Sadia is a middle-aged woman and mother of five (ages 7-16), living in Rawalpindi. She runs a small tailoring business from the from the home to raise extra income to supplement her husband’s earnings. He works at a steel mill and earns a regular salary, though with so many kids she feels her family’s finances are tight. Sadia’s mother cared for her daughters very much and believed Sadia would be best served by marrying within the family and arranged her marriage. After her marriage, she was sent from her home in Lahore to live with him in Rawalpindi. Sadia’s main motivation is to be a good mother and in particular to provide her four daughters the tools they will need to be secure and financially independent in life. She pushed her husband to support their daughters’ education - at least through secondary school. Monthly school fees are a burden, but she succeeded in making them a priority within the household.

Sadia believes she has a mind for business and when her daughters graduate she hopes to employ them to help her scale her tailoring business.