By Laila Yousufi
Fifty days into the Taliban’s rule, a former financial manager, Bahar Ahmadi, used up her last savings to open a sewing workshop in her basement.
With her $330 of savings, she purchased a sewing machine, a table, an iron, thread and needles. Now the workshop is running two shifts, morning and evening, where 25-year-old Ahmadi teaches her 21 students how to sew.
“I am running this workshop almost for free to keep women motivated so they don’t lose hope,” she told Rukhshana Media.
“Since I opened the workshop, my students who are mostly young girls show up to class everyday eager to learn,” she said, adding that it is an attempt to make sure women are not imprisoned in their homes.
Since the Taliban’s lightning take over of Afghanistan in mid-August, the daily lives of working women has been brought to a halt as the group “temporarily” banned almost all women’s work and education. The group says it is working on a framework to allow women to return to school and work, but has not provided a timeline.
“My aim is to prepare women to do paid work even if they are forced to stay at home,” said Ahmadi, who is an Economics graduate from Kabul University.
She learned sewing in a capacity building course for women four years ago in Kabul. “We women have to work hard to support each other in tough times,” she said.
“When I am here and learning sewing, for a moment I forget that the Taliban have come and I can no longer go to university,” said Nadima Ahmadi, a second-year psychology student. “Since the Taliban’s return, I have always stayed at home and I felt very depressed,” said the psychology student.
28-year-old Masooma, who came to the class with her toddler, said she was “tired” of sitting in the corner of the house, doing nothing. Now, in Ahmadi’s class, she learns how to sew.
“Soon we will open a literacy class here and we will ask for volunteers to come and teach the girls, we should help each other,” Ahmadi said.
Ahmadi, who was busy with the work of setting up the workshop, has not chosen a name for it yet.
