Meet Maherin, who fought against her conservative Islamic family to kick start baking career

How often have you decided to do something but bound yourself due to familial restrictions? Sounds relatable? Today’s ‘The Winged Women’ story is about Maherin, the girl who managed to build a career in bakery despite belonging to a conservative Islamic family which was against her doing a job ever.

Let’s get into the story to know the baby steps that Maherin took to move closer to her dreams. Happy Reading!

Despite being brought up in a conservative Islamic family, I completed my graduation and wanted to work for some nice company. After giving a couple of interviews, I finally got hired, but a little later, my relatives started pressuring my mom not to allow me to go for my well-paying job.

Covid-19 lockdown struck, and things went downhill thereon. I had to remain home full time. I was super-pissed at my family for not letting me do what I wanted.

It was my mom’s birthday on July 1, 2020, and I decided to bake a cake for her. While I made it with love, the outcome didn’t even look like a cake, and I realised that I could never be a professional baker. Soon after, my sister wanted to go to a baking workshop, and my mom pressed me to join her. I bought the OTG and other bakery items and tried my hand at baking in September.

On one random day, I baked a chocolate truffle cake, and my family was amazed at how delicious it was. Next, I baked a cake for my friend’s birthday party. Out of the 7-8 cakes present, mine was the tastiest. People were fighting to get a share of my cake. That was my moment!

I finally decided to start my home bakery under the name – ‘Meher sweet treats’. I designed my logo, menu, and everything else myself without taking a single penny from my dad. It was a great feeling to work for something I love finally. The business soon started growing, and I had 200+ customers, but as they say, challenges will always come on your path to success.

I baked a beautiful cake for a close friend, but somehow a tiny portion of the cake’s design got distorted in travelling. The guests at that party were my friends, yet they passed sarcastic comments. Some said, “we have also made our own cakes. It’s not like you alone can bake in this world”. Others compared my cake to the best bakery in town and said, “it’ll take you years to make a cake like them”.

However, I didn’t let all of this stop me. After so many years into baking, I am proud to say that most people who taste my cake never go to any other bakery. My clients call me ‘magical’.

Back then, I had lots of restrictions as I live in a conservative Islamic family. My mom didn’t let me go out for long hours to buy stuff for my business. People started asking her to control me, but I didn’t want to get in the loop again. So, I took maa to shop with me. That’s when she realised why it took me so long in the market. Now, she doesn’t question me.

I am glad that I can run a successful business, but I miss my grandfather. He was the only person who supported me. Dealing with his death was hard for me. I even stopped taking orders after that. However, life has its ways, and I am back to baking cakes.

Today, I don’t just make the best cakes in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, but I also take online and offline bakery classes. I give free courses to those who can’t afford classes due to financial issues. Recently, I was invited to judge a baking competition at Fitbit Skill Development. My relatives used to say that I will have to shut the business post marriage as I won’t get a supportive husband.

Luckily, I am now engaged to a man who supports my talent like no other. Fun fact – the same relatives stuffed themselves with a home-made cake baked by me on my engagement.

Maherin is currently operating her business via Instagram page – @meher_sweet_treats. Her determination to achieve the unthinkable is a ray of hope for thousands of women and girls who succumb their dreams under societal pressure. Being born in a conservative Islamic family doesn’t imply you can’t follow your dreams. You just gotta find a way to fulfil them.

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