The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Entrepreneur of Inspiration

When Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, author of The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, first met Kamila Sidiqi, it was to interview her as the basis of a case study in female entrepreneurship for Harvard Business School. Kamila had overcome enormous odds to begin a home-based seamstress business in her neighborhood of Khair Khana in Kabul, Afghanistan, a business that grew to encompass dozens of female workers (and some males, like one of Kamila's brothers who proved to be particularly adept at embroidery) and that became not only a steady wage-provider for all its workers but also a teaching cooperative and a sanctuary. It is this aspect of Kamela's story -- how she provided a sanctuary of productivity, creativity, and hope amidst the oppressive practices of the ruling Taliban regime -- that transformed the business school case study into an inspirational exemplar of how one person can make a huge difference, no matter the odds against her.

In 1996, Kamila was a newly trained teacher, ready to make her mark on the world. But then the Taliban rolled into Kabul, laying down an oppressive and regressive regime that condemned women to virtual imprisonment in their homes, while forcing many of the men to flee (including Kamila's father and later her older brothers) for fear of imprisonment or being forced to fight for the Taliban military. Stuck at home with little to do (other than reading and rereading volumes of poetry and novels) and becoming increasingly impoverished, Kamila searched about for some way to alleviate the combined stresses of boredom, fear, and poverty.

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