WOMEN CONTRIBUTE IN FAMILY EXPENSES
Fatima, 37 years old, mother of 5 kid lives in Mir Qasim Jan village of Chimtal district. Her husband is farmer and eldest son studies in teacher training center of Mazar-e-Sharif.
She says ‘We are a big family and the only bread winner used to be my husband, my kids were not getting enough support as we couldn’t afford. My husband works in others agricultural fields and in recent years due to draught and climate change, the profitability was very less. I always wanted to contribute in family expenses and reduce the burden on my husband as well as I wanted to help my kids complete their education’.
HiH Af implements the ‘Socio-Economic Empowerment of Women and Men’ project in Chimtal district and Fatima is one of 900 beneficiaries mobilized in to Self-Help Groups, she attends regular group meetings and have received series of trainings including Group Management, Microfinance, Business Development Services and Vocational Skills Training.
Fatima says ‘When Hand in Hand Afghanistan started the project, I joined Mutahid Self-Help Group and attended weekly group meetings where I learned a lot of things including businesses and that I can have a small business and earn income, that is what I wanted for a very long time’.
Fatima joined tailoring vocational class and learned tailoring, then she received enterprise startup kit and established her micro-enterprise, with support of her trainers she was linked to a market shop who provides her with raw material and she stitches women coats, she says ‘I stitch women coats for a market shop and earn around AFN 10,000 per month now, my son- who is in high school and is 17 years old- has learned stitching coats too, he works with me part time.’
Fatima is planning to continue the business and turn it to family business, she says ‘I am going to teach my daughter -who is 15 years old and is in 10th grade of school- and expand our business, I want to turn tailoring to a family business.
