Banned from education, Balkh girls turn to carpet weaving

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Many girls and women have started weaving carpets in northern Balkh province after the ban on their high and university education remains imposed.

These girls and women ask the caretaker government to allow them to resume high school and university education.

Majida Rahimi, a third year student of Faculty of Economics at Balkh University, said she turned to weaving carpets after the caretaker government closed the doors of universities for girls.

Sumira Haidari also qualified to the economics faculty after participating in the entrance exam last year and currently she has been working in a carpet weaving shop.

Tamana, a 9th grade student who has also started weaving carpets, said almost 600 days had passed since her school was closed, urging the government to reopen their school.

Fatima Jafari, another student of Balkh University, also said women were an important part of the society and they should not be confined only to tailoring, weaving carpets and other similar jobs.

She said the government should reopen high schools and universities and allow girls to study subjects of their choice and serve the country.

Saleha Ghulami, who owns a number of carpet weaving centers, said about 600 girls worked in her shops and 80 percent of them were school students.

Local officials say they support working women and efforts are underway to reopen schools and universities.

Maulvi Norul Hadi Abu Idrees, deputy governor of Balkh, said the government was not against women’s work and education and supported all women who worked within the framework of Sharia.

He also assured that the government’s leadership was busy discussing the education of girls and would decide on it soon.

Besides Balkh province, many girls in other provinces have turned to various professions such as tailoring and making handicrafts after the closure of schools and universities.

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