Reuters
source: reuters
In a small sewing workshop in southern Gaza, Nisreen Al‑Rantisi pulls fabric from a pile and reshapes worn wedding dresses, trying to keep a fading tradition alive amid war and soaring costs.
Families said they have been struggling to find new wedding dresses and many search instead for places that refurbish gowns and other kinds of clothes for their children.
Importers cite delays, high shipping costs, and restrictions on materials, such as the crystals encrusted into the elaborate wedding dresses, as key factors behind the shortages and price hikes.
Many workshops have also been damaged during the conflict.
“We try to reuse the old gowns that we have, produce them by fixing them a bit, work on them, wash them, arrange them, shape them,” said Rantisi, adding that work initially relied on a bicycle-powered sewing machine due to electricity shortages.
Rantisi said she used to buy the fabric for about 120 to 150 shekels ($41 to $51) before the war, but now pays around 500 shekels ($171).
“This has caused a big rise in the cost of bridal dresses and children’s gowns. We are living in a vicious circle from the war that affected us,” she added.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency that controls access to Gaza, said in a statement it “allows and facilitates the entry of various clothing items, in accordance with requests submitted by aid organisations and the international community.”
COGAT said that it was not aware of any restrictions being imposed on materials such as crystals.
