Afghanistan's Declining Handicrafts Sector

Fatima has supported her six young children entirely on the proceeds of her skilled embroidery work ever since her husband was killed in a bomb blast three years ago.

The Kandahar city resident can spend months on one exquisitely worked piece, which she used to be able to sell for up to 10,000 Afghani (150 US dollars).

Lately, however, Fatima said that local shopkeepers were no longer interested in such labour intensive products and offered only paltry sums in payment.

"I make collars, scarves, and other things like that, putting my heart into the work,” she said. “[I] work with needle and thread for four or five months, but we no longer make any profit on it."

Fatima said that her fingers were sore and bleeding from needle pricks, but she was left with nothing to show. Soon, she feared, she would have to give up work entirely.

Development organisations once heavily promoted traditional Afghan handicrafts as a way of boosting the local economy.

Following the 2001 US-led invasion that unseated the Taleban, aid agencies and international bodies particularly supported projects aimed at women.

But the handicraft sector has suffered a steep decline since 2014, when most coalition troops left Afghanistan.

The Afghan economy has struggled in the wake of the exit, and fewer internationals living and working in the country mean that the market for traditional crafts has also shrunk.

Samiullah owns a shop in Kandahar city’s Rangrezan Street, a commercial centre known for its handicrafts.

He said that he used to sell between 20 and 25 collars, scarves, and other items made by Kandahari women each month. These days, the figure had dropped to four or five.

This was why, Samiullah continued, shopkeepers were forced to offer such low prices to producers.

"Previously, we would buy a full collar for 15,000 Afghani and sell it for 20,000 Afghani. Now, the buyers want to pay between 8,000 and 10,000. That means we have to buy them at lower prices from the women."

Farzanah, a resident of the village of Khwajah Malik in Kandahar’s Arghandab district, has also seen her income plummet.

Well known locally for her highly skilled work, she said she used to be able to charge between 15,000 and 20,000 Afghani for even small pieces, such as a collar embroidered in traditional Kandahari style.

These days, Farzanah continued, the market had simply disappeared. Both she and Fatima called on the local government to create new opportunities for women to sell and promote their handicrafts both locally and farther afield.

Provincial officials in the southern province acknowledge that the lack of a suitable market was a serious issue for local women.

Ruqiya Achikzai, director of women's affairs in Kandahar, said that her department had been planning to set up a dedicated bazaar for women’s handicrafts in Kandahar and had already held consultations with the ministry of women's affairs, the governor's office, NGOs and other relevant bodies.

"It really is a major economic problem,” she continued. “However we have knocked on many doors to try and resolve it. So far we have only received promises, it remains to be seen whether these promises will be fulfilled.”

Economist Mohammad Akram Abed said that it was important to support small-scale grassroots producers for the sake of the wider economy.

Creating a market for women’s handicrafts would have a knock-on effect on the local community, Abed continued, and go a long way towards eradicating poverty.

"If a women's market is created, one [immediate] benefit will be that women sell their handmade products themselves. Other women will also be motivated to get into this business. Still more women will be encouraged to help their families economically."

Some argue that local producers need to update their designs to appeal to a wider market.

Maryam Durani is the head of Khadija al-Kubra, a social and cultural association in Kandahar. She told IWPR that her organisation used to work with 250 women in the field of handicrafts, but all had stopped producing goods because they simply could not sell them.

She suggested that local women could extend their sales potential if they learned more modern designs that might be prove popular internationally.

However, others highlight the importance of safeguarding Kandahari handicraft as part of Afghanistan’s national heritage.

Hayatullah Rafiqi, a lecturer in Pashto literature at Kandahar university, said that handmade embroidery was an art alongside calligraphy, carving and other disciplines.

Decades of war and government neglect had weakened this aspect of Afghan culture, he continued.

"The artistic aspect of women's handicraft is older than its economic aspect,” he said. “We call on the government and the international community to make comprehensive efforts to sustain such art."

This report was produced under IWPR’s Promoting Human Rights and Good Governance in Afghanistan initiative, funded by the European Union Delegation to Afghanistan.