Muslim Woman in Ahmedabad bridges divide with delicacies

AHMEDABAD: Amid a growing veg and non-veg divide in the country, a 27-year-old Muslim woman is connecting communities through her lip-smacking non-vegetarian delicacies in Ahmedabad.

Tanzin Makwada comes from a conservative Muslim family where not many women get a chance to realize their dreams. The Juhapura resident was only allowed to study till class 5, despite a strong desire to make a mark for herself.

Thanks to a forum called Association of Muslim Entrepreneurs, women like Tanzin have to no longer hold back on their dreams. The association trained Tanzin, who is now successfully running a non-veg dabba. Interestingly, her home delivery service is quite a hit among non-Muslim families in Satellite, Vastrapur, Bopal, Naranpura and Ambawadi.

From finger-licking mutton and chicken biryani to scrummy keema parathas, Tanzin daily plans the menu according to her customers' tastes and preferences. Dabba costs anywhere between Rs 150 and Rs 300, depending on the order.

"Almost 90% of my customers are non-Muslims who love to savour all kinds of biryani and salads. I always wanted to serve those people who can't eat non-veg due to family restrictions," Tanzin said.

She said, "I belong to a middle-class conservative Muslim family where women don't get a chance to study. My coming forward will inspire other minority women to express their opinions and be heard."

Brainchild of a city student, Abrar Ali Saiyed, and his friend Javed Rehmat Ullah, the association helps Muslim entrepreneurs grow their business through invaluable coaching and technical advice free of cost. At one of the training sessions in the city, Tanzin was introduced to a medical tourism guy Asrar Kadri and a tie-up was forged. Kadri helped Tanzin grow her business further. She extended her dabba service to a large number of African patients who are attracted to Gujarat due to low cost and world class medical facilities.

Interestingly, the forum is also helping bridge the divide between two communities. So far, all the meetings have witnessed non-Muslim experts counselling Muslim entrepreneurs.