Women pushed to low-paid carpet weaving after faculty ban

At a workshop in Kabul the place carpets are made, tons of of girls and women work in a cramped area, the air thick and stifling.

Amongst them is 19-year-old Salehe Hassani. “We women not have the possibility to review,” she says with a faltering smile. “The circumstances have taken that from us, so we turned to the workshop.”

Because the Taliban seized energy in 2021, women over the age of 12 have been barred from getting an training, and ladies from many roles.

In 2020, solely 19% of girls have been a part of the workforce – 4 instances lower than males. That quantity has dropped even additional below Taliban rule.

The dearth of alternatives, coupled with the dire financial scenario the nation faces, have pushed many into lengthy, laborious days of carpet weaving – one of many few trades the Taliban authorities permits girls to work in.

In line with the UN, the livelihoods of about 1.2 to 1.5 million Afghans rely upon the carpet weaving business, with girls making up practically 90% of the workforce.

In an financial system that the UN warned in a 2024 report warned had “mainly collapsed” because the Taliban took energy, the carpet export enterprise is booming.

The Ministry of Trade and Commerce famous that within the first six months of 2024 alone, over 2.4 million kilograms of carpets – price $8.7m (£6.6m) – have been exported to international locations equivalent to Pakistan, India, Austria and the US.

However this has not essentially meant higher wages for the weavers. Some the BBC spoke to mentioned they’d seen not one of the revenue from a chunk bought in Kazakhstan final 12 months that fetched $18,000.

Inside Afghanistan, carpets promote for a lot much less – between $100-$150 per sq. metre. Needing cash to assist help their households and having few choices for employment, staff are trapped in low-paid labour.

Carpet weavers say they earn about $27 for every sq. metre, which normally takes a couple of month to supply. That’s lower than a greenback a day regardless of the lengthy, gruelling shifts that always stretch to 10 or 12 hours.

Nisar Ahmad Hassieni, head of the Elmak Baft firm, who let the BBC go inside his workshops, mentioned that he pays his staff between $39 and $42 per sq. metre. He mentioned they’re paid each two weeks, with an eight-hour workday.

The Taliban has repeatedly mentioned that women shall be allowed to return to high school as soon as its issues, equivalent to aligning the curriculum with Islamic values, are resolved – however to this point, no concrete steps have been taken to make that occur.

Mr Hassieni mentioned that, following the rise of the Taliban authorities, his organisation made it its mission to help these left behind by the closures.

“We established three workshops for carpet weaving and wool spinning,” he says.

“About 50-60% of those rugs are exported to Pakistan, whereas the remainder are despatched to China, the USA, Turkey, France, and Russia to satisfy buyer demand.”

Shakila, 22, makes carpets along with her sisters in one of many rooms of the modest rental in addition they share with their aged mother and father and three brothers. They dwell within the impoverished Dasht-e Barchi space, within the western outskirts of Kabul.

She as soon as had desires of turning into a lawyer, however now leads her household’s carpet-making operation.

“We could not do the rest,” Shakila tells me. “There weren’t some other jobs”.

She explains how her father taught her to weave when she was 10 and he was recovering from a automotive accident.

What started as a obligatory talent in instances of hardship has now develop into the household’s lifeline.

Shakila’s sister, 18-year-old Samira, aspired to be a journalist. Mariam, 13, was pressured to cease going to high school earlier than she might even start to dream of a profession.

Earlier than the Taliban’s return, all three have been college students at Sayed al-Shuhada Excessive Faculty.

Their lives have been perpetually altered after lethal bombings on the faculty in 2021 killed 90 folks, largely younger women, and left practically 300 wounded.

The earlier authorities blamed the Taliban for the assault, although the group denied any involvement.

Fearing one other tragedy, their father made the choice to withdraw them from faculty.

Samira, who was on the faculty when the assaults occurred, has been left traumatised, talking with a stutter and struggling to specific herself. Nonetheless, she says she would do something to return to formal training.

“I actually wished to complete my research,” she says. “Now that the Taliban are in energy, the safety scenario has improved and there have been fewer suicide bombings.

“However the colleges are nonetheless closed. That is why we now have to work.”

Regardless of the low pay and lengthy hours of labor these girls face, the spirits of some are unbroken.

Again at one of many workshops, Salehe, decided and hopeful, confided that she had been learning English for the previous three years.

“Despite the fact that colleges and universities are closed, we refuse to cease our training,” she says.

In the future, Salehe provides, she plans to develop into a number one physician and construct the perfect hospital in Afghanistan.