Female entrepreneur creates 1,000 rug weaving jobs for Sar-e-Pul women

SAR-E-PUL -- The carpet weaving industry in northern Afghanistan continues to grow, giving women an opportunity to earn an income and support their families.

Masooma Mirzayee, an entrepreneur in Sar-e-Pul province, said she manages 1,000 women who weave kilims (colourful traditional Afghan rugs) in six weaving centres in the provincial capital.

She provides raw material for the rugs and the weavers receive up to 400 AFN ($4.60) for each square metre they weave, she said.

"I had some money and I wanted to use it to help my needy or widowed sisters through weaving kilims. Fortunately, about 1,000 women are currently engaged in this weaving programme and they can support their families," she told Salaam Times.

About a year ago, she offered a short-term training course to the women, after which she established the weaving centres, Mirzayee said.

"Every week, I distribute yarn and other material needed for weaving the rugs among the weavers, and I pay them 300 to 400 AFN [$3.46 to $4.60] for weaving each square metre. Small business owners buy the rugs and sell them in the market," she added.

Each weaver weaves about four square metres of rugs in a week and receives her wages at the end of the month, based on the amount of work she has completed, said Mirzayee.

Many women who have lost their jobs come to her in search of employment and start weaving rugs amid the ban on women's work and education in the country, she added.

"We want to support Afghan women and strengthen their presence in society," she said.

Zohal Safi, 27, a weaver in the Chahar Bagh area of Sar-e-Pul city, said she was an employee of a non-governmental organisation and turned to weaving out of necessity when she lost her job.

"Women who have turned to kilim weaving are all needy. Among them are women who have bachelor's degrees or used to work for the government, but they weave rugs out of necessity and receive low wages," she told Salaam Times.

"It is better for women to be busy in every sector, but organisations should co-operate in the marketing and sales of women's handicraft so the kilim weaving industry can remain stable," Safi said.

Helping single breadwinners

Most of the women who weave rugs in Sar-e-Pul are the only breadwinners of their families and say they earn 4,000 to 6,000 AFN ($46 to $69) a month.

Zarifa, 42, who has four children, has been working in a rug weaving workshop for the last six months.

"My economic condition was not good. Since I've started weaving kilims, I earn up to 5,000 AFN [$58] per month, and now I play an important role in supporting my family."

"My husband owns a firewood shop, but his business is relatively good only in the winter. Since I've started working, our economic problems have eased a little," she said.

"I have learned weaving from my relatives, and I can weave any kind of kilim now. I am very happy that I can support my husband and family," she told Salaam Times.

Sabrina, 35, a weaver in Chahar Bagh village, told Salaam Times she is pleased to help her family by weaving.

"My salary is low, but I have to work because our family's economic situation is not good, and I can help out by working," she added.

"I make a living with the wages I earn, which I can use to meet my daily needs."

"I was unemployed at home before starting this job. Now I'm happy that I'm weaving rugs and have an income," she said.

Industry growth, export problems

Abdul Basir Amini, director of industrial affairs at Sar-e-Pul's Directorate of Industry and Trade, said some 6,749 women work in different weaving centres in the province.

"Before August 2021, the Directorate of Industry and Trade did not exist in Sar-e- Pul, but the information we have gathered from the public and the weavers shows that the kilim weaving industry was very weak at the time," he said.

"We are trying to help in the marketing process, so entrepreneurs can access raw material and continue to grow this industry without any challenge," he added.

"We hope the international community continues to support the private sector so we can save it from bankruptcy and female entrepreneurs continue to work," he told Salaam Times.

Traders and officials should facilitate the export of kilims to other countries, said Mohammad Hashem Nawabi, 52, a kilim seller in Sar-e-Pul.

"Amid the Afghan economy's bankruptcy, kilims have become more popular as they cost less than conventional rugs do, so customers prefer them to rugs," he said.

"The price of a six-square-metre locally woven conventional rug is between 10,000 and 25,000 AFN [$115 and $289], but the price of a six-square-metre kilim is between 3,000 and 7,000 AFN [$35 and $81]," he told Salaam Times.

Women's handicrafts, particularly conventional rugs and kilims, are of high quality, he added.

Nawabi asked the authorities to stop the importing low-quality Iranian handicrafts and to support Afghan producers.