She is humble enough to admit but Tahira Petiwala, after having designed Ridas (traditional burqa of the Bohra community) for years at the basement of her home, has helped grow a new form of cottage industry in Pakistan.

This small, yet slowly, rising industry comprises mainly of women entrepreneurs like Tahira, who have been designing and making Ridas in small single-room workshops at their homes for years. By doing so, they have helped Rida making thrive as an industry.

"It is a running business that ensures growth for almost everyone attached to it," says Tahira, 45, who has been running a shop in Najmi market in Saddar for the past three years now. Tahira's designs cater to the Rida observing women of all age groups and made for almost every occasion. From a working girl to a house wife, Tahira's Ridas help every Bohra woman look trendy.

However, she is specifically famous for her bridal collection and wedding Ridas. So much so that she has now earned a brand name for herself 'Jamali's', she reveals with a broad smile on her face adding sheepishly that exhibitions of her collections are one of those Rida-exhibitions in Karachi that every woman in the Bohra community wait the entire year for.

"More and more Bohra women are opting to observe the Rida now." Tahira tells that the recent wave of adhering back to one's own identity this decade has inspired the Bohra community the same way as it has inspired other communities in the world. "Bohra women see Rida as a way of self recognition and therefore are blending it more into their lives now," Tahira adds that this perception has increased in the market for Rida makers and designers in Karachi with a lot of them now doing this on commercial basis. "The situation is quite different than the time I stepped in to the business," she recalls.

There were not enough Rida makers in Karachi when Tahira started designing Ridas on commercial basis a decade ago. Bohra women had started observing the two paired dress for full time and as a religious obligation just a few years ago with women in Karachi in 1980s along with the rest of the world.

The members of the Bohra community in Karachi term it a revolution as on the one hand, it revived a religious tradition, while on the other hand it revolutionised the way Bohra women would dress. This stressed the need for more Rida makers to cater the growing demand as there are over 35,000 to 40,000 Bohra community members in Karachi alone with roughly 16,000 women.

Earlier though, "very few women in Karachi were skilled in Rida making that time," Tahira explains that the cutting and stitching of Rida is an art that every one is not perfect at and when it was made an obligation only a handful of women in Karachi were well versed with it. "Those included women in the families of the religious leaders ofthe community," she tells adding that those women therefore provided as an institute for the Rida makers of today who are fast making the trade an industry now.

This was the background that inspired Tahira to become a Rida designer herself. "I had a motto of work," she tells adding that though she got married at an early age, she wanted to utilize her creativity in some constructive work. "I wanted to make Rida look beautiful enough to be observed by every girls with zeal instead of mere obligation, "she says adding that it was very challenging to make the Rida fashionable while retaining its religious significance. "But I accepted the challenge," Tahira continues that a decade after working to overcome the challenge, she is satisfied that she did not fail in that.

Having learnt to cut a Rida from her mother and applying her gifted skill of designing, Tahira was able to put some 75 samples of unique Ridas at an exhibition as her debut. Tailored and stitched by herself in the small basement of her husband's house, these Ridas were received as hot cakes by Karachi women. "They were all sold out," Tahira tells.

From there began a not-so-long journey of the designer that has sold hundreds of Ridas at dozens of exhibitions so far. This journey has not only helped Tahira establish herself as a Rida designer, but also made her content with the fact that she was able to make Rida in Pakistan trendy enough to attract those local buyers who would otherwise frequent Indian markets for the purpose.

"India is far ahead of us in Rida designing," she says because it caters to a large market of Bohra community residing in the country and is years ahead of Pakistan in terms of bridal wear. "So much so that a heavily worked upon bridal Rida may cost Rs50, 000 there," Tahira tells "while even the most expensive and heavily worked upon Rida in Karachi doesn't exceed Rs11, 000 rupees," she adds.

The raw materials for Rida available in India are so unique that she visits Indian markets at least once a year to shop for them. "Sometimes I spend Rs100, 000 shopping from a single shop alone in India," Tahira adds that depending on the demand of buyers she even shops form there twice a year.

Tahira adds that though there is a long way to go to compete with India in terms of this trade's industrial value, Pakistan has a lot of potential in this business and the industry is fast growing and establishing a market. "No one related to this industry is on the floating point, every one is growing," Tahira says.

It is estimated that almost 100 tailors, some 150 shops and an uncountable numbers of embroiders and  block printers are associated with this business on commercial basis, while there is no record of those women making a couple of Ridas put up on sale occasionally. "Every next door woman making a Rida earns quite some money against it, occasionally," Tahira says and provided that this industry is organised and administered well, it is no wonder that it would fast become a new form of cottage industry catering to the local as well as clientele in America, London, Dubai, Canada and other countries from where "members of the Bohra community visit my shop and buy even the most expensive Rida," she adds.