Srinagar, Nov. 13 -- When I began my postgraduate research on women in pashmina work in Baramulla, I imagined I was studying a traditional art form.

I did not expect to walk into a world where women's hands sustain an industry that forgets their names.

Every household I visited had the same sound in the background: the soft, steady whirr of a spinning wheel. It was almost musical.

But behind that sound lay a silence about ownership, pay, and recognition.

Pashmina is a symbol of heritage, patience, and pride in Kashmir. A single shawl can travel from a small village in Baramulla to a boutique in Delhi or Paris, fetching thousands of rupees.

But the woman who spins the wool into fine yarn may earn less than what a city cafe charges...