Sam Mort
It’s difficult to overstate the impact of the latest European Union (EU) funded vocational training course for young people in Afghanistan. But having spent time this week with a new generation of female tailors in a remote and rural part of Daikundi, in the heart of Afghanistan, I can attest not only to its value for money but also to how it’s transforming girls’ lives.
Six months ago, Arifa and 14 other girls in the tightly knit community of Shish were selected to train as tailors. In a country in which girls’ and women’s basic human rights are increasingly restricted, even participating in such a course is a bold move. But these girls are bold. And brave. And ambitious.
With a dedicated tutor, courtesy of local NGO, Movement for Protection, they learned how to make and cut patterns, select fabrics, sew clothes, and operate and repair sewing machines. Critically, they also spent 10 days learning how to conduct business, interact with customers, and market themselves. It’s the whole package.
Before being selected for the training course, 19-year-old Arifa sat at home bored, hopeless, and stressed. It felt like her life was coming apart at the seams.
Poverty had driven her out of school by Grade 8. Justifiably, she feared a life of domestic grind, early marriage and motherhood, without the opportunity to continue learning, a fate suffered by so many other girls across Afghanistan – and all the more in the last 14 months since the Taliban seized power.
But once they were trained – a thorough process that took 6 months of dedicated classes -- the girls began tailoring from their homes.
But no one knew they were there. No one knew there were 14 new tailors in town (one had fled to Iran). Business was slow.
After a disappointing start – earning only 500-700 Afghani per month (around $6) – they rethought their approach to business.
Seven of them clubbed together to rent a shop in the center of the village bazaar. They moved in with their sewing machines and tables, displayed their fabrics and some ready-to-wear clothes, and put-up posters advertising the new service.
This was a novelty in Shish. Never before had this small village had a tailor. If people wanted clothing made or repaired, they had no option but to travel along rocky, dusty, dirt trails to Nili, more than 2 hours away. Expensive and time-consuming, people made the journey rarely and reluctantly.
The decision to open their shop in the center of the community has not only changed the villagers’ lives, it has changed the girls’ lives. They haven’t looked back.
As a result, their monthly income has increased to 4000-5000 Afghani ($70) each per month. After she pays rent and overheads, Arifa is left with around 3,500 Afghani ($40).
Beaming from ear to ear, Arifa tells me, “This training has opened a door of opportunity for me.” When I ask how she feels being a business-woman, she says, “I am happy to be independent and earn an income by my own hand.”
“Next,” Arifa tells me, “I want to grow the business, and expand to other villages, so that I can afford more modern sewing machines and a wider range of fabric.”
Where once a single woman living at home would have been considered a burden in Afghan society, Arifa’s mother, Zahra, pride woven into her face, shyly tells me how happy she is and how much she wants to see more such opportunities for girls.
By having this profession, people in the community now know who I am; they respect me and my work. One of the things I like most is talking with customers and pleasing them with nice clothes so that they return for more.
Nigin
The villagers show their appreciation with a steady stream of orders – for children, men and women. Ironically, and in a very satisfying development, Arifa, Nigin and the team also send some of their clothes to markets in Nili to be sold.
In fact, such is the buzz in the village, girls who are still in school visit Arifa after class so that she can teach them sewing skills. I gently chide her when she tells me she does it for free.
“They are very poor,” she tells me. “They have no money; they can’t pay me anything. But I want to help them so that they can learn this skill as well.”
Not only is she a fast learner and a skilled seamstress, but she is also a generous soul, happy to share the threads of her learning with her peers.
The head of the community shura who was instrumental in selecting the girls for the course says, “Through this vocational training course, we tried to bring a smile to the girls’ faces and empower them. In this time of crisis for girls and women, we wanted to provide hope and opportunity.”
Thanks to UNICEF Afghanistan’s partnership with the European Union and the Movement for Protection, they’ve done all of that and more. Into the tapestry of 15 girls’ lives, this course has woven financial independence, creativity, stability, empowerment, confidence and hope for a brighter future. Priceless.