Tailoring: A Small Business Skill for Afghan Women

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Dr. Yacoobi was honored to receive the 2015 WISE Prize for Education. A prestigious award given to those who are tireless advocates for the right to education.  “I know from my life that education gives power, status and opportunity. I see women who are smart, intelligent but did not have opportunity so I gave them that. It is education and not guns that can transform society and give us a peaceful tomorrow. “ Sakena  

Dear Friends,

Learning an income generating skill such as sewing transforms the lives of women and gives them confidence. They contribute to the family finances and their status in the family is increased. Thank you for your support of AIL’s sewing and tailoring classes. In September, there were 887 women and girls enrolled in sewing classes learning to make clothes for themselves, their families and for others. Here is Fatima’s story – one of transformation.

Fatima was brought to the girls’ orphanage in Herat when she was about 8 years old by her relatives.  Both of her parents had died and she had no brothers or sisters.  She was very unhappy and devastated when she came.  She went to school and, when AIL began working with the girls’ orphanage and offering computer and tailoring classes in the afternoon, she joined them.  She is now in the 8^th grade and has excellent computer and tailoring skills.  She works for a small NGO in Herat teaching their students tailoring and doing their computer work.  They are paying her so she has begun to earn money for herself.  All of this has transformed her!  She is happy, always helping the younger students with their homework and is looking forward to finishing high school, going to university and becoming a teacher.

Thank you for your continued support of AIL’s programs.

Dear Friends,

Bonus Day September 16^th!  30% matching funds available for this project!

Can you help?

Donate between 9am- midnight ET September 16^th and get a 30% match up to $1,000 per donor per organization! The funds will go quickly!

Thank you for your support of AIL’s efforts to teach women and girls sewing and tailoring skills. During the month of July, there were more than 800 women and girls enrolled in the Afghan Institute of Learning’s sewing and tailoring courses. 

In our classes, the students learn sewing and tailoring of course, but they also learn to make their own patterns and designs, as well as basic business skills to help these women and girls start earning an income. Many of the women and girls choose to take literacy classes while they are taking their sewing course, and this combination gives students a chance at a better life.

One student story is that of Azita.

Some years ago, Azita began studying at one of AIL’s rural centers. There were no schools for girls in her area, so her uncle encouraged her to begin attending the AIL Learning Center that he supervised. She began taking sewing and tailoring classes at the center and also decided to study in the literacy class.  She quickly learned tailoring but it was clear early on that Azita was a very bright young woman. She was the top student in her class, quickly progressing to the fourth level of the literacy . While she was taking classes, things were changing; a local school opened and was looking for teachers. “I heard that the regular school in the village needed teachers,” Azita says, “so I took the exam for teachers and I passed! I was soon hired to be a teacher at the school. I began teaching the younger grades while still taking classes at the AIL Learning Center. One day I decided to take the exam to attend the high school courses at the regular school where I was teaching and I was accepted into the 9^th grade.”

“My parents saw my amazing progress and made the decision to send me to the large city to live with an uncle so that I could have a better opportunity to continue my education. Now I am in one of the top high schools in the city, and I am the top student in my class. I help my uncle’s family around the house, and once a month I return to my village to visit my family. They are so proud of me and how educated I am, and it is all because of the AIL Learning Center in my village. It changed the direction of my life completely.”

Today Azita is a sophomore studying English at a university in Afghanistan, where she has made a number of new friends. She is also a part time English teacher at a school near her university. She is involved in activities on campus including being a member of a student council and is on the staff of the university’s magazine. She continues to attend AIL workshops as she is able, and is even taking an advanced computer course.

When asked about the way that education has impacted her life, Azita said, “I enjoy living and my work today, and that is because of the education I have received. I started with sewing, but look what happened!!!  I have decided that I want to be a good teacher to help the women from my village to become capable and to change their lives for the better. I do not want to see them suffer disappointment and depression. I plan to be a leader for the women of my village, and to defend their rights in the community. I have  great ambition for my people, and for my own life, and I would like to thank AIL for changing my life.” 

Thank you for your continued support of AIL’s programs, and of women like Azita. We appreciate your generous donations.