Women who make traditional clothing from their homes in Zabul are earning less as the closure of trade routes with Pakistan drives up material costs and weakens sales, three shopkeepers in the province told Amu TV.
The shopkeepers sell locally made men’s and women’s clothing produced by women working from their homes. They said higher costs and weak demand have forced prices for some handicrafts sharply lower, reducing earnings for both the women who make them and the businesses that sell them.
The women themselves have no designated market where they can sell their products. A women’s market that had provided them with a place to sell their work was closed by Taliban authorities two years ago.
In Qalat, the provincial capital, shopkeeper Sayed Ahmad displays dozens of designs, including embroidered collars, shawls and traditional clothing handmade by local women.
He said prices vary considerably depending on the design and quality.
“Collars range from 1,000 to 10,000 afghanis ($15 to $154),” Ahmad told Amu TV. “Clothes range from 800 to 1,000 afghanis ($12 to $15) to 7,000 or 8,000 afghanis ($108 to $123). We have good-quality clothes.”
Two other shopkeepers in the market said the closure of trade routes with Pakistan has increased the cost of raw materials used to make the clothing. At the same time, weak purchasing power has made it difficult to pass those higher costs on to customers.
Hamidullah, a shopkeeper in Qalat, said women spend considerable time making the clothing but are receiving much less for their work than before.
“Women work very hard on these clothes, but the markets are weak,” he told Amu TV. “Handicrafts that previously sold for 3,000 to 3,500 afghanis ($46 to $54) are now selling for 1,500 to 1,600 afghanis ($23 to $25).”
He said customers have little money to spend, leaving shopkeepers unable to sell the products at prices that would provide better returns for the women who make them.
Another shopkeeper, Asadullah, said disruptions to trade with Pakistan have affected markets in Zabul by making goods that were previously inexpensive more costly.
“The Pakistan route is closed, and it has affected our markets,” he told Amu TV. “Things that used to be cheap have become expensive. The clothes women make and bring to us leave neither them nor us with any profit.”
The clothing sold by the shopkeepers is made by women, but the women do not have a dedicated market of their own in which to sell their products directly.
The closure of the women’s market has left home-based producers dependent on other shopkeepers to reach customers, while higher material costs and declining selling prices have further squeezed their earnings.
The post Zabul shopkeepers say border closure cuts women’s earnings from traditional clothing appeared first on Amu TV.