Afghanistan: Tailoring apprenticeship enables economic empowerment

More than half of Afghanistan’s population suffers from acute hunger, according to numerous reports by various organizations, especially the UN. The main reason for the great poverty in the country is unemployment. After the Taliban came to power in August 2021, most families who previously had jobs lost their source of income. In addition, a great many women lost their spouses in the fight against terrorists and terrorism. They became widows, and their children became orphans. Since women are not allowed to work in most regions of Afghanistan and face the greatest difficulties due to the regime change, very many wives no longer have financial support. The number of street beggars increased dramatically, with women and children making up the largest percentage.

Women’s tailoring is in fact one of the main sources of income, especially in the current situation where they face many constraints, especially in education. The women who have these skills are able to support their families. The money they earn from sewing clothes is mostly invested to cover their daily needs, school supplies for their children and medical expenses. The tailoring project aims to improve the economic status of twenty women-led vulnerable families in the four provinces of Kabul, Bamyan, Daikundi and Ghazni by teaching tailoring skills, targeting five families in each province.

Steps of project implementation

Once the project is approved, the Afghan Ministry of Economy will issue a formal project launch letter to officially start the project. A team will be assigned to identify the beneficiaries of the project, monitor the project in the future, and contact them in case of emergencies. Twenty sewing machines and other needed tools and materials will be purchased and distributed to the twenty women selected for the project. The duration of the project is six months.