How Sarah Beydoun is transforming the lives of women in prison
In our fast-paced, social-media fuelled world, the word inspirational seems to be thrown around too often to describe people or projects that, frankly, don't deserve that accolade. When it comes to Sarah Beydoun, however, it would be an injustice not to call her an inspiration to her community and to aspiring entrepreneurs.
If you haven’t heard of the brand Sarah’s Bag before, or if you have only stumbled across images of its products on Instagram, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s just another fashion label.
But Sarah’s venture goes well beyond the handbag.
The Beirut-born founder and creative director’s journey began in May 2000, when she felt the need to combine her love of fashion and design with something meaningful.
“I was a sociology student and I started a social programme at Baabda Women’s Prison to train women on handwork and to transform that handwork into handbags,” Sarah told My Salaam.
“I soon realised that for this to be sustainable, I had to turn it into a social business, one that’s profitable but also can empower women who are in prison.”
“When we started scaling up, we began to work with women who had been released but were already trained from before. We get them to train other women so there can be a positive ripple effect.”
ROLE MODEL
Sarah is one of the Arab women highlighted on Facebook’s regional offering of #SheMeansBusiness, a programme designed to train female entrepreneurs on how to leverage their online presence. The designer is a perfect case study; after all, a lot of orders take place via social media.
According to Facebook, in the UAE alone, 74 per cent of users are already connected to at least one business in a foreign country; in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the figure is 63 per cent.
“At first I started in Beirut, but then I launched regionally and started to export to other Arab countries,” she continued.
Despite her expansion, Sarah continues to operate out of Lebanon, giving many women around her the opportunity to work. “I have 250 women working with me. Fifty of them are in prison, and the rest are women who have already finished their sentences or women who need to work from their homes.”
The team visits the prison once a week with raw materials and the designs required. The women then work on these designs, after which they are transformed into handbags by professional artisans. Asked if she’s ever faced resistance, she acknowledged that the women are already facing a tough time, so she cannot be demanding.
“You cannot expect them to be so professional that they overlook their own problems and state of depression,” she said matter-of-factly.
“We have a system where the women in prison produce for our shop, so they don’t have timelines, while the women not in prison are those who work on our international orders.”
It’s certainly a powerful business model. Some women have used their income to overturn wrongful convictions, while others have used it to support their families while they serve time. In 2013, Sarah’s Bag started to provide the prisoners with certificates of completion and work experience so that they’re able to find work upon release.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Running a social enterprise doesn’t come easy, and being a busy mother of two teenagers means that Sarah needs all the help she can get to continue expanding. She praises her mother and mother-in-law for providing a support system.
And the hard work has certainly paid off.
Sarah’s handbags have been spotted on the arms of personalities like Amal Clooney and Queen Rania of Jordan. But for the founder, the main highlight is what she’s achieving for those she works with.
“Last year, I was awarded the Business for Peace award, and that was great, but what matters for me is when I see the transformation of the women. When I see them become empowered by a skill that allows them to integrate into society easily. The biggest thing I have learned from my career is the importance of a productive woman who has her own income.”
Rachel McArthur