Women Vendors in Karachi Find Independence Day a Time for Business and Celebration

As Pakistan prepares to celebrate its 79th Independence Day, the streets of Karachi are awash in green and white. Flags, bunting, balloons, and patriotic merchandise line busy roads, while the festive atmosphere extends beyond celebration — for many women, it’s also a rare chance to earn extra income.

Housewives, maids, and street vendors set up temporary stalls in markets and along main roads, selling everything from flags and badges to hats and T-shirts. For women struggling with inflation and limited job opportunities, the August 14 holiday offers a short but significant boost to their finances.

“August 14 is Independence Day, a day of happiness, so we also celebrate our happiness and earn a livelihood for the children,” said Shama Sikandar, a housewife running her first-ever roadside stall on Shahra-e-Quaideen. Inspired by other women working outside their homes, she decided to try her hand at sales. “It feels good to be working. I have seen many women even driving rickshaws, some riding motorcycles, some pushing carts, and others doing various jobs to earn a livelihood for their children.”

Seasonal vendors are a common sight in Karachi in the weeks leading up to the holiday, calling out to passersby and waving merchandise to attract customers. For 32-year-old maid and mother of three, Saima Babar, it’s a carefully planned venture. From her savings of 30,000 rupees, she stocks up on goods to sell during the holiday rush. “Thanks to Allah, the household runs, we manage one meal a day, and that’s fine, right? My children are doing okay,” she said. “By selling flags, I manage to save about 10 to 12 thousand rupees.”

Husna, a mother of seven, usually sells pens and keychains at traffic lights but relocates her stall every August to Sindhi Muslim. “On some flags, I earn 20 rupees profit; on others, 30 rupees. In this way, I make around 1,200 rupees a day,” she said, smiling as she handed a flag to a customer. “Our livelihood is made; there’s enough for bread, water, and lentils. It’s happiness for you, and it’s happiness for us too. Pakistan Zindabad.”

Even for long-time vendors, the season is a dependable opportunity. Sajan Kumar and his wife, Suman, have been selling flags on Shahra-e-Faisal every August for the past eight years. “As soon as August 14 arrives, we come here to sell flags,” Kumar said. “It’s a day of celebration. We sell every year. People buy them, celebrate, and also come with their children to stroll around. We manage to save around 10 to 15 thousand rupees.”

This year’s Independence Day celebrations, themed “Marka-e-Haq – the Battle of Truth,” kicked off on August 1 with a variety of events across Sindh and Punjab, including flag-raising ceremonies, cultural shows, boat parades, marathons, and even donkey cart races.

For women like Babar, the more the celebrations grow, the better the earnings. “The more people celebrate, the more purchases there are, right?” she said, her stall piled high with green and white flags fluttering in the Karachi breeze.