How Kashmir Got Its First Female Café Owner - Mehvish Zarger

The year 2018 will carve a significant place in Kashmir’s feminist history as the heavenly state got its first female café owner with Mehvish Zarger in February this year. She co-founded Me ‘n’ U Café in Srinagar and became the first ever woman café entrepreneur in Kashmir. It’s a tough world for women who want to take on leadership role typically anywhere in the world, but Kashmir is another ball game, yet there is no stopping Zarger. She overcame challenges and now seeks to build her café chain in the years to come.

In a free-wheeling conversation with SheThePeople.TV, she told us that she always wanted to start something of her own and particularly a restaurant as she herself is a big food lover. “After completing my graduation in Law, I decided to work on this. But even when I had just joined the university, I started visiting a lot of cafés and restaurant and that became an integral part of my life,” she said.

Mehvish's Childhood

Growing up in the Lal Bazar area of Srinagar, 25-year-old Zarger did not have an easy childhood. She was only six when her father died of cancer. “In those days I used to study in a local school but after my father’s death, my family’s financial condition deteriorated because of which I had to shift to another school that my mother’s cousin owned. I studied there till the sixth standard and after that, I was sent off to a government boarding school in Ganderbal.”

Me 'N' U cafe by Mehvish Zarger

After completing her school, she joined the Central University of Kashmir to study law. In 2017, she graduated then practised for a few months in the district court before venturing as an entrepreneur.

Studying Law

Talking about why she took up law, she said that she never wanted to become a lawyer. “Law has been my passion, but practising law was never a plan. I also want to go for higher studies in law, but never wanted to convert it into a profession,” she admits.

Deciding to Start Me ‘n’ U Café

One may think that Muslim families in Kashmir could be conservative but Zarger did not experience that within her family. Her family accepted her proposal of starting up her own café wholeheartedly. Although her mother had her initial reservations. "My mother wanted me to become a doctor, but I chose law then she wanted me to pursue a career in law but then I wanted to start my own café. I had to make her understand that while I want to study law further but I can do that along with managing a business,” Zarger added.

She came up with this idea of starting up a café last year in October. She started Me ‘n’ U in February in partnership with her brother’s friend, Yaser Altaf.

Mehvish Zarger

Challenges

After deciding to start her own café which was never even thought of by any Kashmiri woman before, her major challenge was to convince her own self to take on the task. “The society that we come from ascribes gender stereotypes on us. According to our society girls can’t run a business and so we also start thinking on the same lines. The first battle is within your own self—am I fit for this role as, apparently, girls don’t run cafés? But once you convince your own self, then people stop mattering and what they say becomes a faded voice.”

ALSO READ: The truth about women journalists in Jammu and Kashmir

“There were people who used to criticize me initially saying you are a girl and you won’t be able to do it but if you focus your energies towards your goal, then these things don’t matter,” she added.

While it did affect Zarger but she says that when you have the determination to do what you set out to do, then that’s what stays.

Her Inspirations

Zarger takes inspiration from other women who have been pioneers in their fields. “Other than that, my inspiration comes from my mother and the feeling that I want to make her feel proud.”

Media has also played a key role in highlighting her café and overcoming some of the challenges. “Since regional media covered my café, I see more and more people appreciating me and my work. Nowadays that’s what is inspiring me to work harder,” she states.

“The society that we come from ascribes gender stereotypes on us. According to our society girls can’t run a business and so we also start thinking on the same lines. So the first battle is within your own self—am I fit for this role as, apparently, girls don’t run cafés? But once you convince your own self, then people stop mattering and what they say becomes a faded voice"- Mehvish Zarger

Women’s Empowerment in Kashmir

Talking about the idea of women’s empowerment in Kashmir, she said, “There are many women who are doing great work in Kashmir. I am not the first woman entrepreneur of Jammu and Kashmir. There are so many who have worked much harder and overcame several challenges so it feels good when women from our society march forward and break glass ceilings. I have never bought the idea that men and women have prescribed gender roles.”

Zarger only looks towards the future of her café now. She wants to make a renowned brand out of it while maintaining its quality. In just six months of opening the café, she recently inaugurated the second outlet in Munawarabad in July.

On asking how does it feel to become the first woman founder of a café in Kashmir, she responds by saying that she feels elated.

“There are so many girls here who have such big dreams and they have the capability to fulfil them. So, if I fulfil my dream and show them that it is a possibility, then it instils a faith in them to take a step forward towards their dreams as well.” - Zarger

Zarger’s grit and dedication towards her dream, her family’s support and her self-confidence helped her to become the first café founder in Kashmir. It expands hope that now more such women will rise towards their dreams after hearing her story.

More Stories by Poorvi Gupta