MAZAR-I-SHARIF: Enabling women to sell their handicrafts is essential for their economic stability, participants of an exhibition showcasing handicrafts in the capital of northern Balkh province said here the other day.
Arranged in cooperation with Afghanistan’s People Support Organisation, the nearly 40 stalls were visited by a large number of people, including women and civil society activists.
Farzana Rahimi, the organization head, told Pajhwok Afghan News that handicrafts made by women had more buyers abroad than at home.
She believed the handicraft industry could thrive only when the Afghans accorded importance to the crafts. She said Afghan craftswomen were not compensated according to their hard work making handicrafts.
Rahimi said traders used to buy women-made handicrafts at a very low price and sell the products at a much higher rate abroad. She said traders were complicit in exporting Afghan handicrafts as a product of other countries.
She said the ongoing exhibition showcasing nearly 40 different handicrafts that depicted the Afghan culture was aimed at bringing about a positive change in women’s lives.
Another woman, Huma, who has been associated with the industry for the last few years, said the Afghan women’s economic growth was linked to the development of the handicraft industry.
She said most handicrafts produced in Afghanistan were made by women and the government should support the craftswomen in improving their lifestyle.
Farzana Rahimi said the government should not only take practical steps to develop the handicraft industry in rural areas, but also make efforts at finding market for the products inside and outside of the country.
