In Jammu and Kashmir, unemployment crisis is pushing women into low-paying jobs

This is the final of a three-part series. Read the first and the second.

In 2018, Ifrat Rashid completed her post-graduation in education from Kashmir University, becoming the first in her family to get a Master’s degree.

The 29-year-old from Ganderbal town was confident it would lead to a government job. But her applications for vacant government posts were rejected. With the August 2019 lockdown and two back-to-back lockdowns putting a deep freeze on recruitments in Jammu and Kashmir, Rashid grew increasingly frustrated.

In 2019, she enrolled in a tailoring course at a vocational training institute in Ganderbal district. “I wanted to earn, and I realised that waiting indefinitely for a government job wasn’t an option,” Rashid said. “I was worried about what people would think. I even avoided telling anyone about it.”

Nevertheless, stitching garments soon became a source of income for Rashid. But she did not give up on her ambition and enrolled into another postgraduate degree in science.

Four years later, Rashid did manage to find a job, not because of her two post-graduate degrees but her skills as a tailor. “A private training institute approached me to teach tailoring to young girls,” she said.

Rashid soon realised she was not alone. “When I joined the course, I was surprised...

Read more