Women entrepreneurs from Afghanistan attended Dubai Exhibition looking out for international market involvement

Last week, dozens of Afghan businesswomen participated virtually in an exhibition in Dubai to showcase carpets, jewellery, dried fruit, and other handcrafted items as part of an effort to enter foreign markets after the Taliban regime in Afghanistan reduced the number of jobs available to women.

The United Nations Development Programme is sponsoring the three-day show, which started and is being held at a hotel in Dubai and features 26 female-run enterprises.

Owing to visa and travel limitations, the majority of business owners gathered via a video connection from the Afghan capital, where they said that the country's faltering economy and various restrictions on women in public life were hurting their operations.

The Women's Chamber of Commerce in Afghanistan's Rayhana Karim was present at the Dubai event. She said that to attract consumers abroad who support women's rights, they were attempting to develop a brand for goods with the phrase "Made by Afghan Women" on them.

"We need to provide Afghan women an opportunity," Rayhana told Reuters. "The end-consumers in Europe, the United States, and the UAE want to help Afghan women. When you purchase a high-quality item, you are helping an Afghan woman stand on her own two feet, achieve financial independence, and begin to have a seat at the table.

According to a recent estimate by the International Labour Organization, 25% of women's jobs have vanished since the Taliban seized power in 2021 when international forces retreated. They observed that many women had started home-based enterprises, preventing a further decline in the number of women employed.

Once foreign countries imposed sanctions on the banking industry and frozen assets at the central bank, the economy of the nation was severely hindered.

Several female NGO employees have been prohibited by the Taliban government, and certain Taliban-run ministries do not permit female employees to operate in their offices. Several others, including the Taliban's acting minister of trade, have claimed they welcome companies run by women. The expo's businesswomen participants vowed not to give up.

"When Afghanistan fell apart, we lost all hope, but Afghan women are warriors, therefore we'll continue to battle and fight. Never in a million years would we permit our company to fail "said Ziagul Jahani, a producer of handcrafted carpets and clothing in the province of central Parwan.