“My brothers can go to school, but I cannot. Always at home, I am tired,” said Sahra.
She was an 8th-grade student before the Taliban banned girls from school beyond sixth grade, and two and a half years after she turned to learning tailoring.
A month ago, Sahra began learning tailoring in a small room in eastern Laghman, where 30 other women are also busy learning tailoring.
Following the ban on female education in the country, some girls in Laghman province have turned to tailoring.
“After the day I cannot go to school, I feel a pain,” added Sahra. “But now that I am learning tailoring, I feel happy. At least I am among other women.”
Another girl, Halima, interviewed by The Afghan Times at the tailoring center, said: “I have to come to the tailoring workshop because the schools are closed, and I find peace of mind here.”
Shahzadi, a resident of Laghman province, has opened the training center to provide learning opportunities for 30 women and girls.
“I opened this training center with an investment of 15,000 Afghanis, and no one else helped me,”
Shahzadi hopes to develop the tailoring center.
“In this center, widows, poor women, and school girls are all busy learning tailoring,” added Shahzadi, “we want the government to open a women’s market for us to sell our products,”
The financial manager of the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Laghman Province, Diba Samandri, believes that women’s business activities play a crucial role in the country’s development.
“Women can help in families’ economic challenges and create employment opportunities for other women,” said Diba.
