How three Keralam nuns stitched together clothing venture ‘Stand By Me’ in a struggle for survival after standing up against the Church

Sewing was once just another skill they learnt at the convent. Today, it has become their way of stitching together a life of their own.

At St. Francis Mission Home at Kuravilangad in Kottayam district of Keralam, a place that was once at the centre of a storm within the Catholic Church, sewing machines now hum through the day. Fabric is measured and cut, needles run through cloth, and one garment after another takes shape.

Behind the machines are three nuns who, after years of living an isolated life and struggling even to meet their basic needs, are now building something they can call their own, a small clothing venture named ‘Stand By Me’.

Nighties, churidar tops, co-ord sets, bags, table mats and runners are among the products that emerge from their workspace. A desperate bid for survival has gradually grown into a fledgling business, sustained by friends and well-wishers who stood by them through some of the most difficult years of their lives.

But every stitch in that little workspace carries the weight of a far more difficult journey.

In 2018, a nun accused former Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal of rape after repeated attempts to seek redress from senior Church authorities failed. Her complaint set off a chain of events that shook the Church and sparked a nationwide debate over its power structures.

On September 8 that year, five nuns, including the three now at Kuravilangad, staged a sit-in in Kochi demanding justice. It was an unprecedented protest, with a group of nuns publicly challenging the authority of the Church hierarchy. Days later, Bishop Mulakkal, then head of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar, was arrested.

But the arrest did not bring their ordeal to an end.

When a local court acquitted Bishop Mulakkal on January 14, 2022, citing lack of evidence, the nuns were left facing an uncertain future within the Church. The survivor has since challenged the verdict in the Kerala High Court.

As the legal battle continued, their lives inside the convent became increasingly difficult. In 2023, the financial assistance available to them was stopped, leaving them struggling to meet even their basic expenses. Their circumstances eventually came to the attention of the Keralam government, which issued them ration cards in January this year (2026).

Two of the nuns, both MSW graduates, tried to find internships. But opportunities proved difficult to come by, which they believed was because of their association with the high-profile case.

“We wondered how we would survive without even a penny in our hands,” one of them recalled.

As the pressure mounted, two of the five eventually left religious life. The remaining three chose to stay together. And it was at this point that they stopped looking for a job and decided to create one for themselves.

With help from well-wishers, they bought sewing machines and revived the tailoring skills they had learnt years ago. The first orders came from friends and supporters. As word spread, the trickle of orders gradually turned into a steady stream.

The little venture has since grown enough to employ two workers. The nuns have also taken their products to exhibition sales in different parts of the State and are now preparing to take ‘Stand By Me’ online soon. “The name was suggested by the very people who had stood by them through their most difficult years. We embraced it readily’’, a nun said.

Today, ‘Stand By Me’ carries the story of three women who have gone from struggling to meet even their basic needs to building a life they can sustain on their own.