Hyderabad: Have you ever heard of a place that is only for women and run by women? Well, there is one in Hyderabad’s Tolichowki’s Aditya Nagar by the name Pearls Square Café. It is a hangout place that is exclusively for women and run by women. The place is not only limited to a cafeteria, but also has a catering service, gym, yoga, workstation, and rooftop for kitty parties and get-togethers.
The founder of Pearl Square is 40-year-old Abida Fatima. She founded this unique space on March 15, 2021 with the motto “fulcrum for women by women”.
Speaking to Siasat.com, Abida said the idea to establish a place like Pearl Square came because the city lacks safe and open spaces for women. “For any other hangout spaces girls and women have to constantly keep a watch for their own safety and security. I always wanted a place for myself and other women to feel safe and comfortable, so here I’m with a passion to cater to the women community,” she says smilingly.
Pearl Square has six staff members who juggle their duties according to demand. The staff also includes working mothers and students who perfectly balance their work at home and at work.
At the time of our visit, we got a chance to meet a handful of girls who were hanging out with their friends. Mehrunnisa an 18-year-old girl who frequently visit the place said my mother is not worried when I say I’m going to Pearls square with my friends. This a small cosy place to come and chit chat with friends and have a plate of Pani Puris, she added.
Apart from all these, Pearls Square also offers driving classes for women with a female instructor. According to a staff member, many neighbourhood women learned driving because of this initiative.
Furthermore, Pearls Square is not only a place for women to relax but also a place for women to work. Women may reserve tables at the workstation in Pearls Square and work there, an idea that is highly relevant to the work-from-home lifestyle we live in.
The founder of the café while speaking to this reporter, stated that spoken English classes will be held for girls and women for a period of one month, starting from January 17. The classes will be held adhering to all COVID-19 norms, she stressed.
According to a gym instructor at Pearls Square, many ladies want to live a healthy lifestyle. But they don’t get such opportunities; it’s quite uncomfortable for Muslim women to wear sportswear and work out in a unisex gym as they practice wearing hijab. But at Pearls Square when there are all women around they are very comfortable and they concentrate on the workout properly, she stated.
Abida Fatima apart from being an entrepreneur also uses her premises for social help services too. She said during the second wave of COVID-19 lockdown, she along with her young and passionate team provide catering services to a quarantine centre in the city for a month. They served breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner to the quarantine facility.
