At a UNICEF-supported safe space for women and girls in Herat Province, western Afghanistan, 100 young women between the ages of 15 and 25 are learning the art of carpet weaving.
The vocational program offers a sense of possibility and hope for a better future for girls and young women who have been cut off from learning beyond the sixth grade since 2021, when the Taliban announced a ban on secondary and higher education for girls, effectively freezing their future.
“We could not go to school. We were distanced from our education and our goals,” says carpet weaving trainee Adila Mohamadi. “When we enrolled here, we improved psychologically. We were depressed at home.”
“This training gave me a second chance to still have a dream and work for it,” says Ruqia, another young trainee. “When I came to this center, I was reunited with so many of my school classmates and friends. I still like to think of this as our classroom. It helps me cope with the sadness of not being allowed to go to secondary school.”
“The thing I like the most about this training is that it is social, not individual. We all work together like a team and share our knowledge,” Ruqia continues. “If this vocational training did not exist, I would have nothing to do. This training means a second chance and a comeback from a distressed and frustrated life.”
The program provides instruction in literacy, carpet weaving and wool spinning. It also offers young women a chance to give back to the girls in their community.
“This skill benefits us both economically and psychologically,” says Mohamadi. “When I receive the certificate and carpet loom, I will start a business. So, I will support my family and also create learning opportunities for other girls.”
UNICEF vocational training courses target boys, girls and young women across Afghanistan who face extreme poverty or are at risk of harmful coping mechanisms, such as early marriage or dangerous unaccompanied migration. Selection is based on economic need, prioritizing girls and women from families who face the greatest financial challenges in their communities.
In 2025, UNICEF plans to reach 100,000 women and adolescent girls in Afghanistan with information, services and empowerment skills; 20,000 adolescent girls will receive life skills interventions including transferable, digital and vocational skills through UNICEF-supported programs.
