By: Sara
The only women’s market in western Herat city is on the verge of collapse, and more than 80 percent of the shops have been closed since the Taliban took power, business owners in the market said.
Businesswomen who have shops in Khadijatul Kobra Business Center, a handicraft market in Herat, said the market is in recession. Most businesses have lost most of their customers and sponsors, as result, they have halted their activities. The entire market will be closed, if the recession continues, according to them.
A business owner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she has worked in the market for 14 years, making a good living. But now the production of the cloths and other artifacts have stopped because customers have vanished.
“I used to make 50,000 (USD 543) a month, but now some days I make as less as 30 AFN (USD 0.32) a day,” she said.
She said she used to have around 80 students, teaching them sewing, needlework, embroidery. But the number has dropped to 40 now. In an ideal situation, the students start their own businesses after the completion of the training.
She said he received orders from private schools, industrial companies, hospitals to make their uniforms before the Taliban. But now most of them have been closed.
“We have zero production,” she added. “With the Taliban’s arrival, our market is on the verge of collapse.”
Another shop owner who makes embroidery cloths, bags, and silks masks, said her income has dropped significantly. She is selling her equipment to pay for taxi these days.
“If the situation of the business center does not improve, I will close my business like other women,” she said, asking us not to name her.
Khadijatul Kobra Business Center was established in 2008 with the financial support of Italy, and it has provided a safe haven for women since then. Hundreds of women worked as businesswomen, saleswomen, and in the production of artifacts.
Businesses owners say tourists were also among the customers of the market but now there is no tourist to buy their products.
The businesses began closing when the Covid19 hit Herat city. Most shops in the market closed after the fall of the former government.
“Most of the production in this center has stopped,” said Sediqa Tamaski, head of the Khadijatul Kobra Business Center. “Since the arrival of the Taliban, of 34 shops 26 of them have been closed and only eight are operating.”
Importing of raw materials from neighboring countries has stopped. The price of raw materials, which are produced in Afghanistan, has jumped up. And It has negatively impacted the production of handicrafts in the market, according to Tamaski.
SIGAR said in a report that removal of the female workforce will cost Afghanistan’s economy one billion USD.
Abdul Latif Nazari, the Taliban’s deputy minister of economy told a news conference in Kabul on Wednesday that businesswomen could work in line with Islamic values.
But the restrictions they have imposed on women make it almost impossible for businesswomen to continue.
A 60-year-old businesswoman in the market said she doesn’t trust the Taliban’s promises. After 20 years, she said everything has gone to ground zero for Afghan women.
