MANSEHRA, Oct 20: A three-day exhibition of handicrafts made by women opened here on Saturday.

Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) organised the event in collaboration with Rural Community Council (RCC) where women from across the country, especially from Hazara division and Gilgit-Baltistan, participated.

MPA Sajida Tabbasum, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said the exhibition would encourage women to take their handicrafts to national and international markets and boost livelihood of the people affected by natural calamities in Hazara division.“These handicrafts not only earn foreign exchange for the country but also increase the livelihood of women and their families,” she said.

RCC coordinator Shahida Rehman told participants that her organisation had been working to internationally market handicrafts of women from Hazara and other parts of country abroad.

“This will ultimately increase the opportunities of livelihood for women affected by earthquake in 2005 and flashfloods afterwards,” she said.

Ms Rehman said she would soon take a group of women to Egypt for creating better opportunities to export their handicrafts.

TDAP director general Zahir Shah said the authority was striving to promote local products in international market and such exhibitions provided women with opportunities to showcase their products in national and international markets.

He said there were many in the society who were opposed to women’s activities and women had suffered a lot due to such opposition.

He, however, said the exhibition was enough to suggest that women were free to move around and exhibit their works products.

Mr Shah said it was high time that skilled workers and industry use modern techniques to maximise their earnings.

Also in the day, assistant district coordination officer Mansehra Ali Shahzad visited the exhibition and appreciated the quality of works displayed.