Khadija was a high school student when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021 and closed her school. “I miss my school. Life became very depressing. But I am learning to tuft and thread rugs,” she told KabulNow from Afghanistan’s western city of Herat, where she is one of a hundred women are employed at a rug-making and tailoring factory, established by Zainab Ferouzi.
“I am trying to help single women who are struggling. And this factory provides a lifeline for them and their families,” Ms Ferouzi said. The women working at her factory are paid between 3,000 to 4,500 AFN ($34 to $60) per month.
Taranum is one of the oldest women working at the factory. Her hands shake. “I don’t have a man to look after me and children. The factory has given me an opportunity to earn our bread,” she says. She pleads with the Taliban, who have imposed severe restrictions on women to let them work and help them find jobs.
Fatima is another woman working at the factory. The factory, she said, “has enabled me to provide for my bedridden husband and 6 children.”
The Taliban has recently banned women from universities and working as aid workers. Despite global outrage and pleas, the group has refused to reverse its decisions.
In the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue officials have given a week’s notice to female shopkeepers and street vendor to close down their businesses.
