Chetna Singh uses her love for art to battle abuse against women
Chetna Singh’s artistic skills started out as a hobby and led her to a growing online business. “I love to paint and I am very interested in fashion so I combined the two to make my art scarves,” says Singh.
The designer wears many “scarves” as a mother of three and an emergency medicine physician. “It is quite a balancing act,” says Singh. “I wish I had some knowledge in the field prior to launching, it would have made my life easier.”
Singh says at first, she took every criticism or failure to heart. “I have since developed a thicker skin and learned to take failures in stride, balancing it with the successes, so that I can keep the creative force strong,” says Singh.
Singh was born in Patna, India and it was that upbringing that inspires much of her work. She also takes pieces from Buddhism and now her love for travel.
But it was her passion for battling violence against women that has the most meaning for the New Jersey, U.S. resident. “I have always felt very strongly about domestic violence,” says Singh.
“The wonderful thing about this is that it does not mark out the man as the perpetrator, but rather as a voice against the violence.”
The woman on the scarf is surrounded by pledges made by men all over the world to challenge violence against women.
She created the “Breakthrough” scarf for the Ring the Bell campaign which calls on men to take a stand against violence against women. “The wonderful thing about this is that it does not mark out the man as the perpetrator, but rather as a voice against the violence,” says Singh.
Violence against women crosses all cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. “I see it often in my line of work in the Emergency room, masked as other maladies,” says Singh.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the scarf goes to Breakthrough Organization which works to prevent early marriages, sexual harassment, domestic abuse and gender based sex selection in India.
Singh wants other women to know they can follow their dreams if they listen to positive advice and aren’t afraid to ask for help and network. “Never lose sight of why you started the business in the first place,” says Singh.