Ajida; [Author]

Shwettaj Jahan Tithi; [Facilitator]

Me in the mirror (embroidery)

Fultola (embroidery)

Embroidery (EMB)

Decorative

When Ajida was single, she used to love putting makeup on and look at herself in the mirror. Now that she is married with two children, she does not find the time for it anymore. She hopes to put makeup on again at her son’s wedding. The mirrors in Myanmar were much bigger than the ones here, but Ajida is still grateful for the mirror she has.

The art facilitator faced difficulty at first to make the women understand how to embroider this project, but they quickly created it once they understood. Single women often spend more time looking in the mirror and talking to themselves compared with married women, who are too occupied with work and children to find any time for themselves. The ones who do, feel upset that mirrors in the camp are much smaller than the ones in Myanmar. Most of these women avoid mirrors when they are upset or lose weight, but all are grateful for the invention of mirrors because, without them, they would be unable to see their reflection.