In the quiet corner of a modest home in the rural district of Saighan, a teenage girl leans over a sewing machine, stitching children’s clothes to help support her family. Like many girls in Bamiyan Province, she never dreamed of becoming a seamstress.
“I didn’t want to sew. I wanted to study,” said Safia, a former student who was forced to abandon her education after the Taliban barred girls from secondary school. “But I had no choice. Now I sew to survive—and I just hope the schools reopen soon.”
It has been more than four years since schools and universities shut their doors to girls and young women across much of Afghanistan. In Bamiyan, a province known for its emphasis on education before the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, the impact is being deeply felt.
Zainab, another former student, recalled the optimism that once filled the classrooms. “Before, the doors of knowledge were open to everyone. We all had hopes and dreams,” she said. “Now, with the schools closed, those dreams feel out of reach. I hope one day they open again—for everyone.”
Since the Taliban’s takeover, women and girls across Afghanistan have faced sweeping restrictions on their freedoms, including bans on secondary and higher education. International human rights organizations have warned that the continued enforcement of the Taliban’s “morality” laws, including those under the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, has deepened gender-based exclusion.
In Saighan and across Bamiyan, many girls who once planned to become teachers, doctors or engineers now spend their days behind sewing machines, struggling to contribute to household income. Their resilience is evident—but so too is the sense of loss.
