Tailoring: A Small Business Skill for Afghan Women

Dear Friends,

Thank you for supporting the Afghan Institute of Learning’s (AIL) Tailoring Program! Each year AIL trains thousands of women in classes where the women learn how to set, create patterns and sew and even receive advice on how to begin their own small businesses. Many women come to the center for other reasons and then decide to sign up for the sewing classes once they learn about them.

Our staff recently spoke with a 24 year-old woman named Zahra who did just that. Zahra came to the center to enroll her children in classes at the center and saw that there were many women her age taking classes. She spoke with the women who told her that the center offered great classes for women. Her husband was against the idea at first, but she enrolled anyway. They had many disagreements about her taking classes, but Zahra’s husband was soon convinced that the classes were a good idea after the young women learned to sew and was able to start a small businesses sewing clothing for other families.

Zahra said “I am now so happy that I have a skill. My husband is very happy as well. He has seen that I have learned this skill in a sound, safe and good educational environment. The class has been helpful in other ways too. I have made friends, and learned so much about how to keep my children healthy. I am so thankful to AIL for offering me the opportunity to support myself and my family and changing my life for the better.”

Thank you again for supporting women like Zahra who are taking sewing and tailoring classes at AIL’s Learning Centers. The classes give the women an opportunity to learn a skill which helps them to earn an income for their family. Thank you for supporting this important work. We have attached our year end newsletter to this report and hope you will take a few minutes to read it. 

• Year-End Newsletter (PDF)
  

The Afghan Institute of Learning’s sewing and tailoring classes offer Afghan women a chance to learn a valuable skill and open small businesses which help to support their families. The courses teach women the basics of sewing, as well as pattern making, tailoring, and how to operate their own sewing and tailoring businesses. Many women begin to sell clothing before they graduate from the course, allowing them to earn enough money to purchase their own sewing machine.

Recently we’ve been hearing stories of groups of women who work together to start larger businesses. From Herat Province, we recently learned of three graduated students who started worked together to start a business. Working together allows the women to each work part time, rather than full time, leaving them able to care for their families. They began by taking custom orders from people in their area, and recently have opened a store. After putting a very nice billboard on their store, they began getting a large number of customers in a short time. One woman, named Fariba, said “I never imagined having my own business before I came to AIL. My life has been changed completely here. I am so excited to have my own business, and I am planning to become a teacher at this center so that I can teach other women to sew. 

For most Afghans, the only way to purchase clothing is by having someone sew it for you. Because of this cultural norm, teaching these women to sew will give them an income that will be sustainable for the foreseeable future.  Thank you for believing in and supporting our project!