KABUL (SW) – Educational and work restrictions on women over the past nearly three years have driven them to engage in various economic activities and businesses to regain a presence in society and achieve self-sufficiency.
Salam Watandar interviewed with 23 Afghan women across five provinces who, following the establishment of the Islamic Emirate government, have turned to work in industries and commerce sectors, tailoring, agriculture, livestock husbandry, creating job markets for women, and other sectors.
Out of the total of the interviewees, one woman is from Takhar, six from Badakhshan, seven from Kunduz, four from Jowzjan, and five others are from Farah.
Among these women, 10 have entered the industry and commerce sector, four are selling second-hand clothes, three have established tailoring workshops, two have created women-only markets, one has started producing cakes for dozens of shops, one has taken up farming, one has gone into animal husbandry, and another has started producing and selling pickles.
Shohra Tamanna, a third-year journalism student in Badakhshan, is one of the interviewees who, after educational restrictions were imposed, established a women-only market in the province. The market has six shops, mainly operated by female students whose education was cut short.
Shohra says the goal of creating this market is to provide hope and motivation to herself and other girls who have been deprived of education. She adds, “We created this market to provide employment opportunities for about 50 women, allowing them to come here, buy and sell, and earn an income.”
Women who lost their jobs due to work restrictions have also sought alternative ways to create employment opportunities for themselves and others.
Shafiqa, a 35-year-old resident of Farah who was a teacher at a private school during the republican regime and became unemployed after educational restrictions were imposed on girls, decided to establish a tailoring workshop to provide work for herself and dozens of women and girls who were left without education.
She says, “After schools and universities were closed, there were no other places for women to work. This business became a source of income, and as it expanded, we were able to attract more women, including many students who now work with us.”
Moqadas Sadat, who runs a tailoring workshop in Jowzjan province that trains 30 girls, says she established this workshop to help overcome the challenges faced by women. All her trainees are girls who have been unable to continue their education. She adds, “I obtained the license for this tailoring workshop and handicraft company three months ago. I wanted it to be an alternative for the education and training of girls and to provide a way out of the mental and emotional issues they are facing.”
Mehrulnisa Haidari from Jowzjan, who is learning collar embroidery at this workshop, was a fifth-year medical student at Balkh University before the educational restrictions on women left her stay at home. Now, she spends her time sewing men’s shirt collars in a corner of this workshop. She says, “The mental pressure made me ill, and eventually, my family told me I needed to start doing something else. My sister was also doing embroidery, so I started working with her.”
In various parts of Afghanistan, women without financial support have strived to create work opportunities for themselves using the limited resources available.
Noorjan Mahtab, a resident of Takhar, has been producing cakes for local residents and dozens of stores. She turned to cake production after restrictions were imposed on women’s employment in Afghanistan and has since earned a good income from this venture. She says, “The first order came from a neighbor, and within a few days, demand increased. Now, I supply cakes to over ten stores in Taloqan and several more in Kunduz and Badakhshan.”
Similarly, some women in different provinces have started working in agriculture.
Salima, a resident of Aqtash district in Kunduz, works in agriculture sector with three other women and has managed to earn a decent income. She emphasizes that women in Afghanistan should not succumb to depression due to the prevailing situation but should seek alternative ways to achieve independence. “We received some assistance in agriculture. Then, I and four other women took a piece of land where we plant vegetables, flowers, and other things. Both we and our neighbors who need it can benefit from the harvest,” she stated.
Amid the ongoing restrictions on women’s education and employment in Afghanistan, many women have turned to alternative means of sustaining themselves, such as entrepreneurship in various sectors. Women’s rights activists are calling for greater support for these entrepreneurial women from the de-facto government and relevant organizations.
Roida Sediqi, a women’s rights activist in Jowzjan, highlights the resilience of women who have taken up activities like tailoring and trade as alternatives to formal education. She states, “Many women in Jowzjan who have been deprived of school and university education have turned to tailoring. This shift shows the compulsion they face. The current government has left women with no other options, even closing educational institutions. Education is a right for everyone, and denying it is truly unjust.”
Shabnam Shayegan Sayis, another women’s rights activist from Badakhshan, acknowledges the positive steps taken by women who have ventured into trade. She appeals to organizations that support women’s activities to assist these women entrepreneurs in growing their businesses, thereby helping them to meet their families’ needs. She says, “It is gratifying to see that many women are now engaging in trade. I urge organizations that support women’s activities to collaborate with these women entrepreneurs so they can expand their businesses and provide for their families’ needs.”
Officials at the Farah Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Women report that 25 workshops focused on processing and producing both food and non-food items have been registered in the province.
Marzia Noorzai, the executive director of the chamber, stated that the managers of these production workshops market their products through exhibitions. “We have 25 processing and production workshops registered with our department, which are active in producing jam, pickles, and other products,” Noorzai said.
In Badakhshan, the Directorate of Commerce and Industry indicates that 18 women operate officially with licenses, and nearly 100 more work informally in the industry and trade sectors.
Samaruddin Rahmani, the director of enterprises and consumer protection at the Badakhshan Directorate of Commerce and Industry, notes that women can work within the industry and trade sectors, provided they adhere to Islamic principles. “Currently, 17 or 18 women officially, and more than 100 women informally, are involved in trade in Badakhshan, with most being supported by foreign organizations still active in the province,” Rahmani said.
The restrictions on women’s work, education, and academic pursuits over the past three years have pushed many women and girls across various provinces to engage in small businesses and activities such as handicrafts, agriculture, and animal product processing to create income sources and escape domestic seclusion.
