KABUL (SW) – With all other avenues shut, women in the capital Kabul have turned to carpet weaving to earn livelihood under harsh circumstances.
Nearly 200 women of different ages are busy producing carpets in a workshop called “Afghan Rag Carpet Weaving” in Kabul. Some of them spin wool, some of them spin yarn, and some of them, by weaving, give patterns and beauty to the carpets under their hands. Some of these women express satisfaction from working in the carpet weaving and spinning industry.
Sanobar, an old woman who works in this workshop, says that she has been spinning wool since the distant past and she is happy to do so. “I used to spin by hand. It’s been a month since I came here and in three days, I spin one kilogram of wool a day.”
With the growth of carpet weaving in Afghanistan, many women have been provided with jobs.
But this boom has also reduced its income. A number of female carpet weavers who spend their lives day and night in this way, despite being dissatisfied with their income, still continue to work in this field.
Nikbakht (pseudonym), who is engaged in knitting with her three students, says that she is trying to achieve financial independence by working in this workshop. However, she is unhappy with the income he earns from working in this workshop. “There are many problems and it takes a lot of patience, because it is a delicate work. The merino carpet is thinly woven. The carpet lasts for a month. Although the income is low, but the men are unemployed so even this little income is good.”
Gol Bibi, another weaver in this workshop, says that her hands are hurt and injured due to hours of continuous work, but she did not earn even 10 afghanis a day. “Thanks to this job now, we get 1,000 to 1,500 afghani for each carpet. I have a child and there are many problems. By God, because of this carpet weaving, our hands turned black. I have no other choice.”
In the last two years, entrepreneurship and job opportunities have been provided to women in various sectors, and the carpet weaving industry has also been placed next to those sectors.
Mohammad Naeem Valizada, the founder of the carpet weaving workshop, says that the purpose of creating this workshop was to provide work to women, and now, nearly 3,500 women are working under this workshop. “We have production in two sectors, which is the production of yarn and carpet weaving. In the carpet department, 70 women work with us inside the workshop and outside, we have 2 to 250 bases, where 4 to 5 people work in each workshop. Also, in the spinning department, 85 women work with us inside and 2,500 women outside the workshop.”
Although Mr. Valizada expresses his satisfaction with the 30% increase in the sale of Afghan carpets in the world markets, but he says that the carpet weaving industry in Afghanistan is facing a shortage of raw materials.
Meanwhile, Pashtun Amiri, a member of the board of women’s chambers of commerce, says that nearly 80% of carpet weavers in Afghanistan are women, who are facing many problems. “We have very skilled carpet weavers from different provinces. Most of our carpet weavers have gone to neighboring countries, especially Pakistan, and there they have been engaged in weaving carpets that Pakistan sends to other countries under its name.”
The carpet weaving industry has had a nice market in Afghanistan for a long time, and even now, due to the increase in poverty, the imposition of restrictions on women’s education and work, a large number of them have turned to the production and weaving of carpets.
ENDS
