4 - Threads that Connect – South Asian weavers and embroiderers

Imaginations of women and their knowledges creativity, aspirations, fragility and exclusions are the canvas of this paper, which will take a deep dive into creative cultural practices that involve thread. Gossamer like threads of wool, intricately woven into carpets, all lovingly combed from sheep who are raised as pets in the Northern Valleys of Skardu, Pakistan. Fine cotton threads used to weave saris in Sri Lanka’s sea faring communities of Batticaloa and Kashmiri crewel workers  - threads that connect their ambitions, their futures, their desire for peace.  Women in the mountains and islands of Asia bring together communities as part of their craft making practices.

How does their knowledge and their love of practice influence their ability to be known and recognised for their work. What influence does their gender have on their ability to hold and generate knowledge that is tacit, and how this get recognition within and without the self? What role does their geographic location and its history have on their ability to be ambitious, their right to be visible and to be included in a digitally connected world? This paper sheds light on subtle inequities often overlooks or erased during crises induced by disaster and conflicts. The findings are grounded in empirical data obtained through ongoing longitudinal research in South Asia, utilizing critical participatory action research methodologies.