Zahra Rezaie showing her favourite design at the launch.
Two Afghan teens who call themselves “the two Zahras” worked on over 80 scarf designs in two months for a local fashion company.
Of these, nine were chosen for a collection that features 19 shawls and scarves, including a limited-edition item.
The Dignity Collection was launched at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) centre in Jalan Bukit Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.
The designs of Zahra Rezaie, 19, and Zahra Karimi, 14, were realised through a collaborative effort between local fashion label Innersejuk and Malaysian Social Research Institute (MSRI), a non-governmental organisation that works with refugee and asylum-seeker communities from the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.
Present at the launch were the Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, UNHCR Malaysia representative Thomas Albrecht and community-based protection officer Dr Susheela Balasundaram, Selangor Youth Community chief executive officer Nurul Azwa Rodzi, Innersejuk founders Azrul Izzam and Azwani Ahmad, chief executive officer Ezly Marzuki, chief marketing officer Aizuddin Danian, MSRI chairman Datuk Mohammed Ab Halim Ab Rahman and executive director Ida Hariati Hashim.
Zahra Karimi with one of her scarf designs. — Photos: RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
In a statement, Tengku Amir Shah said refugees should be given the opportunity to build their lives, encouraging the private sector, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, to play a part in creating such opportunities.
“If the measure of a society is its treatment of others, then it is very important, as a caring one, that we do our best to support and treat refugees in Malaysia with respect,” he said.
In his speech, Azrul urged locals not to assume that refugees were here to take away economic positions or privileges as they were merely seeking a safe haven from war and oppression.
He also expressed hope that the project would raise awareness of the challenges faced by refugees.
The two teens served as apprentices with Innersejuk and learned a variety of skills, including commercial design and scarf production.
The objective was for them to each create commercially-viable designs for scarves that can be used as hijab.
As the teens cannot be employed legally due to their refugee status, Aizuddin said they were recognised as paid volunteers.
Their compensations, which were revealed to be a little more than the current Malaysian minimum wage, were given through MSRI which passed it to them in cash.
Priced between RM65 and RM290 each, the scarves and shawls in the collection bear symmetrical, geometric shapes or floral motifs.
According to an Innersejuk statement, 100% of the profits from this project will be returned to the refugee community served by MSRI, to fund education, development and welfare programmes.
Some 2,000 families are registered with MSRI.
Aizuddin said the sales target from now to December was RM500,000.
