Thatta Kedona

Culture is a Basic Need

Senta Maria Anna Siller Awarded Sitara-e-Pakistan
Saturday, August 16, 2025

The Government of Pakistan has announced the prestigious Sitara-e-Pakistan award for Dr. Senta Maria Anna Siller in recognition of her remarkable contributions to empowering village women—especially through the internationally acclaimed handicrafts project Thatta Kedona, which she initiated in 1993. Dr. Siller first visited the village Thatta Ghulamka Dhiroka in District Okara in October 1990, accompanied by her husband Dr. Norbert Pintsch. They were invited by their student Amjad Ali, a young man from the village studying Graphic Design and Mass Communication at the Lette Verein Berlin, where Dr. Siller taught.

What began as a spontaneous visit during Amjad’s holidays turned into a life-changing mission. Touched by the warm hospitality and yet deeply moved by the poverty they witnessed, Dr. Siller felt compelled to make a difference—especially for the village women. Six months later, she returned with a team to film the documentary "Amjad’s Village," which premiered at Cinema Babylon in Berlin in 1991. When Dr. Senta Siller visited Pakistan’s major cities, she was surprised to find no dolls that truly represented the cultural richness of the country. However, she had noticed that women in the village of Thatta Ghulamka Dhiroka traditionally made simple stuffed dolls. Inspired by this, she initiated a unique project to train girls and women in creating high-quality handicrafts — most notably, beautifully detailed ethnic Pakistani dolls representing the diverse cultures and regions of the country.

To ensure authenticity, Dr. Siller herself travelled to northern Pakistan to study traditional attire, including that of the Kalash people, believed to be descendants of Alexander the Great’s soldiers. Over time, these handcrafted items were not only showcased in major Pakistani cities but also internationally — particularly in Germany — under the name Thatta Kedona.

The project brought more than just recognition. It offered the village women a steady source of income, enhancing their self-esteem and improving their position in a traditionally patriarchal society. But Dr. Siller’s vision went far beyond dolls. She contributed immensely to the welfare and development of the village. She helped build and furnish the primary school, provided students with free books and stationery, and played a key role in introducing solar power and later connecting the village to the electricity grid. Thanks to her, a proper asphalt road was constructed, connecting the main road to the Women Art Centre, which was later renamed Senta Siller Design Center (SSDC) in her honour. Dr. Siller also initiated a clean drinking water project that serves the entire village. She launched a green initiative, encouraging tree planting and environmental care. Her idea "One Baby, One Tree" provided each newborn’s mother with a fruit tree, encouraging them to nurture the tree as they would their child.

As a symbolic gesture, every doll-maker received a Bougainvillea plant, so that blooming flowers in front of homes would signal to visitors: a doll-maker lives here.

Dr. Siller's efforts transformed Thatta Ghulamka Dhiroka — not just in infrastructure, but in spirit. To provide basic healthcare to the people of Thatta Ghulamka Dhiroka, a village dispensary was established as early as 1992 by Dr. Leila Siller, a medical doctor and the daughter of Dr. Senta Siller. The nearest hospital is five kilometres away, so the dispensary became a lifeline for the local community. Dr. Senta Siller personally supervised and supported the handicrafts project until 2007, before returning to Germany. She left the initiative in the capable hands of a self-organised group of village women, empowering them to run it independently. To this day, she remains in regular contact with them through occasional Zoom conferences, offering guidance on handicrafts and welfare-related matters.

Today, the villagers are overjoyed by the announcement that the Government of Pakistan will honour Dr. Senta Siller with the Sitara-e-Pakistan (also known as Sitara-e-Imtiaz) in recognition of her outstanding service. She will celebrate her 90th birthday this year and is expected to receive the award in person on March 23, 2026.

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Labels: Amjad Ali, Dr Norbert Pintsch, Dr Senta Siller, Germany, Okara, Pakistan, Thatta Ghulamka Dhiroka, Thatta Kedona