News Flash
DHAKA, May 15, 2026 (BSS) - Handicraft industry is often a way for women to become economically empowered as it provides them with the opportunity to earn a livelihood and gain financial independence.
Nurun Nahar Akhter of Mymensingh is an example of someone who became economically empowered through the handicraft business. She saved her tiffin money during her student life and bought needles and threads and now she has overcome poverty. She received national award from the President as a successful achiever in 2025 in recognition of her success.
Her annual income, excluding labour wages and expenses, is now about Taka 15 lakh. She is now a well-known successful female entrepreneur in her area where many women have come inspired and joined handicraft business to overcome poverty.
A total of 120 women work daily in Nurul Nahar’s factory.
Recently, she was sitting in her showroom in the Batirkol area of Mymensingh and talking about her journey as an entrepreneur.
Born in Jamalpur, Nurun Nahar, daughter of Md. Golam Noor and Jasmine Akhter of Pathalia area of the district town, has achieved success by setting up her showroom on Batirkol Road in Mymensingh town and a handicraft factory in Muktagachha.
Recently, when this reporter visited an institution called 'Karunya Handicrafts' in Batirkol area, it was seen that she was working with a female worker, knitting with needle and thread.
She was decorating various handmade products including traditional Nakshi Kantha, sarees, three-pieces, and veils of Jamalpur. On one side of the shop, there are showcases and tables with various achievement crests.
Nurun Nahar got emotional when she told about the beginning of her entrepreneurial life.
“My father was a class-IV employee of the district administration’s office. I was the eldest of two siblings. Seeing that my father was struggling to run the family, I saved my tiffin money and started to buy needles and threads when I was in the third grade. At that time, I worked secretly to help the family. I passed my SSC in 2005 by working in a handicraft institution on a wage basis,” she said.
Due to poverty, she had to get married in 2007 at the age of 17 before she could complete her higher secondary education.
Her husband is Hafizur Rahman from Ishwargram in Muktagachha Upazila. He was working as a diploma engineer in a textile factory in Dhaka. But Nurun Nahar had to stay at her in-laws' house.
“My in-laws created an unbearable environment for me by making derogatory remarks about me, mentally harassing me, neglecting my food - all of this, just because I was interested in studying. Amid such a situation, due to dowry demands, mental harassment and disrespectful behavior, I was forced to return to my father's house in 2008, a year after my marriage,” she said.
Nahar said, “Later, on the advice of my classmates, I enrolled in the Bangla Department of Anandamohan College under the National University. Considering the financial condition of my family, I sold my jewelry and started studying on loan. Besides, I used to pay my expenses by giving tuition to girls from the mess and also helped my father.”
“Within two years, my in-laws tried to take me back, especially after my mother-in-law fell ill. I was forced to return to my in-laws. Immediately after my return, they started pressuring me to have children. I was also subjected to various slanders. Currently, my daughter is in grade six and my son is in grade three at an English medium school,” she said.
Nurun Nahar said, “In 2011, due to my husband's illness and job loss, there was a crisis in the family. I sold the jewelry given by my parents and bought some handicraft clothes for Taka 5,000 and started selling them door to door.”
“I bought a sewing machine on installments and started making and selling clothes as per orders. Gradually, the reputation of my designs spread, and the number of customers also increased,” she said.
She said, “On the advice of a female neighbour to open a shop, I started a joint business in 2016. I took a loan of Taka 500,000 from a bank and invested in my business. Although the business was doing well, my partner secretly signed the shop agreement in his own name and embezzled all the capital and products. I became complete deserted. Even though I fell ill due to mental stress and hardship, I did not give up.”
Referring to the new beginning, Nurun Nahar said, “I started my own shop in Muktagachha town in 2018 with a bank loan again called ‘Karunya Handicrafts’. I also gave another shop of electronics items for my husband. In addition to making clothes myself, I started training rural women by joining various organizations and involving many of them in my organization. After working hard, I paid off all the loans, purchased a land in Muktagachha, and built a shop and a house together.”
She said, “I started working with the vow of making helpless, poor, abandoned and underprivileged women self-reliant and started imparting training to them on my own initiative so that they can become self-reliant through handicrafts and cottage industries. So far, I have trained more than 1,200 women.”
Through this training, she said they have got the opportunity to stand on their own feet and are spending their days with dignity with their families and married lives.
Currently, Nurun Nahar has two shops in Muktagachha and Mymensingh.
Jamila Begum has been working at the 'Karunya Handicrafts' organization for about three years. Her home is in Charkharicha.
She said, “I am helping my family by working here. I am also making money.”
With hardworking and concentration, entrepreneur Nurun Nahar has already emerged as an 'icon' of women entrepreneurs in Mymensingh, said Naznin Sultana, Deputy Director of the Mymensingh District Office of the Department of Women's Affairs.
She said, “We support entrepreneurs including Nurun Nahar through loans and training. Nurun Nahar has been awarded at the national level. She wants to export her products abroad. We will provide her with whatever support she needs.”
