Laila is 25 years old living in Kabul. She started working after attending NOVE's professional training courses in business development. 6 months ago, she started an online store of cosmetic products for women. It sells both Afghan and foreign products and is also a wholesaler supplying beauty products to some shops in Kabul markets.
The online business is going well and I manage to regularly participate in national exhibitions which give a lot of visibility and allow me to acquire new customers, as well as to compare notes and find new ideas to improve myself. However, a large part of the revenue comes from sales to shops and beauty salons.
With the ban on the opening of beauty salons in Kabul, Laila lost a significant part of her earnings. With the entry into force of the decree, many shops began to purchase fewer beauty products, some even received direct orders from the authorities to stop selling feminine beauty products, as Muslim women are not allowed to wear makeup.
Working under the Taliban government is very difficult for a woman because of all the bans. Many restrictions were introduced during the exhibitions, with participation bans for women without a mahram (a male relative), strict hijab rules, and checks by female staff at the Ministry of Virtue and Prayer. I was unable to participate in one of the latest exhibitions because I was not accompanied by a mahram.
Furthermore, Laila often doesn't know if she really received an order or if someone is trying to deceive her. This forces her to be very selective in her contacts with online customers, often limiting herself to dealing only with girls.
Despite the many difficulties, Laila has not let herself be discouraged and is organizing herself to start selling Afghan clothes in the exhibitions she participates in and through her online shop. She also managed to import high-quality beauty products from Iran, which allowed her to find more customers.
Her greatest successes, however, she says, are the salary she manages to take home and the compliments she receives during exhibitions.
Laila took part in the “Vocational Training, soft skills development and business marketing course” project by NOVE , financed by the World Food Program and concluded in 2022. To improve the living conditions of Afghan women and promote their socioeconomic independence, the project offered specialization courses in still permitted female professions, combined with courses for the development of transversal skills and entrepreneurship. 53% of women graduates have found a job or opened a small self-employed business.