In a cramped workshop in Kabul, where the air hangs heavy and hot, hundreds of women and girls sit weaving carpets—one of the few jobs still available to them.
Among them is 19-year-old Salehe Hassani. “We girls no longer have the chance to study,” she says with a faint, hesitant smile. “Circumstances took that from us, so we turned to this workshop instead.”
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, girls over the age of 12 have been banned from attending school, and many women have been pushed out of the workforce entirely.
Even before the takeover, only 19% of Afghan women were employed—four times fewer than men. Under Taliban rule, that number has declined further.
With limited opportunities and the country’s deepening economic crisis, many women have turned to carpet weaving—a physically demanding trade that the Taliban permits them to pursue.
The United Nations estimates that around 1.2 to 1.5 million Afghans rely on the carpet industry for their livelihoods, with women comprising nearly 90% of the workforce.
Despite the broader economic collapse, the carpet export business has flourished. A 2024 UN report described Afghanistan’s economy as having “basically collapsed,” yet in just the first six months of that year, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce reported over 2.4 million kilograms of carpets exported—worth $8.7 million—to countries including Pakistan, India, Austria, and the United States.
Within Afghanistan, carpets fetch far lower prices—typically between $100 to $150 per square meter. With few other ways to support their families, workers remain trapped in low-paying jobs.
Weavers say they earn around $27 per square meter and completing one can take up to a month. That breaks down to less than a dollar a day—despite grueling shifts that often last 10 to 12 hours.
The Taliban has repeatedly stated that girls will eventually be allowed to return to school once the curriculum aligns with their interpretation of Islamic values. But so far, no meaningful progress has been made to reopen classrooms.
