Who are the women who create the tiny dots in these silk tie dye scarves?

Had I known what I know now, I would have made it a point to remember her name.

Back then, in Kutch, Gujarat, I had plunged head-first into the ocean of textiles I had dreamt about for 15 years. I was absorbing everything: the colors, the techniques, the sheer beauty of it all. What I did not yet understand was how much of that beauty began in the hands of women whose names are rarely remembered.

I wish I knew her name now.

What I do know is that she was one of many women who tie the tiny knots in the fabric that is transformed into beautiful bandhani, the Indian name for these silk tie dye scarves. Their work is essential, and yet they largely remain unseen. Men often design the scarves and dye them. But the tying, dot by dot, is done by women.

She was the wife of my tuk-tuk driver, Rafiq, who took me everywhere. The women who do this work come from all walks of life.

They tie upto four thousand tiny dots on a silk tie dye scarf, sometimes more

They do this work at home, fitting it around cooking, cleaning, children, and the thousand other tasks that fill a day. It is painstaking work. It requires speed, precision, and patience. They are paid for it, though not much. And still, this work continues, carried forward by women whose labor is everywhere in the finished cloth, even when their names are not.

Most remain unseen. A few are now breaking the mold and running enterprises of their own. That is a story for another day, and one I look forward to sharing.

These scarves are not just beautiful objects. They are the result of women’s labor, precision, patience, and skill, whether that work stays unnamed in the home or grows into women-led businesses that claim authorship and leadership more openly.

On International Women's Day, I want to honor these women.

If you choose to buy and wear bandhani, I hope you will see it not only as something beautiful, but as something shaped by women’s hands.

This International Women’s Day, support women’s work not only with words, but with what you choose to buy and wear.

Browse my bandhani collection