-afghan-woman-rose-dressmaker-policy-insider/ (retrieved 4th April 2016)
- www.gaylelemmon.com/the-dressmaker-of-Khair-Khana (retrieved 4th April 2016)
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