KABUL (SW) – Dozens of young females are getting trained on various skills of tailoring and other handicrafts at a workshop run by a woman in Kabul.
Negina Shoaib Hafizi, head of the company behind this training, says they have set up two sewing workshops in Kabul to address the economic problems of women and girls. She added that in addition to receiving sewing training, women also receive a salary.
“Women who used to work in government offices are currently unemployed and say that it would be good for us to come here, learn sewing and have some financial support for ourselves and our families,” she said.
Meanwhile, Rabia Joya, one of the participants in the workshop, told Salam Watandar that she had previously been a school teacher and had not been able to continue her work after the closure of girls’ schools above the sixth grade.
Rabia came to Kabul from Badakhshan to solve her economic problems and has been sewing in this workshop for three months.
Rukhsar Rasheed and Sharifa Hemmat are two female students of the 11th and 12th grades of the school who have already started sewing. They cite the closure of girls’ schools above the sixth grade as the reason for them joining this training. They strongly criticise the decision of the leadership of the Islamic Emirate to close the schools.
A number of students who participated in the workshop cited economic problems and unemployment as the reason.
Zakia Karimi, a recent graduate of a private university in Kabul, said she has been unemployed at home for a long time and has no choice but to attend the workshop.
Noorjan Nourziaei, another participant in the workshop, says that she is a housewife and that her husband has lost his job due to the recent developments. She added that she is the only breadwinner for her family and is now satisfied with the salary she receives from the workshop.
ENDS
