Rural and Collective Creation: Our Women’s Network

“What I admire most about women is their strength,” says Nargis Noor, one of our program coordinators. “Women carry a quiet inner power that runs deep. From the moment of birth, female strength is woven into their very biology.” 

On this International Women’s Day, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the women makers whose dedicated passion, time, and labor bring Afghan artisanal crafts to your hands. 

At Artijaan, we fundamentally believe in partnering with skilled artisans no matter where they’re located or what barriers they may face. This belief is the driving force behind our cornerstone initiative: our women’s network.

Humble Origins

It started as a collective of women gathering and creating embroidered textiles and beaded crafts. These skills are culturally embedded, meaning this is creative knowledge they already possess—passed down from their mothers and grandmothers. Our intention was to partner with women makers in rural areas who face significant challenges to earning a sustainable livelihood. 

Since 2021, the Taliban has implemented a series of restrictions that have unilaterally encroached on Afghan women’s ability to receive an education or work outside of their homes. Given this context, we felt it all the more urgent to expand our women’s network. 

We now work with more than 1,000 women across several rural areas throughout Afghanistan. It’s been such a privilege to see this seed of an idea flourish into what it is today. The road is long, but we are confident that systemic change comes from continuing to nourish these seeds of transformation with intention and sustained collaboration.

Handicrafts as a uniquely accessible livelihood

The impact of our approach is twofold: partnering with rural women makers nurtures their innate creativity and transforms it into streams of revenue for their families and loved ones. It also fosters a portal of connection and co-creation. Creating within community offers a renewed purpose as our Afghan partners adapt to a more severe daily context. 

“These activities help women gain confidence, learn new skills and provide them with a sense of achievement.” says Nargis. “Arts and crafts encourage them to explore their creativity and imagination, allowing them to express themselves in several different ways.”

On the horizon

The next stage of our network is to create linkage. Our ultimate vision is to establish a collaborative, internal supply line where every aspect of the process—from sourcing raw materials to assembly—is integrated within our network. 

In an industry that values productivity and consumption over intentional creation, we hope this model serves as a meaningful foil to mainstream structures. And more importantly, we hope it continues to place autonomy back in the hands of the makers who are behind every creation at Artijaan. 

We thank you for your continued support!