Young Girls and Occupation

  Written by: Aqsa Sediqi

Article 10th of the constitution of Afghanistan provides equal education rights for girls and boys but economic problems obliged some girls to an economic activity to help their families. AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to Fatima Kakar, an eleventh-grade student, a resident of Qarabagh district, Kabul province.

Fatima says: “my exam days were near and I did not have enough money to print the chapters. My mother gave some money but that sum was not enough. I thought that it would be helpful to learn an occupation besides my school. I learned sewing clothes with a female tailoring master, and now I could sew 5-7 pairs clothes daily. I get 500-600 Afghanis per pair of complicated dresses and 200-250 Afghanis per simple dress and my monthly incomes reach 5000-7000 Afghanis. As I have studied computer courses, I was teaching computer skills to some youths in a foreign NGO in our village and they were paying me 5000 Afghani monthly.

I save 500 Afghanis monthly to pay fees for university entry exam’s course and I give the remaining to my family.”

the story:

Khatira is a resident of Jalalabad city, Nangarhar province, and a tenth-grade student in Alae high school. Khatira says to the writer/producer AEPO: “my father is a tailor and he sews male clothes. While he was sewing clothes at home, I became eager to learn sewing from him. At the beginning, I sewed a few pairs of clothes for myself and thus I learned sewing. Later I learned embroidery with my mother. Whenever I was free in school, I was embroidering and I was encouraging my classmates to learn embroidery too and some of them learned it. I prepare books, pens, clothes, shoes and my other requirements from my income which I gain from sewing and embroidery.”

Khatera adds: “Sometimes back we had an enterprise program for the students in our school. some girls presented their pieces or handicrafts in the exhibition but unfortunately, I could not take part due to some family problems. One of my classmates got the third position in the exhibition and she got a medal for her embroidered piece. She gave her medal to me and said that I caused her that she got a medal.”