Once a housewife struggling to make ends meet, Khursheda Begum Khushi has now become a shining example of self-employment in her locality in Jamalpur.

The 45-year-old runs her boutique “Khushi Basralay” at Tomal tola, making a profit of around Tk 25,000 per month.

Her road to success, however, was a bumpy one.

Growing up in poverty, Khushi dropped out of school and was married off when she was only 16. After the birth of her daughter two years later, her husband Abdul Alim, a trader, was struggling to bear the expenses of the family.

Around 25 years ago, Khushi started working as an apprentice handicraft worker to ease her family's financial distress.

“One day, I went to my neighbour's home where I saw a woman doing embroidering on a 'nakshi kantha' [traditional embroidered quilt]. That's how I got the idea,” Khushi told this correspondent recently.

Khushi was just 20 when she landed the job at “Srijan Hastashilpo,” a local business entity. She had to work 12 hours a day for a monthly salary of just Tk 500.

“The payment I got for the laborious task was meagre but I was happy to get the opportunity to learn. I learned how to do embroideries on blankets, bed sheets, pillow-covers, sarees and other women's wear,” she said.

Appreciating Khushi's devotion, her employer increased her salary to Tk 1,500 after two months.

“With time, I started envisioning that one day I will launch an embroidery business at my home,” Khushi said.

With her husband's help, she got in touch with some Dhaka-based boutiques and brought panjabis. She did embroideries on them and thus gave herself a new income alongside her job.

After three years, she quit the job and joined another handicraft business

“Shotodal” as a designer in Jamalpur for Tk 3,000 a month.

She continued working there for five years and honed her skills, which led her to start her own business, recalled the entrepreneur.

In 2013, Khushi left her second job and began running a small business “Khushi Hastashilpo” at her home with Tk 20,000. After hiring a number of women to do different needle work at different scales, she appointed some women as “supervisors” to lead them.

Her business produced nakshi kantha, bed sheets, cushion covers, wall mats, and women's attire. Her workers' payment varies based on their skills.

Khushi told this paper that after being in the business for a decade, she had savings amounting to Tk 1,500,000. She invested all of it in her boutique “Khushi Basralay” in 2013.

Her husband was also involved in the business, Khushi added.

“I am proud of my wife as she has pulled out the family from hardship and established me as an honourable businessman,” said a proud Abdul Alim.

Maksuda Hasnat, executive member of Jamalpur Handicraft Entrepreneurs Association, said, “Khushi has set a rare example in the community by not only establishing herself as an entrepreneur but also by creating jobs for hundreds of women in need.”