By Muhammed Aladdin
On the 1st of April, Egypt’s own Mariam Azmi from Akhmim, Sohag made history winning The Best Product Award for the year 2019 from Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa in Bahrain.
Azmi, who is a first-generation artist of the Akhmim Broderie – Embroidery Center, has been awarded the international competition for her design of a natural leather women’s bag that is decorated with small detailed embroidery depicting the colors and landscapes of the Egyptian countryside. If you are feeling inspired to start doing embroidery, but aren’t too sure about how to get started. Then you can easily get something like these machine embroidery designs to help you get started, you don’t even need a machine, you might be good enough to do the designs by hand.
Supported by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the project aims to empower the women of Upper Egypt to unleash their artistic talents in products that could help them attain financial stability. Mariam Azmi was one of the first women to sign up for the program and owing to her talent and hard work, she is now a highly-celebrated Egyptian icon.
Azmi was raised in Upper Egypt without learning to read or write. However, her continuous belief in her ability has allowed her to express herself in vivid, creative embroidery that tells of a spontaneous, natural artist of immense talent.
According to an announcement by the Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly, Mariam Azmi’s work earned her a spot on the shortlists for the Best Product Award for the year 2019 of H.R.H. Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa. Shortly after, she was invited to travel to Manama in Bahrain, where a celebration was thrown in her honor and she was awarded the competition’s prize, which is given once every two years.
Out of all countries in the MENA region, her work has been chosen for the award. The well-deserved victory comes over countries with a long and established history in handcrafts. Indeed, hers was one of the most beautiful entries.
Egypt is filled to the brim with a myriad of talented artists that await to be discovered. For more embroidery from the women of Upper Egypt, make sure to check Akhmim Broderie – Embroidery Center‘s official Facebook page.
WE SAID THIS: Congratulations, Mariam! Your country is proud of you.