Halima shows off her new embroidery skills.
USAID/SPR-SEA/Gul Agha Baturi
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Halima Khan, a 26 year old Afghan woman, has found new hope -- and a shot at financial independence -- through an age-old craft: cherma dozi, a traditional form of Afghan embroidery.
"I was married at the age of 14, and I became a widow at 18. My husband died nine years ago in a traffic accident and I have a daughter who is eleven years old," Halima explains. "My daughter and I live and work in the home of my in-laws since the death of my husband. My father-in-law wants me to marry his younger son, who [already] has a wife and children. I do not want to marry his son. All I want is to care for my daughter and provide her with an education. My father-in-law keeps asking me who will provide food and security for me and my daughter, and until now, I did not have an answer. I now have hope for the future because of the skills I am learning in this training."
Halima is one of 120 vulnerable women in the Aryub Jaji District of Paktya participating in a USAID program that partners with the Afghan NGO MEHR to provide women with educational opportunities and job skills. The eight-month program empowers participants and provides them with the skills to improve their living conditions and earn a sustainable income. Each woman will receive a sewing machine at the end of the training and will be able to earn an estimated 100 to 150 afghanis (two to three dollars) per day as seamstresses, doing custom embroidery work and making dresses to be sold in the program's retail outlet in Kabul.
For more on USAID's efforts to empower Afghan women click here or visit International Relief & Development (a nonprofit partnering with USAID and MEHR) to make a donation. To learn more about what USAID is doing to help women globally, click here.
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