In four days, the Taliban will enter their fourth year in power. In central Daikundi province, some girls who were barred from school and university say they had spent more than two years preparing for Afghanistan’s 2022 university entrance exam, only to be banned from sitting for it under Taliban orders.
Since then, they say, they have been waiting for the school gates to reopen.
Rokhsara Qasemi spent more than two years studying for the konkur exam and dreamed of entering university. But when the Taliban blocked girls from taking the test, that dream ended abruptly. Now she works in a small tailoring shop in the provincial capital, Nili, marketing and selling traditional women’s clothing.
“I prepared for the konkur for two years to get into my favorite field,” Qasemi said. “But just days before the exam, they told us girls could not participate. Four years after schools closed, we still hope the gates will reopen. For now, tailoring is the only job open to women, but we still hope to study in the field we love.”
Qasemi now works alongside five other girls, all former students barred from finishing their education. Every day, they count the days in hope of returning to class.
“We want schools to open so women and girls can achieve their goals,” said another worker, Kubra Khaleqi. “I wanted to study and make progress, but they didn’t let me.”
“None of us imagined this would happen,” said a third, Maqadasa Baqeri. “We never wanted to come to this shop and become tailors, but we still hope the schools will open so we can continue our studies.”
Daikundi and neighboring Bamyan are among the provinces where, after the Taliban closed schools and universities to girls, many have turned to alternative livelihoods.
Some have learned skills such as tailoring, carpet weaving, bead embroidery and khamak stitching to earn an income and maintain some degree of financial independence.
