How Sewing Is Creating New Futures For Women In Mumbai’s Ambedkar Nagar

In Mumbai's Ambedkar Nagar, a young man named Mohan Rathod grew up observing a kind of labour that rarely enters the city’s success stories. Like most women in his neighbourhood, his mother and sisters sacrificed their education to prioritise the household, stretched sparse budgets, and silently carried the weight of families with little recognition or opportunity. 

Those early memories of his mother and sisters' exhaustion would eventually shape the idea behind Hamari Silai (which translates to 'our sewing'), an initiative that empowers women with practical skills, financial literacy, and dignity.

Mohan saw firsthand how the absence of skills and financial access kept women trapped in cycles of low-paid work. But he also witnessed something else: how a single opportunity could shift that trajectory.

With his grassroots organisation, he enables underprivileged women to learn to stitch garments, open a digital bank account, withdraw money from an ATM, and claim agency over their financial lives.

In this interview, Mohan speaks about his childhood in Mumbai’s informal settlements, the inspiration behind Hamari Silai Foundation, and how skills and financial access can reshape women’s lives.

A Story Of Strength, Community & Belief

SheThePeople: Your foundation draws from your mother and sisters' stories. How did those stories first make you aware of the struggles women in your community were facing?

Mohan: I was born in Karnataka. Around 40 years ago, my family migrated to Mumbai in search of work. In the beginning, they slept on the footpath. After a few years, they managed to get a small house in the Dr BR Ambedkar Cuffe Parade community, a densely populated slum area in Mumbai.

From childhood, I closely observed the struggles of my mother and sisters. They used to go to Sassoon Dock early in the morning to clean fish. My sister dropped out of school to take care of me because I was very young. I saw my mother and sister cry many times because there wasn't enough money for basic needs like groceries. My mother used to stand in long lines at ration shops for hours.

I saw how this cycle continued because of a lack of education and limited job opportunities for women. Women in my community woke up at 4:00 a.m. every day, worked very hard, ate very little, and earned very little money. Their health was badly affected. Seeing all this, I decided from a very young age that I wanted to do something to bring happiness and dignity into women’s lives.

I studied at a municipal school and started working at 13 to support my family. I worked as a housekeeper, pantry boy, and office boy while continuing my studies. In college, I played football and joined an organisation as a coach, later becoming a head coach. I worked with many communities across Mumbai and taught children life skills through football.

During home visits, I met many families who shared their financial struggles and lack of work opportunities. Then COVID came. I lost my job, and many families lost their livelihoods. At the same time, there was a huge demand for masks. That moment became a turning point in my life.

I decided to start Hamari Silai with my friends to equip women with stitching skills and connect them to paid work. Many women stitched masks at home during the pandemic and, in doing so, generated income and supported their families amid deep uncertainty.

SheThePeople: Does sewing hold a personal significance in your life that influenced the creation of Hamari Silai?

Mohan: When my sister had to stay home to care for me, she shared her dream with me. She said she wanted to learn tailoring and have her own sewing machine so that she would not have to work at the fish dock and could work from home.

When I asked my father to buy a machine for her, he said we could not afford it. But my sister did not give up. She fought with my parents, enrolled herself in a tailoring course, and completed it. After that, she started stitching blouses and earning money. 

After her marriage, she moved back to Karnataka with her sewing machine. She started her own tailoring shop, and when her husband lost his job, she became the family's sole earner for three years. Her journey deeply inspired me. I realised that one skill can change everything. 

Tailoring changed my sister’s life. I began to believe that skills can transform women’s lives. -Mohan Rathod

I started Hamari Silai with my friends. I invested my own savings and borrowed money from others to buy sewing machines, rent space, hire trainers, and purchase materials.

My mother’s stories, my sister’s journey, and the realities of my community showed me that when women get skills and opportunities, they do not just earn money; they gain confidence and the power to change their lives. And that belief became the foundation of Hamari Silai.

SheThePeople: How do you believe sewing is connected to economic and social empowerment?

