An Afghan woman tailor works with a sewing machine in the Afghan Women Business Hub in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Half of Afghanistan’s population now finds itself locked out of the freedom to work at a time when the country’s economy is worse than ever, with few jobs available to women in the country. Afghan women tailors work with a sewing machine in the Afghan Women Business Hub in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, July 2, 2024.
Women’s participation in the workforce in Afghanistan, always limited by conservative cultural beliefs, was 14.8% in 2021, before theThe Taliban tell the West to look past harsh edicts on Afghan women and girls and build tiesAhmadzai’s eyes flare when talking about the new reality for Afghan women. “We are only looking for a way to escape,” she said, referring to the work in the basement. It’s a step, at least, beyond being confined at home.
The ministry responsible for issuing permits has banned women from its premises, setting up a female-only office elsewhere. It’s to “speed things up and make things easier” for women, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Samiullah Ebrahimi. It’s heartbreaking for Ahmadzai and her colleagues to see their expertise go unused. Several also were training to be makeup artists, but
“Afghan women nowadays all have the same role in society. They stay at home, care for children, mind the house and don’t work hard,” she said. “If my family didn’t encourage me, I wouldn’t be here. They support me because I work. My husband is unemployed and I have small children.”