Arifa Jan (born ) is an Indian activist for felt rug making in

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. Jan was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar on 8 March 2020.

Life

Arifa Jan was born . She is known for reviving the

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

art of rug making known as Namda. She graduated from the Craft Development Institute, Srinagar and she was involved in a project based on Namda textiles. Namda rugs have been made since the 11th century and they are not woven but felted; layers of wool fibre are beaten together and then brightly embroidered. The older areas of Srinagar are known for this, but some skills like dyeing are no longer popular careers. She has created three manufacturing facilities that employ 25 people and 100 women have been trained to produce these felted rugs. The first of the facilities was in the old part of Srinagar known as Sekidafar and later she created similar organisations in two other areas of Srinagar, Noorbagh and Nawa Kadal. Jan became one of what was called the "Magnificent Seven". These were seven women chosen to handle the Prime Minister's account on Women's Day. The others were Chennai-based social worker Sneha Mohandoss,

bomb blast An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

survivor

Malvika Iyer Malvika Iyer (born 18 February 1989) is an Indian national, a bilateral amputee from an accidental blast while picking up a diffused grenade, a social worker, and a National Awardee. She is an international motivational speaker and a disability ...

, Kashmiri Numdha mushroom farmer

Bina Devi Bina Devi (born ) is an Indian leader who became known for inspiring women to become businesswoman through mushroom cultivation. Nicknamed 'Mushroom Mahila' for popularising mushroom cultivation, Bina Devi gained respect and became the Sarpanch ...

, urban

water conservationist Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used ...

Kalpana Ramesh Kalpana may refer to: Film and television * ''Kalpana'' (1948 film), an Indian Hindi-language dance film * ''Kalpana'' (1960 film), a romantic Bollywood film * ''Kalpana'' (1970 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''Kalpana'' (2012 film), an I ...

, Maharashtra Banjara handicraft promotor

Vijaya Pawar Vijaya may refer to: Places * Vijaya (Champa), a city-state and former capital of the historic Champa in what is now Vietnam * Vijayawada, a city in Andhra Pradesh, India People * Prince Vijaya of Sri Lanka (fl. 543–505 BC), earliest recorde ...

and lady mason

Kalavati Devi Kalavati Devi (born 1965) is an Indian mason who became an award-winning toilet builder in Kanpur. She transformed her own community by installing a 50-seat toilet and then moved to other communities. She has helped build 4,000 toilets improving ...

. On the same day she was given the Nari Shakti Puraskar. President Ram Nath Kovind awarded her one of twelve awards. The awards were made on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

in New Delhi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jan, Arifa 1987 births Living people Indian activists People from Srinagar Rugs and carpets Nari Shakti Puraskar winners