Mohan: When I worked with different communities in Mumbai, I saw that many women did not get a chance to study. Many girls got married early and became mothers early. They had many responsibilities at home. Society often told them that learning new things was not important. People said their main duty was only household work.

I also did a small needs assessment in the Cuffe Parade community. When I spoke to women, many of them said they wanted to learn tailoring. They felt tailoring was useful because they could work from home or nearby shops. Our centre is inside the community, and we have batch-wise timing. This helped women to join the course easily.

After the course, we help women to find work. Some women started working in tailoring shops. Some started taking orders from home. Some even opened their own small shops. Because of this, many women started earning money. This is economic empowerment. Tailoring is a skill that will always be needed. Clothes will always be made and stitched. With this skill, women can work from home and earn a regular income. 

But sewing is not only about money. When women leave their homes to learn a skill, they feel stronger. They meet other women. They start believing in themselves. Their confidence grows. Slowly, their role in the family changes. People start listening to them more. This is social empowerment. That is why we chose sewing. It gives women income, confidence, and respect. It helps them change their lives.

SheThePeople: What doubts or fears do these women carry that are not always spoken out loud, and how do you build that trust over time?

Mohan: Many women who join our foundation have doubts and fears that they do not always express openly. They worry about whether they will be able to learn tailoring, whether their families will support them, and whether they can manage household responsibilities while training. Some women also fear being judged by others or failing after starting the course.

We address these fears through structured support and clear communication. Before women join the classes, we conduct an orientation meeting with them and their family members. In this meeting, we explain what women will learn over the next six months, how the training works, and what opportunities they can expect after completing the course. This helps families understand the value of the programme and builds their support from the beginning.

We also create a safe and respectful learning environment where women feel comfortable sharing their concerns. Our trainers speak with women regularly and encourage them to learn at their own pace. Since the course is free and held in the community, women feel less pressure and more confident about participating.

We also share examples of women who have completed the course and started earning. Over time, as women experience small achievements and receive continuous support, their confidence grows, and their fears gradually reduce. In this way, trust is built slowly through consistent guidance, family engagement, and real learning experiences.

SheThePeople: Teaching someone to stitch is one thing, but teaching someone to use an ATM or open a digital account is another kind of power. Why is that shift so important?

Mohan: Teaching women to stitch helps them earn money, but teaching them to use an ATM or open a digital account helps them control their own money. Many women earn income but do not handle it themselves. They depend on others to withdraw money or manage bank accounts. When a woman learns to use an ATM or a digital account, she feels independent and confident.

This shift is important because it gives women ownership over their earnings. It strengthens their decision-making power in the family and helps them feel secure and respected. We believe that real empowerment is not only about earning money, but also about having the knowledge and confidence to manage it.

SheThePeople: More than financial literacy and skilling, how do you believe that your foundation can empower women (and, in turn, communities)?

Mohan: At Hamari Silai, we not only teach women how to earn. We help them see themselves differently.
Many women come to us thinking they are only 'helpers' in the family. Slowly, they begin to see themselves as learners, workers, and decision-makers. This change in identity is very important.

When a woman realises that her time, skills, and ideas have value, she starts changing small things at home: how money is used, how children are educated, and how decisions are made. These small changes may look ordinary, but they quietly transform families and communities.

SheThePeople: What emotional labour does this work demand from you that people outside the community may not notice? Has this work changed how you see yourself?

This work involves much more than teaching skills. Every day, I listen to stories of struggle, poverty, family pressure, and fear. Many women share their personal problems with us. Sometimes we cannot solve everything, but we still have to stand with them, support them, and give them hope. This emotional responsibility is not always visible to people outside the community.

There are also moments when women feel like giving up. In those moments, we have to motivate them again and again. This requires patience, empathy, and emotional strength. This work has changed how I see myself.

Earlier, I thought of myself only as a trainer or founder. Now I see myself as someone who carries the trust and dreams of many women. I have learned to be more sensitive, responsible, and humble. Working with these women has taught me that real strength lies in listening, understanding, and staying with people in difficult times.